Lionel Sands (second from left) receives his award
Lionel Sands and John Street were both awarded “Honorary membership of NZ Marine”, in recognition of their outstanding service to the marine industry.
Lionel Sands has been a member of the NZ marine industry for literally his entire life and it’s hard to imagine anyone more suited to a career in the New Zealand marine industry. Lionel is a third generation boatbuilder; Lionel’s grandfather was a boatbuilder in UK and then under the guidance of his legendary father, “Sandy”, apprentice boat builder Lionel built his first boat, a 12ft Seacraft clinker dinghy.
He worked in all facets of the business before gradually taking over from his illustrious father, becoming an accomplished boat builder, designer and salesman for the company’s quality range of boats.
In 1993 and ‘94, Lionel became president of the Boating Industries Association of NZ, now trading as NZ Marine. Lionel was also integral in the setting up of the Boating Industry Training Organisation in the mid 1990’s, (now Marine & Specialised Technologies Academy of NZ), and the successful ‘audited boat building CPC programme of which Lionel was the chairman for many years.
John Street – accountant, ships’ chandler and supporter of all things maritime in the region – is widely regarded as the custodian of the Auckland waterfront.
After completing his accountancy exams, John worked at Mason Bros, a marine engineering company that was part of a network of marine movers and shakers known at the time as the Waterfront Mafia. In 1959 John joined his father at the long-established marine supply company A Foster & Co in the 1906 Fanshawe St building that began life on the waterfront.
As a proactive Boating Industries Association Executive member at the time of Muldoon’s 20 per cent boat tax in 1979, John was quick to marshal the industry and campaign against what was perceived as an unjust and potentially fatal impost on an industry just beginning to develop export markets. The next Government (probably Labour) eventually reduced the tax to 10 per cent and the industry prospered.
In 2002 John founded the Classic Yacht Charitable trust, after selling Fosters Chandlery to the Harken brothers and deciding he would give back to the boating world and wider community by bringing back to life some of New Zealand’s early boating history. John has been personally responsible for the saving and superb restorations of many of our classic yachts – he retired as chairman and principal funder of the trust in 2021 and is still involved as founder and patron.
