JOHN MILLYARD

Hall of Fame Inductee – 2017

John Millyard joined Basser Millyard in the early 1970s to assist his father with the heavy workload. Upon joining the business, John acquired some great agencies, including Pradco, Scotty, AFTCO, Everol and Mr Twister.

In 1993, John decided to expand the business and acquired Killalure. He used his training and expertise in plastic moulding to take this brand to a new level by re-tooling existing models into plastic. New models were designed in the coming years, and the Killalure range firmly established itself as a major player in the Australian market.

In 2000, John bought Classic Lures from Rob Gaden and used his skills and knowledge to upgrade the brand’s foam lures to injection plastic. Many new models were developed, and the brand has enjoyed great success in Australian and international markets.

John was a founding director of the Australian Fishing Trade Association (AFTA) in 1981 and ran the industry trade show to promote fishing to the public. The first was a public show held at Birkenhead Point in Sydney in 1981.

John ran the AFTA show for many years in venues including Homebush, Rosehill Racecourse, Penrith Panthers, Flemington Racecourse, the Brisbane Showgrounds and finally, the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, where it continues to be held to this day.

Together with John Dunphy, John Millyard spent countless volunteer hours lobbying state and federal governments for the benefit of recreational fishing.