Wynnum Logs Up 50 Consecutive Brisbane Boat Shows
The recent 2009 Brisbane Boat Show saw Wynnum Marine achieve a notable milestone, that of exhibiting at 50 consecutive Brisbane Boat Shows.
The Nichols brothers were amongst the first to exhibit at the 1960 Brisbane Boat Show. In 2009, the Wynnum Marine banner was again proudly displayed at the Brisbane Boat Show, with the Nichols family exhibiting at every show since the inaugural 1960 event.
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.
For Kevin Nichols, the 50-year boat show journey is worn as a badge of honour and a huge achievement for the Nichols family.
“As an eight year old, I have a vague recollection of the 1960 Brisbane Boat Show,” Kevin said.
“Of course my father, Roy, was in the thick of the show and recounted just how different the show was back in the 60’s.”
At that time, the show was known as the Daily Telegraph Brisbane Boat Show and was staged at the Brisbane City Hall. Because the boat show was held on Council property, there was a regulation that prevented the exchange of money, so the show was more an exhibition than a retail event.
“Within the confines of the city hall there was a phone box,” Kevin Nichols said. “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.
Today the Brisbane Boat Show has far outgrown the town hall and is staged in Brisbane’s specialist Southbank Exhibition Centre. And as far as timber boats are concerned, the only wooden hulls on display are those brought in by wooden boat enthusiasts to illustrate how boating used to be.
“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,” Kevin Nichols said.
“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.
For further information on this story contact:
Darren Nichols
Manager
Wynnum Marine Pty. Ltd.
Ph: (07) 3396 9777
Fax: (07) 3893 2046
Email: info@wynnummarine.com.au
Web: www.wynnummarine.com.au |
