Scaled down: Good things come in small packages

More than 90 model boats will feature at the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival - each created by someone with a deep love of these small but perfectly formed and preserved precious objects.

We had a quick chat with one of the most prolific, Allan Harkin, founder of Matakana Model Makers, known for its quirky, and very beautiful, models. 

The Matakana Model Makers will bring a miniature dimension to the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival, celebrating wooden boat heritage through finely crafted model vessels. Their display highlights the same passion for boats, craftsmanship and history that defines the full-size classics seen across the festival.

Photos: some of the model boats featured at the 2024 Auckland Wooden Boat Festival. This year, around 90 will be displayed from a range of model makers.

The group grew organically from a shared enthusiasm for model boatbuilding. “I don’t know how we got the name, but it suits us,” says founder Allan Harkin. “I started making models while driving a school bus and asked the headmaster if we could do a model boat show. One thing led to another and it’s grown to be quite big.”

Many involved come from boating families or maritime trades. “My family were boat builders and I thought I’d give it a go one day - it worked out all right and became a bit of an obsession.”

Their exhibit offers visitors a chance to appreciate boating heritage on a smaller scale — but with just as much care, skill and dedication.

The next Matakana Model Boat Show is at Matakana School 10 – 12 April 2026

Read all about it

Over the years Boating NZ magazine has written models and steam engines.

Matakana’s LIttle Ships by Lawrence Schaeffler - July 2025 

Perfect Model - a story about the late Bruce Tantrum - August 2021 

Model building: a little head of steam - April 2020