Samuel Nichol was a leading light in Bluff. Photo / NZPA
Samuel Nichol was a leading light in Bluff. Photo / NZPA
An Australian immigrant who was central to the development of Bluff is to be inducted into the Business Hall of Fame.
Born in 1840, Samuel Nichol started his career splitting shingles in Tasmania, this prepared the ambitious young man well for the rigours of pioneer life in Southland.
In 1862, he arrived in Bluff, where he would remain based for the rest of his life.
He began business as a general merchant and went onto work for Cobb and Company, which ran coaches carrying passengers and mail between Invercargill and Bluff.
Nichol was passionate about attracting other ship liners to the Bluff area, and actively encouraged other shipping companies in using Bluff Harbour for their business
In 1864, when the Southland Provincial Government constructed a railway between Bluff and Invercargill, Nichol smelt opportunity.
Understanding how important rail transport would be to the region and his own fast-growing business, he purchased land beside the track and built large grain and wool stores.
In 1869, Nichol tendered for and won the right to lease the track from the Government and in time turned it into a highly profitable operation. The victim of his own success, the Government refused to renew the lease when it expired a year later
Nichol then established Nichol and Tucker, with brother-in-law George Tucker, to provide supplies to sailing and steam-driving ships that visited the port.
The company established Bluff as Southland's primary port, bringing supplies into the lower South Island and back-loading increasingly large tonnages of wool and grain destined for Australia or England.
Increasing farm-related business, the booming whaling industry and the discovery of gold in the Central Otago region contributed to the success of Nichol and Tucker, earning them business from as far away as London.
Samuel's business benefited largely from whaling-related business up until the industry's demise in the late 1800s.
Samuel Nichol started his career splitting shingles in Tasmania. Photo / Supplied
After this, Nichol sold off or repurposed his ships to haul coal. Majority of the coal brought into Bluff in the 1890s and beyond was handled by them, and the company did well shipping coal, grain and other products
Nichol's business savvy and foresight was critical to the establishment of Bluff and Invercargill and the expansion of Southland.
The population of Bluff was less than 300 when Nichols started in business, and there was little in the way of a commercial centre or roading.
According to local historians who subsequently wrote about the region's growth and development, Nichol had "faith in the future and, in his mind's eye, could see the development that must take place".
