He followed in the footsteps of Shona Mann (North East Valley), who won the title last year.
''It was magical,'' Nicholls (30), a trainee customs broker, told the Otago Daily Times.
''It is really good for our club.''
Two bowlers from each of the six zones in the country qualified for the New Zealand final at the Mt Eden club. Each bowler started with two bowls for the three ends.
At the end of the first end, the 12 best bowls stayed in the game. Nicholls and Dunedin team-mate Stewart McConnell (Kaikorai) both had two bowls in the house on the artificial green.
At the end of the second end, six bowls were left and two belonged to Nicholls. McConnell was just outside the cut and finished seventh.
Nicholls had the closest bowl to the corner on the final end, became New Zealand champion, and earned $3000 for the St Kilda Bowling Club.
Nicholls was a teenager when his family moved to New Zealand from Pietermaritzburg, Natal, in South Africa. They arrived in Dunedin in 2001.
Nicholls was persuaded by a friend to play indoor bowls and switched to the outdoor game five years ago.
''Bowls is a fun game,'' Nicholls said.
''I enjoy the social aspect. You meet new people each weekend.''
Nicholls won the Dunedin junior fours last season but the win in Auckland was his first in senior ranks.
