1897, Dick Seddon: King of God's own country

Seddon's monument on the forecourt of Parliament. (NZPA)

There was never any love lost between the Herald and the Premier Richard "King Dick" Seddon, leader of the reforming Liberal Government from 1893 to 1906.

And yet the Herald would have chosen him as New Zealander of the Year in 1897, not so much for his policies - with which it profoundly disagreed - but for the way he represented what he liked to call "God's own country" at Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee celebrations in Britain.

"He correctly accentuated the loyal feeling of the colony, and also showed that he was keenly alive to every opportunity of advancing its material interests upon which its progress and prosperity so largely depend," said the paper and urged its readers to put party considerations aside and give him a warm welcome on his return.

"Mr Seddon was able while in England to do considerable service to the colony, and to see much which we have no doubt will improve his administration."

Seddon (centre-front, with beard) and his ministers outside King's Chambers in Wellington, around 1904. (NZPA)

The Liberals, first under John Ballance and then Seddon, led the first of New Zealand's great reforming governments and earned the country a well-deserved reputation as the social laboratory of the world.

They laid the foundations of the welfare state with land reforms, laws to improve employment conditions, old age pensions and the Conciliation and Arbitration Act to deal with industrial disputes.

These changes had enormous influence on the social, economic and political structure of the country for generations to come.

From the Herald archives:
Delay in decision on Premier attending the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, New Zealand Herald, 19 March 1897

'Mr Seddon in London', New Zealand Herald, 3 June 1897

'Mr Seddon made a privy councillor', New Zealand Herald, 23 June 1897

'Speech by Mr Seddon', New Zealand Herald, 6 July 1897

'Mr Seddon in England', New Zealand Herald, 15 July 1897

'Mr Seddon's home-coming', New Zealand Herald, 7 September 1897

Affirming the conviction that Seddon was right to go to the Jubilee, New Zealand Herald, 13 October 1897

Further reading:
Biography of Richard Seddon, Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand