There's a family of Tauranga-built game fishing launches that represent a former era, from the days when boats were built of wood, and there were more fish in the sea.

From the mid 50s to 1967, Willie Oliver and Ted Gilpin built boats with a reputation for quality of build, sea keeping and safety.
On the market
Brian Worthington at Gulf Group Marine Brokers keeps an eye on them. There are three currently on the market; Canopus asking $90,000, Noelani, open to offers; and Anna Marie asking $68,000.
They were built as sedan game fishers, displacement launches lacking fly bridges. Many have since had ‘sheds' added to the superstructure, but a younger Willie Oliver was on board a launch that capsized drowning one of the crew, and the experience may have influenced his design philosophy.
Over nearly 20 years from 1956 until the early 1970s, the boat building partnership launched about a boat a year, first from Willie's back yard in Robins Road, then a shed on the Wairoa, and later from Sulphur Point.
Willoughby Oliver was raised in Devonport, served his apprenticeship at Bailey and Lowe in Auckland where he worked until 1926.
He farmed in Pukekawa before building a launch Lady Joyce which he motored around the top to Tauranga in 1953. In Tauranga he formed a business partnership with Captain Don Munro, running a slip at the base of First Avenue.
Ted Gilpin was born in Waihi in 1928 and grew up in Tauranga before joining the navy. He served in Korea and left in 1953 after six years.
In Tauranga he worked for charter operator Gerry Williams taking out fishing parties and towing barges. Ted and Willie met at the slip in 1954. Willie asked Ted if he would teach his daughter Betty how to sail. Ted and Betty married in 1955, and Willie and Ted built their first boat in Robbins Road Judea in 1956, to replace Lady Joyce.
The Lady Karen was a twin-engined game fishing launch 40ft long with a beam of 11'6” (12.19m x 3.5m) and named after Ted and Betty's recently arrived daughter.
Pohutukawa touch
Largely designed by Peter Parsons, whom Willie had worked with at Bailey and Lowe, the Lady Karen was the only Oliver and Gilpin launch to have a naturally curved pohutukawa stem.
She was carvel built in kauri on laminated Australian hardwood frames with solid 2in (50mm) mahogany cabin sides. Her side decks were solid kauri 12” by 2” (304 x 50mm). Lady Karen had accommodation for eight and was launched at Sulphur Point in 1957.
Powered by twin Fordson 60 hp diesels, Lady Karen was then the largest and most luxurious launch in the game fishing fleet.
They damaged her in 1959 returning from the Mayor in a south west gale with two couples on board. She fell off a wave, breaking the arm of one of the customers – and cracking the engine room bulkhead when the hull flexed.
Stepping it up
They decided to build bigger and stronger, again with the Parsons design input and with the help of Messrs Reid, Elliott and Pope. Lady Margaret had full length 12”x 4”engine beds.
The trend setting 42ft (12.8m) Lady Margaret was built in the new workshop on the Wairoa and launched in 1959. She was described as ‘outstandingly stylish'.
The curves linking the sheer and deckhouse were a move away from the usual stepped sheer of the day, and became a design stamp for future Oliver and Gilpin designs..
Lady Margaret sparked orders, with their first commission being a sister ship, the 42ft Margaret Anne ordered by Jack Stevens.
Sons on board
Willie's son John and Ted's brother Jimmy joined the team, along with Brian Schinkle and apprentice Roger Ward.
Joanne, a 42 ft twin engined version of Lady Margaret was launched in 1962.
Like all Oliver & Gilpin boats she was designed on the half model, with offsets taken.
They were all carvel kauri built on close set frames of Australian karri.
Forming the company
In late 1962 the construction of 45 ft (13.7) Noelani saw the formation of Oliver & Gilpin Ltd with Ted and Betty as shareholders.
In 1965 Ted relocated Oliver & Gilpin Ltd to Sulphur Point. The 42 ft Nautilus with 11'9” beam drawing 4' (12.8 x 3.58 x1.2m) was launched there in June 1964.
Willie built 32ft (9.7m) Waimarie at the Wairoa in 1965 and 42ft twin engined Carousel in December 1967.
At Sulphur Point O&G built the 38ft (11.58m) Matangi motor sailor Puriwai, the Laura Mae 45ft and 42ft Canopus in 1965.
In 1966 they launched Balsona - 48ft (14.6m), Anna Marie 32ft (9.75m) and the 30ft (9.14m) steel yacht Concise.
Royal boating
Anna Marie was built for the Queen. Bill Stevenson, later Sir William, wanted a purpose built trout fishing boat for his Lake Rotoiti lodge which was to be used by HM QE II during a visit.
In 1966 they built a twin engined steel scow for transport of 30 head of cattle between slipper island, Whangamata, Motiti and Tauranga.
In 1967 the company launched 42ft Waimarie II, and 45ft Dorothy – the last of the line to bear the O&G stamp. Ted deregistered the company, sold the yard and moved to Australia in 1968.
John Oliver managed the yard and persuaded Ted to take over its management when he returned from Cairns in 1973.