Six heritage boats spanning 1954 to 1990 headline Auckland Boat Show's 70th anniversary

What began as a cluster of boats pushed into the corner of an Easter Show at the Auckland Showgrounds in 1956 has grown into something nobody could have anticipated. Seventy years on, the Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show is still drawing crowds, still growing, and still telling the story of a nation defined by its relationship with water. The 2026 event, running 14 to 17 May, marks that milestone with a heritage display that is genuinely worth the trip.

Six vessels, spanning 1954 to 1990. Each one chosen for the story it carries rather than the shine on its hull. Together they trace the arc of New Zealand recreational boating from a single inventor's solution to a river problem through to the refined fibreglass production craft that became fixtures of the Kiwi summer. They also map the geography of how New Zealanders have always used the water: braided South Island rivers, the Hauraki Gulf, Whangarei Harbour, Lake Taupo, and the rocky coast off Plimmerton.

The oldest boat in the collection actually predates the show itself. Saucy Jane, a 1954 plywood rebuild of Sir Bill Hamilton's original jet boat, sits at the beginning of a technology that New Zealand gave to the rest of the world. Hamilton's problem was specific to this country's landscape: the shallow, fast-moving braided rivers of the South Island could not be navigated by any conventional propeller-driven craft. His answer was the Quinnat waterjet unit, which expelled water above the waterline and did away entirely with underwater appendages. When Hamilton first ran the original hull up the Ohau River at 17mph in 1954, he was not simply building a boat. He was laying the groundwork for a propulsion technology that now supplies navies, rescue services, and recreational boaters across every continent.

BOAT CARD: Saucy Jane 1954

Saucy Jane

1954

HamiltonJet • Bill Hamilton's First Jet Boat

Saucy Jane is an exact rebuild of that original hull and jet unit, completed in 2024 using salvaged parts from the original boat and the guidance of engineer George Davison, who worked alongside Sir Bill Hamilton at the inception of the modern jetboat. The axial-flow design used in today's HamiltonJet eliminates the original gearbox for greater efficiency, but the engineering principle that changed river boating worldwide traces directly back to these first trials on the Ohau River. Owner and builder Jim Lapsley now takes her out on the Waimakariri and surrounding South Island rivers.

Five years after Hamilton's breakthrough on the Ohau River, a very different kind of craftsmanship was underway in the Auckland suburb of Penrose. Max Carter of M.C. Carter Boats was building custom timber runabouts to individual commission, and in 1959 the Gowan family placed an order for something special. The result was Mandigo, a kauri-framed vessel built to Carter's Healey Sprite design, with a solid mahogany transom and screen. In the late 1960s her hull was fibreglassed to the chine to extend her working life. She fished the Hauraki Gulf and skied Lake Rotoiti across decades of family ownership, and after passing through three sets of owners she underwent a major restoration running from February 2018 to October 2020. What stands on display today is a textbook example of what well-maintained timber construction can achieve over more than six decades.

BOAT CARD: Mandigo 1959

Mandigo

1959

Custom Ski & Fishing Boat

Named after the 1957 Kyle Onstott novel, Mandigo was launched for the Gowan family and served as both a recreational fishing boat in the Hauraki Gulf and a family ski boat on Lake Rotoiti. After many years of service she underwent a major restoration from February 2018 to October 2020, preserving her beautiful wooden character while ensuring she remains seaworthy for future generations.

The arrival of fibreglass in New Zealand boatbuilding during the 1960s and into the early 1970s opened the market to a generation of production runabouts that ordinary families could realistically afford. Still Runnin' is an early 1970s Sea Nymph V 14.6 Gullwing, and her name tells a story in itself. The Recordon family's connection with Sea Nymph reached back to 1959, when they bought a 12-foot flat-bottom fibreglass model. A V13 followed in 1963, and eventually they graduated to this larger and more capable V 14.6. The original Evinrude 70hp outboard proved notoriously unreliable, prompting a question that was asked often enough to become the boat's identity. When a Yamaha 90hp replaced it around 12 years ago, the name was painted on the side as a statement of vindication.

BOAT CARD: Still Runnin' early 1970s

Still Runnin'

Early 1970s

Sea Nymph V 14.6 Gullwing

The Recordon family's love affair with Sea Nymph boats began in 1959 with a 12-foot flat-bottom fibreglass model, followed by a V13 in 1963. Built in the early 1970s, Still Runnin' was originally fitted with an Evinrude 70hp outboard that became notoriously unreliable, prompting the frequent question: "Is it still running?" When a reliable Yamaha 90hp was fitted around 12 years ago, the name was proudly added to the side.

For over 55 years she has been a faithful family boat, fishing and skiing on North Island rivers, braving the ocean off Plimmerton, and travelling to South Island lakes. Known for handling heavy seas superbly, she still has many years of life left in her.

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"This show has always been more than what's on the water. It's about the people who live for it. Seventy years on, that passion is stronger than ever."

Helen Kay, General Manager, XPO Exhibitions

While Still Runnin' was being pushed through North Island river conditions, a very different kind of New Zealand boat was taking shape in the Far North. The Whangarei fishing dory has roots stretching back to the early 1900s, when Marmaduke Lionel Sands was building 16-foot wooden dories for netting flounder and mullet in Whangarei Harbour. The design was practical, easy to row, and well suited to local conditions. In 1975, Marmaduke's son Sandy, who would later found Sea Craft Ltd, and grandson Lionel built a 13-foot wooden dory and used it as the plug for a fibreglass mould. Between 1976 and 1982, Sea Craft Ltd produced fibreglass versions of that same design. Sarisha is one of those boats, carrying four generations of New Zealand boatbuilding heritage in a hull that never drifted far from its working-boat origins.

BOAT CARD: Sarisha 1976-1982

Sarisha

1976–1982

Sea Craft Fibreglass Dory

Dories were originally built in the early 1900s by Marmaduke Lionel Sands for fishing in Whangarei Harbour. These traditional 16-foot boats were easy to row and commonly used for netting flounder and mullet. In 1975, Marmaduke's son Sandy (Yoeman Sands, founder of Sea Craft Ltd) and grandson Lionel built a 13-foot wooden dory, which became the plug for a fibreglass mould.

From 1976 to 1982, Sea Craft Ltd produced these fibreglass dories, primarily for rowing, with some also built as sailing versions. Sarisha is a fine example of this practical and historically significant New Zealand workboat.

Sea Craft Ltd produced Sarisha at its base at what was 8 Cawley St in Ellerslie in 1946, street numbers having since changed. The same yard also built the Haines Hunter V17L.

The Haines Hunter V17 came in two forms: the V17L cabin model and the V17R runabout. Sea Craft produced between 50 and 60 boats a year for around six years, with more than 300 built in total, the cabin version proving the more popular of the two. The V17 was the direct forerunner of the Haines Hunter 535, a model that went on to exceed 2,000 units and became one of the most successful trailer boat designs in New Zealand history. The 1983 example on display was built for Trevor Geldard, former Chairman of Epiglass NZ and the New Zealand International Yachting Trust, who supplied the distinctive Epiglass gelcoat colour added by Tim Porter, Boating New Zealand publisher, used on his own boat.

BOAT CARD: Haines Hunter V17 1983

Haines Hunter V17

1983

V17L Cabin Runabout

The Haines Hunter V17 was produced in two versions, the V17L cabin model and the V17R runabout. Built by Sea Craft Ltd in Ellerslie, Auckland, the company produced 50–60 boats per year for around six years, with over 300 built in total (mostly the popular cabin version). This model was the direct forerunner to the hugely successful Haines Hunter 535, of which over 2,000 were eventually built.

This particular boat was commissioned in 1983 for Trevor Geldard, former Chairman of Epiglass NZ and the New Zealand International Yachting Trust. Trevor supplied the distinctive Epiglass gelcoat colour used on his own boat.

The sixth and final vessel in the heritage display is also the youngest. Fizzy, a 1990 Bonito 622 Euro, has spent her entire life in the freshwater of Lake Taupo and carries fewer than 500 hours on her main engine. Garaged whenever she was not on the water, she was purchased in 2008 from the southern end of the lake and relocated to Auckland, where she now operates from the Outboard Boating Club on Tamaki Drive. The 9.9hp auxiliary Yamaha is used specifically for trawling, with the deliberate intention of reducing wear on the 175hp main engine. That level of care, sustained across three and a half decades, explains exactly what you see.

BOAT CARD: Fizzy 1990

Fizzy

1990

Bonito 622 Euro • Lake Taupo Runabout

New in 1990 and spent her entire life on Lake Taupo in freshwater. When not in use, she was always garaged. Purchased in 2008 from the southern end of the lake and relocated to Auckland, where she now enjoys the facilities of the OBC boat club on Tamaki Drive.

Primarily used for family boating, the Yamaha 9.9hp auxiliary is used for trawling to reduce wear on the main 175hp engine. Her excellent condition reflects careful ownership and a lifetime of freshwater use.

Taken together, these six boats amount to more than a collection of vintage hardware. Saucy Jane solved a challenge specific to New Zealand's landscape and launched a propulsion technology now used worldwide. The timber craftsmen of the 1950s worked to individual commission, producing boats that have outlasted many of the production vessels that followed them. The fibreglass revolution of the 1960s and 1970s brought capable family craft within reach of ordinary households, and the production builders of the 1980s refined and scaled those designs into fixtures of New Zealand's coastal culture. The heritage fleet is the foundation on which every new model at every subsequent show has been built.

Seventy Years at the Showgrounds

The Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show began in 1956 as a collection of boats tucked into a corner of the Easter Show at the Auckland Showgrounds. By 1957 it was running under its own name. A lake was added in 1962, a new pavilion in 1965. The event moved to Queens Birthday Weekend in 1985 and shifted again to mid-May in 2007. The name went through several iterations before settling on Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show in 2001, and in 2011 it was recognised as the best boat show in Australasia.

XPO Exhibitions took over in 2022 and successfully defended the Showgrounds' future in the High Court, with the show's 70-year history of community events central to that argument. This year's 70th anniversary is marked with the heritage display, a one-off Boat Show Movie Theatre screening historic footage, and a Grand Prize package valued at over $380,000. Entry is free with a registered ticket scanned before 4pm on Sunday 17 May.

The Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show runs Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 May at the Auckland Showgrounds, 10am to 6pm daily, closing at 5pm on Sunday.