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Mr Seddon and his fav human Charlie Mr Seddon loves people and especially Charlie Time-line information about the real Richard John
By Jeffrey Harrison By Jeffrey Harrison By Sherrie Murphy
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Janet Luxton
Shantytown's resident cat was named after Richard John Seddon, New Zealand Premier 1893-1906. Check out Mr Seddon's (the cat) fav activities
Maybe it’s the cozy outdoors fire, or the constant stream of hugs that he receives from visitors, but Mr Seddon Shantytown’s resident cat likes to hang out at the Gold Claim – The miners reckon he’s a good luck charm!
Mr Seddon is named after Richard John Seddon (1845-1906) ‘King Dick’ as he became known, was first elected Mayor of Kumara on the West Coast of the South Island in 1877 where he had a gold claim and then a shop. But it was in the New Zealand parliament that ‘King Dick’ made his mark, he was elected in 1879, and he became premier after John Balance died in office in 1893.
King Dick is celebrated at Shantytown with King Dick’s Café where Mr Seddon (the cat) can also be found lounging around on the sofas. You’ll find plenty of information about Richard John Seddon at Shantytown as well as stories from across the West Coast of the Southern Alps. You’ll be amazed at the incredible stories of the trials and tribulations of early colonial life on the West Coast.
Keep an eye out for Mr Seddon (the cat) he is always available for hugs. (We are not entirely sure that Richard John was as huggable)
Shantytown provides a real sense of what it was like to live in New Zealand by allowing visitors to participate in and observe our country as it was.
By Jeannie Bourke