Samuel Nichol
For service to Merchandise & Shipping
Samuel Nichol was a prominent businessman in the Southland area, whose business skills were critical to the establishment of Bluff and Invercargill during the 1800s.
He achieved this through his development of the railway between Invercargill and Bluff, as well as his ventures in whaling, shipping and coal hauling through the Nichol Brothers company. Samuel was unstinting in his promotion of, and fundraising for, the development of the Bluff harbour and the Southland region’s infrastructure, and in doing so, Bluff became a thriving commercial centre.