Takeovers and the dominance by huge multinational shipping corporations has left Reef Shipping as the only New Zealand-owned shipping servicing the Pacific. Tom McNicholl founded the company more than 40 years ago and in February was awarded the New Zealand Pacific Business Council’s Annual Valedictory Award honouring Pacific Pioneers. INNES LOGAN reports.
As a young Yorkshireman growing up in the north of England travelling to the other side of the world to start a shipping business borne from the salvage of a fishing vessel stranded on a reef off Fiji, Tom McNicholl truly is a pioneer of the Pacific. He crossed the globe in the late 1940s to settle in New Zealand, represent his new country in football (soccer) in the late 1950s, and establish a successful building business, McNicholl Homes Ltd. But lured by the mystique those from the northern hemisphere had of the South Pacific, and the warmth and friendships he gained from Pacific people living in New Zealand, he found the call of the islands too tempting.
In his acceptance speech when receiving the New Zealand Pacific Business Council award, Tom spoke of how enthralled he was by the shipwreck tragedy at Minerva Reef, made famous by a book published titled Minerva Reef.
It tells of the incident that occurred in 1962, when the vessel Tuaikaepau, with a seven-man Tongan crew and 10 passengers, smashed into the eastern side of South Minerva Reef, located south of Tonga and Fiji and north of New Zealand. The passengers and crew took refuge in a Japanese fishing boat wreck, and struggled to survive, drawing what little water they could from a distillation device they constructed and walking the reef to catch fish and collect seafood. Three months later, with three dead and little hope of being rescued, captain David Fifita, his son Sateki and the ship’s carpenter embarked on a rescue mission, having built a small raft with no tools. It travelled more than 600km, came within 2 km of an island in Fiji and capsized. In their attempt to swim to shore against the tide, Sateki drowned less than 500m from shore, leaving the other two to scramble ashore, alert the villagers and organise a rescue. Of the 17, 12 survived.
Years later, Tom embarked on his own sea adventure, trying to salvage another Japanese vessel, the Fuji Maru, stranded on a treacherous reef outside Suva Harbour in Fiji. Tom ignored advice that it couldn’t be saved, and spent months attempting to do so having purchased it. In 1967 he succeeded with the help of the tug boat the Loch Lein, and the foundations for the appropriately named Reef Shipping Group began.
Operations were originally based at a small office in Onehunga, South Auckland, overlooking the Manukau Harbour. In the early days Reef operated a number of vessels, including the Labasa Princess, La Bonita, Jean Philippe, the Adi Viti and the Fijian. In 1991 Tom’s son Phillip took ownership of the company and built Reef Group Ltd into a market leader in regional shipping, freight consolidation and container services.
It has diversified into bulk fuels (Reef Bulk Fuels Ltd – with Michael Jones as Director – and Lava Gas Ltd), commercial fishing and horticulture. Phillip says the diversity has enabled Reef to be highly competitive in a region where ships deliver to relatively small populations on islands that span the world’s largest ocean. “Offering safe, reliable and efficient movement of cargo and goods is paramount when your supply and destination are separated by thousands of kilometres,” he says. “Our history in the Pacific shows we have the knowledge and understanding.”
In January 2010 Reef launched the Southern Lily, named after Tom’s mother. Reef Shipping has extended its destinations beyond the South Pacific into the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam and Palau in the north.
Michael Jones joined the Reef Group in 2007, which delivers fuel and energy across the Pacific. He’s passionate in supporting island-based growers who want to export to such places as New Zealand and Australia. When he spoke at the Awards he urged those who can make a difference to do so with actions instead of words. “We always hear about how the islands are too aid-dependant, but when they try to engage in trade, there are so many barriers to overcome,” he says. Reef Group has a joint venture with the Niue government to export noni juice. It is extracted from a fruit that Polynesians have used for thousands of years as a natural remedy and to boost the body’s immune system. Niue is reputed to grow some of the finest noni trees in the world at its Vaiea Commercial Organic Plantation.
Under the sophisticated Pure Pacifika label, it exports most of its noni product to Asia, but Jones is keen to see more of New Zealand’s Pacific population consume it. “We’re producing two-litre plastic bottles of noni, which has never been done before, especially for that market. It makes it far more affordable and our noni is organic and pure concentrate, not watered down.” Jones is at the forefront of Reef ’s work with Pacific communities, work that includes sports sponsorship (Cook Islands Rugby Sevens team), supporting special needs education (Lotu Taumafai School) as well as emergency assistance following disasters such as the Tsunami that struck Samoa in 2009.
The company’s Head Office is Reef House right in the heart of Auckland’s bustling port district in the city.
Tom still keeps himself busy, and was at the forefront of setting up Bio Diesel Oils Limited plant in East Tamaki, developing a process to manufacture bio diesel from renewable resources such as animal fat and plant oils.
The McNicholl family and Reef Group were there in force to see Tom acknowledged for his work in New Zealand and the Pacific. For son Phillip, it was due recognition for the path his father has laid to follow. “The most rewarding aspect of the job, is the close friendships that have been built, with many into the second generation from my father’s work,” he says. “Having built trust, you need to see business as a partnership with your customer. Family values and recognising the importance of individual spiritual and cultural belief is at the core of doing business in the Pacific islands.”
