Seddon Memorial Lamp (2-6 Seddon Street)

The Seddon Memorial Lamp was erected in 1907 by the residents of Pukekohe in honour of Premier Richard Seddon who had died the previous year. It was placed at the middle of the intersection between King and Seddon Streets, a place called Dell’s Corner. Similar memorial lamps dedicated to Seddon still exist throughout New Zealand.

In 1912, the three fitting, gas-burning lamp was converted to electricity with the introduction of electric street lighting in Pukekohe. The lamp shifted around the intersection over the years to accommodate traffic, and it was stored in Bledisloe Park for an indeterminate amount of time. In the mid-1960s, it was relocated to Roulston Park near the Pioneer Cottage, but it was later moved back to Dell’s Corner, where it was placed on the site of the former presbyterian church.

Pukekohe Presbyterian Church, now located two blocks away at 30 West Street, was the first Christian establishment in the settlement when it was founded in 1863. After the end of the New Zealand Wars, the church was moved to the new town centre. A new structure designed by Robert Watt of Mitchell & Watt was built in 1898 at the corner of King, Queen, and West Streets. The wooden edifice with a bell tower had a vestry and a small hall at the rear. This structure was moved to its current location in January 1958, and the former church site became Seddon Park, in honour of the late premier. In August 1961, a new St James’ Presbyterian Church was built in the modernist style by Arnold Neale. The former church was eventually integrated into another building behind the new building and is today recognisable only by its original windows.

Cross Seddon Street at the crossing and then stop and look at the building across King Street.