Editing Richard Seddon (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Portrait of Richard John Seddon 1907 by EVM.jpg|thumb|left|1907 portrait by [[Ellen von Meyern]]]]
He is considered by academics and historians to be one of New Zealand's greatest and most revered prime ministers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Who was our best Prime Minister? {{!}} Jesse Mulligan, 1–4pm, 2:30 pm on 8 September 2016 {{!}} RNZ|url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/201815361/who-was-our-best-prime-minister|publisher=[[Radio New Zealand]] |language=en-nz|date=8 September 2016}}</ref> Seddon centralised government decision-making around himself—at his peak he exercised "almost one-man, one-party rule"<ref name="nzhistory"/>—and, in doing so, he established the premiership as the ''de facto'' most important political office in New Zealand.

Seddon's son [[Thomas Seddon (politician)|Thomas]] replaced him as MP for [[Westland (New Zealand electorate)|Westland]] in the by-election following his death. When Thomas met former [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]] in 1918, he expressed admiration for his late father, particularly the labour legislation his government passed.{{sfn|Seddon|1968|p=299}}

A [[Seddon, New Zealand|town in New Zealand]] and a [[Seddon, Victoria|suburb]] of Melbourne, Australia are named after him. Wellington Zoo was originally created when a young lion was presented to Prime Minister Richard Seddon by the Bostock and Wombwell Circus. Seddon created the Zoo from this single specimen and the lion was later named King Dick in the Prime Minister's honour. The stuffed body of King Dick (the lion) is displayed on the ground floor of the [[Museum of Wellington City & Sea]]. St Mary's Church in Addington, Christchurch also has a memorial bell tower to Richard Seddon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stmarysaddington.org/wordpress/history/|title= St Mary's Addington A heritage church in the heart of Addington|publisher=St Mary's Addington|access-date=28 January 2015}}</ref>

The [[John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll|Duke of Argyll]] unveiled a memorial to Seddon in [[St Paul's Cathedral]], London, in 1910.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19100324.2.9.1 |title=Unveiling in St. Paul's |date=24 March 1910 |work=Wanganui Chronicle |page=3 |access-date=13 June 2019}}</ref> It shows a portrait of Seddon with the inscription "
{{smallcaps|To the memory of Richard John Seddon prime minister of New Zealand 1893–1906 imperialist statesman reformer born June 22nd 1845 at St Helens Lancashire buried at Observatory Hill Wellington New Zealand}}"

===Seddon memorial===
Following Seddon's death plans were put in place to erect a suitable memorial which would also incorporate a Seddon family mausoleum. It was quickly agreed that the existing Colonial Time Service Observatory on top of Observatory Hill (today part of [[Bolton Street Memorial Park]]) should be torn down to make way for it.<ref name=A1>{{cite web |last1= Biswell |first1= Shelly Farr |last2= Nester |first2= Richard |title= Time |url= https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/time/|website= New Zealand geographic |accessdate= 24 June 2024}}</ref> A new observatory was later constructed on the site of the former Garden coast defence battery at the top of the Botanic Gardens.

The memorial was designed by government architect [[John Campbell (architect)| John Campbell]] and constructed by Edwards and Son of Wellington with the above ground portion consisting of reinforced concrete faced with Coromandel granite.<ref name=Moor>{{Citation |last= Moor |first= Christopher |title= Wellington's Tributes to Seddon |journal= New Zealand Memories |issue= 166 |pages= 57–58 |date= February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Seddon Memorial |url= https://mch.govt.nz/nz-identity-heritage/national-monuments-war-graves/seddon-memorial |website= mch.govt.nz |publisher= Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date= 1 January 2020}}</ref> It cost £2,746.<ref name=Moor/> Constructed between 1908 and 1910<ref name=SRA>{{cite web |title= Seddon Memorial |url= https://www.salmondreed.co.nz/projects/seddon-memorial |website= Salmond Reed Architects |accessdate= 28 June 2024}}</ref> the memorial is topped by a bronze female figure approximately {{convert|8|ft|m}} in height and weighing {{convert|2|LT|kg}} symbolising the “Zealandia”, the country mourning its dead.<ref>{{cite news |title= A Seddon Memorial for Observatory Hill |newspaper= Evening Post |location= Wellington |date= 31 May 1910|url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19100531.2.10 |access-date= 3 July 2024}}</ref> Costing approximately £500, the figure was designed at the London studio of sculptor [[Henry Poole (sculptor)| Henry Poole]] and cast by Alexander Parlanti.<ref>{{cite news |title= Seddon Monument: Arrival of Bronze Figure |newspaper= Dominion |location= Wellington |date= 14 June 1910 |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19100614.2.75 |access-date= 3 July 2024}}</ref><ref name=Moor/> The concrete crypt underneath contains the body of Seddon, his wife Louisa, their daughter Mary Stuart Hay and memorial to their son Captain Richard Spotswood Seddon, who was killed in 1918 while serving in France.<ref name=Moor/>

The family remains were temporally removed when between 2021 and December 2022 when the memorial was restored and seismically strengthened by the installation of a structural steel frame in the crypt and central void, combined with the installation of 17 post-tension tie rods.<ref name=SRA/> 

===Statues of Seddon===
[[File:Parliament House (Statue of Richard John Seddon 1845-1906).JPG|thumb|upright|Seddon's statue stands outside Parliament Buildings in Wellington]]
A {{convert|9|ft|6|in|m}} high bronze statue on a {{convert|15|ft|m}} pedestal of Aberdeen granite to Seddon was erected facing Molesworth Street in front of the main entrance to [[New Zealand Parliament Buildings|Parliament Buildings]].<ref name=Moor/> It was commissioned by then-Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward from Sir [[Thomas Brock]]. The statue has him wearing a frock coat which was based on the one that he had worn while speaking at Papawai near Greytown. The coat had been brought to Brock in 1905 by Louisa Seddon and her daughter Mary.<ref name=Moor/>
The statue was paid for by jointly by the government and the public, with its completion delayed by the landscaping of the grounds and the construction of Seddon’s memorial.<ref name=Moor/> At a public event attended by 1,500 people on 26 June 1915 the statue was unveiled by the Governor-General, Lord Liverpool.<ref>{{cite news |title= Honouring the Dead: RT. Hon. R. J. Seddon |newspaper= Dominion |location= Wellington |date= 28 June 1915 |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19150628.2.83 |access-date= 30 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Honoured Dead: The Seddon Statue Unveiled |newspaper= Evening Post |location= Wellington |date= 28 June 1915|url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19150628.2.37|access-date= 30 June 2024}}</ref> Among those attending were members of Seddon’s family, the prime minister William Massey, Sir Joseph Ward and Sir John Luke, mayor of Wellington.<ref name=Moor/>
 
In October 1966 anti-Vietnam war protestors painted “No New Zealand Troops in Vietnam” across the plinth. In November 1988 a group protesting against the signing of the Antarctic convention and the risk they believed it posed to wildlife enclosed the statue in a giant penguin suit. In February 2022, an anti-mandate and anti-lockdown Covid-19 protestor tagged it with a Nazi Swastika and the words “Freedom” and “Truth”. 

Since 11 November 1981 the statue has had a Historic Places category 1 listing.<ref>{{cite web |title= Seddon Statue |url= https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/230/Seddon%20Statue|website= Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga |accessdate= 24 June 2024}}</ref>

Another statue of [[Statue of Richard Seddon, Hokitika|Seddon]] has a prominent position in the West Coast town of [[Hokitika]].