Australian boating pioneer dies

The first hand-built timber boat constructed by Australian marine industry pioneer Jim Whittley and his brother Ossie rolled out of their factory in the outer Melbourne suburb of Bulleen in 1953.

In the more than 50 years since, Whittley has become one of the country's benchmarks for quality trailerable family boats. Last week a who's who of the local boating industry joined Whittley's family to farewell him at his funeral in Hurstbridge.

Whittley died after a short illness on March 12, surrounded by three generations of his family.

When the Whittley brothers started their business their hand-crafted wooden boats came in all sizes. Some were so large their factory had to be partly dismantled to get them out. After a few years working together Ossie moved on to build yachts while Jim and his new wife, Aileen, moved into fibreglass boats.

In the early 1960s, the Whittleys were among the country's earliest pioneers of fibreglass boats and there attention to detail achieved a quality and finish with the then new material that was universally admired.

In the 1980s Jim and Aileen sold the business to their two sons Neville and Steven. The boys built on the solid foundations established by their parents to expand internationally with operations in Asia and the US as well as in Australia.

Jim Whittley ran his business with the same devotion that he showed to his family. While "quality" was the word most used to describe his boats, the word "gentleman" was almost universally applied to Jim.

Neville Whittley says Jim was never one to sing his own praises but many others in the boating industry did.

"There once was a time when we compared our boats to other people's, but over the years we realised that everyone else seemed to compare themselves to us," Neville says, "Dad set that quality benchmark for our family to continue."

"He led the way with hull design and creative ideas to make boating for Australian families more enjoyable and he laid the foundations which make every Whittley boat so special, both then and now."

Steve Whittley says his father was a boat designer and builder of rare ability who created some of the country's best loved boats.

"His most popular models were the Cherokee, Puma, Impala, Monterey, Voyager and Cruisemaster, all recognised for their classic style, performance and quality," Steve says.

"He was always known for the care and attention to detail he built into every boat. He had a special talent for making the best use of the space in every boat -- something that has become part of the Whittley heritage."