Richard Seddon

Personal details

Full Name:

Richard John Seddon

Lifetime:

22 Jun 1845–10 Jun 1906

Premier:

1 May 1893–10 Jun 1906

Age on becoming Premier:

Electorate:

Westland

Political Party:

Liberal

Biography

Richard Seddon

Richard Seddon’s nickname, ‘King Dick’, says it all. Our longest-serving and most famous leader not only led the government, he was it, many argued. For 13 years he completely dominated politics.

Events In History

10 June 1906

Death of Richard Seddon

Known as 'King Dick', Seddon had dominated New Zealand politics since the early 1890s. His Liberal government established the tradition of state-supported welfare in this country. Read more...
30 May 1901

New Zealand turns down federation with Australia

A 10-man Royal Commission reported unanimously that New Zealand should not become a state of the new Commonwealth of Australia. Read more...
28 September 1899

New Zealand answers the empire's call to arms

Premier Richard ‘King Dick’ Seddon asked Parliament to approve an offer to the British government of a contingent of mounted riflemen to serve in South Africa. Amid emotional scenes, the members overwhelmingly endorsed the motion – only five voted against it. Read more...
1 November 1898

Old-age Pensions Act becomes law

A world first, the act gave a small means-tested pension to elderly men and women with few assets who were ‘of good moral character’ and were leading a ‘sober and reputable life’. It was one of the major achievements of Richard Seddon’s Liberal government. Read more...
31 August 1894

Arbitration Act becomes law

The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration (IC&A) Act made New Zealand the first country in the world to outlaw strikes and introduce compulsory arbitration. Read more...
28 July 1893

Massive women’s suffrage petition presented to Parliament

The monster suffrage petition contained the signatures of more than 25,000 women. A dozen other, smaller petitions were also submitted around the same time. Read more...
1 May 1893

'King Dick' Seddon becomes premier

Richard John Seddon became premier following the death of John Ballance. Immortalised as ‘King Dick’, Seddon was to dominate the New Zealand political landscape for the next 13 years. He remains this country’s longest-serving premier or prime minister. Read more...

Articles

Seddonville

The West Coast coalmining settlement of Seddonville, 50 kms north of Westport, was named in honour of the Liberal Premier Richard Seddon. It was also the site of an early experiment in state socialism – New Zealand's first state coal mine opened there in 1903.
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Page 2 – Coal is discovered
After John Rochfort discovered fragments of bituminous coal in a river north of Westport in 1859, the search was on for accessible coal seams that could be mined.

Housing the Prime Minister

Almost 150 years after the government purchased the first official premier's residence on Tinakori Road, Wellington, the address of Premier House remains the same. But in the intervening years the building has been extended, renamed, abandoned and refurbished.
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Page 2 - The first premier houseOur first premiers had to find their own digs. That changed in 1865, when the government bought the premier a simple 22-year-old wooden cottage in Thorndon’s Tinakori

Flags of New Zealand

The New Zealand flag hasn't always been our official flag. It was adopted in 1902, replacing the Union Jack. Between 1834 and 1840, the flag of the United Tribes was recognised as our first 'national' flag. Waitangi Day 2010 saw the first official recognition of the national Māori flag.
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Page 4 - The NZ flagThe maritime origins of the New Zealand flag from 1865 to 1902