WYNNUM MARINE ATTAINS A MILESTONE
The recent 2009 saw Brisbane boat dealer Wynnum Marine achieve a notable milestone when it exhibited at the event for the fiftieth time.
The Nichols brothers were amongst the first to exhibit at the 1960 Brisbane Boat Show back in 1960, and this year, the Wynnum Marine banner was once again proudly displayed fro the fiftieth time.
Coincidentally, Wynnum Marine was appointed as a Johnson Outboards dealer in August 1960. While the Johnson/Evinrude brand has undergone a number of changes, Wynnum Marine remains a dealer with the brand as an Evinrude dealer.
Wynnum Marine’s Kevin Nichols wears the 50-year boat show journey as a badge of honour. “As an eight year old, I have a vague recollection of the 1960 Brisbane Boat Show. Of course my father, Roy, was in the thick of the show and recounted just how different the show was back in the ‘60s.”
Back then the show was known as the Daily Telegraph Brisbane Boat Show and it was staged at the Brisbane City Hall. It was held on Council property which meant there was a regulation that did not permit the exchange of money, so the show was more of an exhibition than a retail event.
“Within the confines of the city hall there was a phone box,” said Nichols. “And as the phone box was Commonwealth property, my father would take boat purchasers to the phone box to take a deposit and remain legal.”
Certainly the contrasts with the fledging 1960 Brisbane Boat Show and its 2009 contemporary event are most striking. Back in 1960, the exhibits by Wynnum Marine were built by Nichols Brothers and were all timber hulls. Nichols Brothers joined the fibreglass boat building era in 1967.
The modern Brisbane Boat Show has long outgrown the town hall, and these days it is staged in Brisbane’s Southbank Exhibition Centre – and the only wooden hulls on display are those brought in by wooden boat enthusiasts.
“At Wynnum Marine, we are very proud to be the only exhibitor at the show who has been an exhibitor at the annual Brisbane Boat Show every year for the past 50 years,” said Nichols.
“Our brands, Wynnum Marine and CruiseCraft boats, are very much an integral part of the fabric of the boating industry. And with the company now in the hands of the third generation of the Nichols family, we remain a strong family business looking to be at the Brisbane Boat Show in 2010 and many years to come.”
Wynnum Marine is the Brisbane home of CruiseCraft boats. The dealership is the authorised dealer for CruiseCraft, Stacer and Gemini inflatables, plus Yamaha and Evinrude outboard engines.
PIC: Through the age: (left to right) Barry, Darren and Kevin Nichols celebrate 50 consecutive Brisbane boat shows.