Even Perth had its followers including Aherns (department store
family), Winterbottoms (car dealership), Stanley and Nelson Mills of
Mills & Wares biscuit fame and Roland Smith, high-profile shirtmaker.
Like antique furniture and vintage cars, these are now bought and
treasured for their elegance, craftsmanship and history by a new
breed of owners who see them as collector’s items to be cherished
and handed down to the next generation.
The Halvorsens also built magnificent sailing craft having built their
own boats and entered sailing competitions, winning Sydney to
Hobart in 1963, 1964 and 1965.
They also were team members of the 1962 Americas Cup competition
in Gretel, built by the Halvorsens for the Packer syndicate and shook
the Americans by winning a race. And when Alan Bond defended
the Americas Cup in Fremantle in 1987 a Halvorsen Cruiser was his
chosen tender.
For almost 80 years, the Halvorsen has been a unique part of
Australia’s maritime heritage. Born in a more elegant age, like rare
vintage cars, stand head and shoulders above the plethora of
fibreglass boats that now dominate our waterways.
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