Editing Richard Seddon (section)

===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]].