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One of Warkworth’s major boat builders risks closure following a family dispute that has ended in a court order to sell the land where the business is based.
The threat comes after the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier interim ruling by the High Court that 8.3ha of land adjoining the Mahurangi River, which is currently home to Robertson Boats, must be sold by auction.
The rulings come in the wake of a dispute between brothers Conrad and Martin Robertson, who purchased it in the early 1980s to continue a family boatbuilding business there.
Conrad bought Martin out of the business 26 years ago but ownership of the land, which is estimated to be worth more than $7 million, remained shared between them.
Robertson Boats continued by leasing the land on which it sits, but the lease expired in December 2007 and both Conrad and Martin have since failed to agree on new terms.
Moreover, the lease provides that neither party is required to carry out structural repairs or weatherproofing of buildings, which need repair.
Conrad’s ambition was to expand and modernise his boatbuilding business, whereas Martin wanted to redevelop the property for housing.
To end the deadlock, Conrad applied to the High Court to have the land partitioned, allowing him to buy the portion of land occupied by Robertson Boats at a market price fixed by the court.
Instead, the court ordered all the land be sold by auction, finding that Conrad and Martin were unlikely to agree on a partition proposal.
Conrad appealed the decision, but last month the Court of Appeal upheld it, meaning the land must be sold by auction within weeks.
Conrad says he is uncertain whether he can raise the cash to buy all the land outright himself, meaning he faces losing his business of 40 years.
“It’s the only parcel of land zoned for marine use in the wider area. Once it’s gone, it’s gone,” he says.
He adds that it would be virtually impossible to relocate his business elsewhere..
“You have to have water access and there are a lot of factors that have to be appropriate – you can’t just move up the road,” he says.
The end of the business would mean the loss of 20 jobs for tradies, such as boatbuilders, engineers, electricians and fabricators, including three apprentices. It would also end a source of work for dozens of local subcontractors.
Conrad says it’s a highly skilled and versatile staff, some of whom have been with Robertson Boats for 20 years.
They work on up to 400 boats each year – including commercial vessels, such as ferries, fishing fleets, tugs and barges, and recreational craft such as yachts. They are capable of doing everything from building custom boats from scratch to servicing and refitting existing vessels. Currently, the business has to turn work away, as the impasse between the brothers has made it impossible to expand.
“This is a real, living existing business that represents a lot of hard work and effort. The thought of losing it does not seem right to me,” Conrad says.
A member of the Jane Gifford Maritime Trust committee, Dave Parker, says if the boatyard closed down it would have a hugely detrimental effect on Warkworth’s marine industry, being the only one on the Mahurangi River with a large travel lift to haul boats out of the water weighing up to 85 tonnes.
The Jane Gifford is among the boats to take advantage of the lift when it undergoes regular cleaning and maintenance.
“It would be disastrous if we did not have a maritime base there,” he says.
He says the Jane Gifford would likely have to be sailed to North Harbour for servicing.
However, Mr Parker, who is also deputy chair of the Warkworth Riverbank Enhancement Group, says one potential upside is the possible completion of a walkway along the Mahurangi River between Warkworth Wharf and the historic Wilson cement works ruins.
The walkway was conceived after the Enhancement Group successfully raised funds for a new Warkworth Wharf, when the original was demolished by the old Rodney District Council. But adding a walkway to the cement works required crossing Robertson land, a move which has also been hampered by the impasse between the brothers.
Mr Parker says if the land was to change hands, the group would be keen to talk to the new owner to finalise access across the land.
