Tasman Toys was inspired and founded by the parents of two young children. One, a sailor of Sydney Harbour, but both enthusiastic travellers and Sydney fanatics.
Their (then) two year old son had (and still has) a fascination for transport vehicles and has built an impressive collection of iconic modes of transport from around the world, either gifted to him as souvenirs, or purchased on family travels. This collection includes the London red double decker bus, a QANTAS plane, a yellow New York cab, the Shinkansen train from Japan and far too many more to name. What they couldn't find however, was a Sydney ferry to add to this collection. A problem many others (tourists and local parents alike) have also discovered. After searching high and low for a replica toy ferry of Sydney's iconic green and gold "First Fleet class", Julia and Rogier decided to embark on a voyage to fill this void in the toy/souvenir market.
Rogier and Julia designed and created the perfect 'matchbox' sized green and gold catamaran Sydney ferry - one that represented those transporting over 15 million people across Sydney Harbour each year!
Behind the name...
'Tasman' represents the Dutch sea-faring explorer Abel Tasman, who first sighted Tasmania back in 1642.
This also characterises Rogier's Dutch roots having grown up in The Netherlands and relocating to Australia in 2011.
It is also a name which is synonymous with the maritime industry with seas, ships, islands and lighthouses with this namesake, which ties perfectly with our product - a classic piece of Australian maritime history.