Whittley Marine Group has announced the appointment of a new management team at its Whittley Boating Centre in Newcastle, alongside the addition of Honda Marine sales, service, and parts to the dealership’s growing operations. The centre has been servicing the Hunter region since 2020 and continues to support the area’s expanding trailer boating community.
As part of the dealership’s evolution, two new leadership roles have been introduced. Troy Hardaker has been appointed Sales Manager of the Newcastle site, while Trinity Coombes joins as National Boating Accessories Manager. Both bring valuable experience to support the Group’s continued national expansion.
Troy Hardaker commented on the dealership’s new direction: “It is an exciting time to join the Whittley Marine Group as we see the appointment of this location as a full line Honda Marine dealer. Customers in the northern New South Wales area can now think the Whittley Boating Centre to service any Honda Marine product, as well as engine repowers. This is a big step forward and part of the national roll out of the Honda product via the Whittley Boating Centre’s. It is exciting to welcome the world’s largest engine builder, back to the outboard marine space in this new format and powering new Whittley Boat packages.”
In addition to the full range of Whittley fiberglass boats, the Newcastle dealership now offers the newly released Whittley AL Series. This includes six aluminium boat, motor, and trailer packages—all under 5.5 metres—designed to offer premium boating at an attractive price point. The series includes bowrider, runabout, centre console, side console, and open boat models, with packages starting from $16,990 drive-away, including safety equipment and registration. Top-end plate models are available under $90,000.
Hardaker added: “In addition to the Honda product the dealership also sees the introduction of the affordably priced Whittley AL Series of press and plate aluminium boats. The new series brings a new generation of Whittley Boat buyer to the dealership. With smaller sized aluminium boat model offerings and price points to compliment Whittley Boats traditional fiberglass boat models. These new aluminium model boats are ideal for the large lakes and rivers surrounding our Newcastle location. Sporting the Whittley name ensures a quality Australian build and buying experience in an aluminium style boat and something not offered by Whittley Boats previously.”
The Whittley Boating Centre Newcastle is located in Beresfield, between Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens, two of Australia’s largest inland waterways. This central location supports the dealership’s mission to deliver high-quality boating solutions to the local market.
The addition of Honda Marine coincides with the launch of new Honda outboard models, including the L4 150hp and V6 250hp engines, which feature technologies such as BLAST, ECOMO, and VTEC. These engines are now available for inspection and customer enquiries at the dealership.
Hardaker commented further: “Honda Marine have recently released the all new L4 150 & V6 250 engine models, featuring the unique technologies of; Blast, ECOMO, VTEC and a seven-year domestic use warranty. This provides Honda owners coverage at both conflicting ends of the spectrum, power on demand and fuel economy at cruise with technology unique to Honda being used to achieve this. Honda Marine being the first to take to market a four-stroke outboard and building on the companies’ motor racing heritage are now investing heavily in releasing new model engines to the local market. There are many benefits of Honda Outboard ownership, and we welcome you in dealership to look, see and touch this next generation Honda Marine product’s.”
The Newcastle team will work alongside Whittley’s Sydney dealership to present a comprehensive display of Whittley AL and FG Series boats, as well as Honda outboards, at the 2025 Sydney Boat Show. The event runs from 14 to 17 August at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, with special offers available throughout the show.
In her new national role, Trinity Coombes will oversee the newly created Whittley Boating Accessories Division, providing customers with a single point of contact for marine accessory sales and installation. This includes parts and products from Honda Marine, Humphree Performance Trim Tabs, Simrad Electronics, Volvo Penta, Mackay Trailers, and Savwinch, supported by the Group’s five dealership locations across Australia.
Trinity Coombes said: “It is an electrifying time to join the growing national Whittley Marine Group team. I look forward to implementing the new Whittley Boating Accessories Division, both in dealership and via the company’s online store. The collective staff team have aggressive growth plans in this area of the business and working with the Group’s key partners, look forward to becoming one of the country’s leading online store, parts suppliers and supply and fitment service for trailer boats.”
The launch of the Accessories Division complements the Group’s Boating Centre, Repower, and Service Divisions, further supporting Whittley Marine Group’s strategy to provide a full-service trailer boating experience to customers across the country.
