Johann Gerhard Husheer (26 July 1864 – 30 November 1954) was a New Zealand tobacco industry pioneer and processor, industrialist, philanthropist. He was born in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 26 July 1864 to a family of Dutch heritage. His grandfather, born in 1737 was a seaman and trader who, when returning after a voyage learned that the French had begun to occupy his home port, left

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

for Bremen, Germany. Husheer was the first to plant tobacco in

Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding dis ...

and became very wealthy. He lived in

Napier Napier may refer to: People * Napier (surname), including a list of people with that name * Napier baronets, five baronetcies and lists of the title holders Given name * Napier Shaw (1854–1945), British meteorologist * Napier Waller (1893–19 ...

for much of his life. After the

1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Si ...

, he commissioned Louis Hay to design a new frontage for his National Tobacco Company Building, one of the most elegant commercial buildings in Napier, and registered as a Category I structure by Heritage New Zealand. In 1956 it was purchased by Rothmans Tobacco Company.

References

1864 births 1954 deaths New Zealand philanthropists Emigrants from the German Empire Immigrants to New Zealand People from the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen {{NewZealand-bio-stub