AFTA Hall of Fame

~ A celebration of our fishing community ~

The Australian Fishing Trade Association recognises those who have significantly contributed to the recreational fishing industry over the years. In 2013, we introduced the AFTA Hall of Fame, highlighting some of the great achievers in our industry. AFTA congratulates all our Hall of Fame nominees and entrants; their contribution to our industry is enormously appreciated.

Hall of Fame Inductee 2024

Ern was a Qld government biologist and, in 1963, was asked to produce a book called Know Your Fishes.

This book was commissioned due to the introduction of size and bag limits and the realisation that many anglers couldn’t correctly identify fish, which made prosecutions for illegal catches difficult.

In 1965, that first book evolved into Grant’s Guide to Fishes. Click to read more

Hall of Fame Inductee 2023

Bill Classon is probably the nicest bloke I’ve ever met. He doesn’t get rattled, he doesn’t run agendas, he just loves fishing. He is truly passionate about life; for him, life is fishing. Bill is a passionate and tireless advocate for recreational fishing across Australia.

For more than 40 years, he has written, published or produced hundreds of books, fishing maps, DVDs, and TV fishing shows to engage, educate, promote and celebrate the wonderful world of recreational fishing. Bill, Rex, Paul, and David Kramer, the heroes of fishing in Victoria for the last Click to read more

Hall of Fame Inductee 2022

Phil Coles was a passionate leader on the wholesale side of AFTA for many years. Serving as a director on the AFTA Board for more than 10 years and as founding director of the Keep Australia Fishing Board, he dedicated his time to fiercely protecting fishing’s future.

Hall of Fame Inductee 2019

Hall of Fame Inductee 2018

In an age when everything has a use-by date and companies and brands come and go, longevity is rare. JM Gillies has written its story into history and significantly helped shape the fishing industry in Australia. For JM Gillies, this story spans 90 years.

Over the years, JM Gillies has distributed brands such as Plano, Rapala, Maxima, Berkley, Basser Millyard, Classic, Bomber, Killalure, Warlock, Tassie Devil and SeaDog. JM Gillies was established in 1928 by John Malcolm Gillies Click to read more

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 Click to read more

Hall of Fame Inductee 2017

Richard’ Dick’ Lewers was best known for his long-running Modern Fishing column ‘Ask Dick Lewers’. Dick was also involved in various recreational fishing bodies and was a fixture at both the Sydney and Melbourne boat show fishing clinics for many years.

Dignified, quietly spoken, but with a devilish sense of humour, Dick personified the term ‘nature’s gentleman’ and was revered by all who had contact with him.

The ‘Ask Dick Lewers’ column Click to read more

Hall of Fame Inductee 2017

Trevor Maundrell started with Jarvis Walker in 1984 as a sales representative alongside his brother Max. He quickly progressed through the ranks, becoming the NSW State Manager, then the National Sales Manager, and finally was appointed CEO in 1988.

Trevor took Jarvis Walker from an Australian rod-building business to the international fishing tackle company we know today. Click to read more

Hall of Fame Inductee 2016

It all began when Jim picked up his first fly rod in 1964 at 19. His love of flyfishing was born, and just three years later, he opened his first store.

Over the years, the Compleat Angler increased in size, and Jim was able to open seven more stores across three states. All of his stores exhibited a level of professionalism never seen before in fishing retail. During this time, Jim was instrumental in introducing and popularising key brands such as Yo-Zuri, Calstar, Metz, Power Pro and Rapala, and he created his brand – Innovator Tackle. He was also instrumental in Click to read more

Hall of Fame Inductee 2015

In 1995, not long after I started working at Fishing World, Neil Patrick in Fremantle, WA, called me to welcome me to the tackle industry. I still recall feeling pretty chuffed to get a personal call from one of the big players in the Aussie tackle sector in only my first few weeks at the magazine.

I was a young and wet-behind-the-ears editor, feeling my way into a new world of personalities, egos and tackle business rivalries. Neil’s phone call was a major boost to my confidence. He wouldn’t even remember it, but his taking the time to welcome a young nobody to the industry says a lot about Neil’s personality and ethics. Click to read more

Hall of Fame Inductee 2014

Hall of Fame Inductee 2013

Hall of Fame Inductee 2013

John founded Dunphy Sports/Fishing Imports in 1981 and a short time later secured the distribution rights for Shimano in Australia & New Zealand. Over 30 years John & his team including several family members built Shimano from a relatively obscure name to be market leader in fishing in Australia & the Oceania region.

John was highly respected not only within the fishing industry at large for his extensive knowledge & foresight but also within the global Shimano community & in an advisory capacity with government fisheries departments. He was a strong advocate Click here to read more

Hall of Fame Inductee 2013

Established in 1946 by Leslie Wilson, starting as a small manufacturing business that made swivels on the kitchen table of the family home.

Recognising a need for rod building components, and being a fitter and turner by trade, Les began producing ferrules, reel seats and guides for Butterworth rods.

During this period between the late 1950s and late 1960s, L. Wilson & Co. were the largest manufacturer of rod building components in Australia Click here to read more