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 , Germany 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 for Bremen , Germany . Husheer was the first to plant tobacco in Motueka and became very wealthy . He lived in Napier for much of his life . After the 1931 Hawke 's Bay earthquake , 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
1931 Hawke 's Bay earthquake
1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake
Gerhard Husheer