Henry Niccol

[1] Novelty was a 376 tons barque, built in 1862 for merchants Henderson and Macfarlane,[7] and attributed with making many fast voyages.

In 1863 plans were made for the Auckland and Drewry Railway to cross the road between the shipyard and Swan Inn,[9] though Parnell Bridge didn't open until a decade later.

[10] In 1866[1] Niccol moved his yard to Garden Terrace (Queens Parade), Devonport, where he built the first patent slip in the country.

[1] His sons, Thomas and George Turnbull, joined him in the shipbuilding business, but it suffered in the long depression, in this country following the 1878 failure of the City of Glasgow Bank, and he "seemed to lose heart and to get into ill health".

[1] Although Niccol began Auckland shipbuilding, many others followed, including Alexander Allison shortly after, Beddoes in 1859, Holmes Brothers, who, in 1864, built the first paddle steamer ferry, Waitemata, Sims and Brown, also in 1864, Charles Bailey in 1876, Robert Logan in 1878 and Scots, McKay & McCallum and McQuarrie in the 1880s.