Shortly before his father's death in 1819, Bob Nichols was sent to England for an education and returned to Sydney early in 1823.
Nichols was a member of the Parramatta Regional Council, a trustee of Sydney Grammar School and a leading Freemason.
Nichols was conceded the privilege, enjoyed by no other practitioner of his grade, of appearing professionally in both the superior and inferior courts of the colony.
[1] In 1848, prior to the establishment of responsible self-government, Nichols was elected to the semi-elected unicameral Legislative Council.
Nichols served as the Auditor General and as the Secretary for Lands and Works, the inaugural such roles in the first responsible self-government in New South Wales.