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Richard Seddon: King of God's Own
'The life, the health, the intelligence, and the morals of the nation count for more than riches, and I would rather have this country free from want and squalor and unemployed than the home of multi-millionaires.'—Richard Seddon, 1905
***
Casting a long shadow over New Zealand history, Richard John Seddon, Premier from 1893 to his untimely death in 1906, held a clear vision for the country he led. Pushing New Zealand in more egalitarian directions than ever before, he was both the builder and the maintenance man – if not the architect – of our country.
Challenging popular opinion of New Zealand's longest-serving Prime Minister as a ruthless pragmatist, cunning misogynist and Imperialistic jingoist, this landmark biography of Seddon presents an altogether more sympathetic, erudite appraisal.
Reconciling two generations of New Zealand scholarship, 'Richard Seddon: King of God's Own' demonstrates that, while holding fast to common ideals, Seddon was successful by mastering the art of the possible. He knew instinctively what his electorate would tolerate and remained in step with public opinion. Despite contradictions in his attitudes towards other races, he fought to ensure privilege did not become entrenched in what he envisioned as a white man's utopia. In this perceptive new evaluation, political historian Tom Brooking explains Seddon's complex relationship with Maori and shows how he in fact held a progressively bi-cultural vision for the future of 'God's Own Country'.
Seddon was no saint. Somewhat autocratic and given to petty nepotism, he nevertheless remains the most dominant political leader in our country's history. Internationally, his high profile within the Empire helped put New Zealand on the map. Domestically, he sought a middle ground between free-market extremism and full-blown socialism. And more privately, Seddon was a devoted family man, his actions shaped much more by his supportive wife and assertive daughters than has previously been realised.
'Richard Seddon: King of God's Own' is a superlative achievement in New Zealand history writing. Absorbing, wide-ranging and beautifully articulated, it reframes and repositions one of the founding fathers of modern New Zealand.
***
'The definitive biography of one of New Zealand's most influential political leaders.'
—Paul Moon, author of New Zealand in the Twentieth Century
'King of God's Own is a nuanced and generous assessment of our most famous Premier, a man very much of his own time.'
—Gavin McLean, co-editor of the bestselling Frontier of Dreams: The Story of New Zealand
'An excellent biography, and a major revision of an important period in this country's history.'
—Barry Gustafson, acclaimed biographer of Sir Keith Holyoake, Sir Robert Muldoon and Michael Joseph Savage
Also available as an eBook
***
Casting a long shadow over New Zealand history, Richard John Seddon, Premier from 1893 to his untimely death in 1906, held a clear vision for the country he led. Pushing New Zealand in more egalitarian directions than ever before, he was both the builder and the maintenance man – if not the architect – of our country.
Challenging popular opinion of New Zealand's longest-serving Prime Minister as a ruthless pragmatist, cunning misogynist and Imperialistic jingoist, this landmark biography of Seddon presents an altogether more sympathetic, erudite appraisal.
Reconciling two generations of New Zealand scholarship, 'Richard Seddon: King of God's Own' demonstrates that, while holding fast to common ideals, Seddon was successful by mastering the art of the possible. He knew instinctively what his electorate would tolerate and remained in step with public opinion. Despite contradictions in his attitudes towards other races, he fought to ensure privilege did not become entrenched in what he envisioned as a white man's utopia. In this perceptive new evaluation, political historian Tom Brooking explains Seddon's complex relationship with Maori and shows how he in fact held a progressively bi-cultural vision for the future of 'God's Own Country'.
Seddon was no saint. Somewhat autocratic and given to petty nepotism, he nevertheless remains the most dominant political leader in our country's history. Internationally, his high profile within the Empire helped put New Zealand on the map. Domestically, he sought a middle ground between free-market extremism and full-blown socialism. And more privately, Seddon was a devoted family man, his actions shaped much more by his supportive wife and assertive daughters than has previously been realised.
'Richard Seddon: King of God's Own' is a superlative achievement in New Zealand history writing. Absorbing, wide-ranging and beautifully articulated, it reframes and repositions one of the founding fathers of modern New Zealand.
***
'The definitive biography of one of New Zealand's most influential political leaders.'
—Paul Moon, author of New Zealand in the Twentieth Century
'King of God's Own is a nuanced and generous assessment of our most famous Premier, a man very much of his own time.'
—Gavin McLean, co-editor of the bestselling Frontier of Dreams: The Story of New Zealand
'An excellent biography, and a major revision of an important period in this country's history.'
—Barry Gustafson, acclaimed biographer of Sir Keith Holyoake, Sir Robert Muldoon and Michael Joseph Savage
Also available as an eBook
584 pages, Hardcover
First published August 29, 2014
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 18, 2019
Well mates, this is quite an extensive biography of Richard Seddon. Am I the target audience for this? Absolutely. Regardless, this is not only an excellent examination of Seddon as a leader, but is also a thorough overview of a significant period of New Zealand history, in which our government built our reputation a social laboratory, and 'God's Own Country'. At times this narrative is a little heavy on legislative detail, and Brooking's tone veers into scathing reference to other historical interpretations for brief moments. Ultimately, it's safe to say this is both the most thorough analysis of New Zealand's longest serving Prime Minister yet written, and it will likely stand as the definitive text on Seddon for a long time. A valuable contribution to the historical literature of our nation.
December 24, 2020
Would have given three stars due to the dry writing style of the author, but I appreciate the detail with which he wrote. The author focused the book extensively on Seddon's relations with the indigenous people of New Zealand more than to my liking. The author also seems to be writing primarily for readers from New Zealand as he gave little background on New Zealand's political situation, making it difficult for readers like me who do not come from New Zealand to understand certain portions of the book without resorting to Google.
November 5, 2022
If you like wading through tubs of unsweetened porridge, this heavy book is for you. Yes, the life was fascinating. No, the legislative detail was not. Ultimately the prose tipped the balance: three stars instead of four. Imagine reading more than four hundred pages to find out why the town Kumara, which Seddon was largely responsible for creating, was so named. And not finding out.
March 30, 2015
In two weeks I'll take part in a discussion of Brooking's landmark biography of Seddon at the annual meeting of the New Zealand and Australian Studies Section, Western Social Science Association. What I'm posting as a review here, then, are my rough notes for the discussion.
Big man - big book - by the country's leading historian. Rather an indulgent book. What's the rationale for this? The right historian for the task. Brooking takes account of old-country roots both as matters of cultural derivation and as continuing imperial influences, but at heart he is a New Zealander. In a historical profession that shies from affiliations, especially those of nation, and poses as cosmopolitan, he really cares about New Zealand, and about the country's dominating political figure--the closest thing the country has to a founding father--Seddon.
Many ways in which Seddon formed the political structure and culture of New Zealand, but the first time I folded over a page corner was p. 132: "Seddon helped change the style of politics irrevocably during the 1893 election campaign by imposing stricter party discipline than ever before and engaging with the electorate on an unprecedented scale." Seddon modernized NZ politics. This entailed a certain loss of innocence.
Extended treatment of Maori relations, with focus on Liberal land issues--pressure to acquire lands for settlement--leading historians to characterize Seddon "as a rapacious land-grabbing racist, and conniving colonialist" (256). This, Brooking argues, is "little more than caricature." He describes Seddon as clumsy and naive at first, but as entering into a prolonged learning curve. "Overall, a careful reconsideration of Seddon's relations with Maori suggests that his record was at worst mixed" (256).
Another big issue: Seddon's relationship with labour. Cranky historians have argued he did not really serve labour's interests, that he diverted workers from organization of a proper Labour Party. Brooking credits Seddon for holding Liberals, including the key "popular liberals," and labour in effective coalition. This was largely a matter of Seddon's own mana. My own take on this: I don't think Seddon was either liberal or labour. He was a conservative. More on that later.
Most affective moment in the book: Seddon carries Sir George Gray down the stairs of the Hotel Cecil (291-92).
Seddon's refusal to join Australian confederation, and his imperial posturing in the Pacific, actually make sense if you take them in context. Seddon was a imperial loyalist, but he had fundamental loyalities to New Zealand, also. He was a nation-builder. This carries over into the next topic -
Fascinating treatment of landscape preservation. "Seddon's passionate appeal reinforces the point that environmentalism is most relevant when it involves those working at the sharp end of the environmental encounter as he had done" (370). We need to talk about this.
Another historical dispute about Seddon: was he misogynist? Did he manipulate the suffrage issue? I'll leave this for others.
Most intriguing of all: Brooking's treatment of the final years of Seddon's regime, as he slides left with a sort of "Christian socialism." Working for the health of mothers and infants, enhancing old-age pensions, livable housing for working-class families. Socialism? I think not. Seddon does not speak of these things as entitlements, or rights. Rather, they are the right thing to do, things to be done as we are able. This is the definition of conservatism. Seddon was neither liberal nor labour.
Big man - big book - by the country's leading historian. Rather an indulgent book. What's the rationale for this? The right historian for the task. Brooking takes account of old-country roots both as matters of cultural derivation and as continuing imperial influences, but at heart he is a New Zealander. In a historical profession that shies from affiliations, especially those of nation, and poses as cosmopolitan, he really cares about New Zealand, and about the country's dominating political figure--the closest thing the country has to a founding father--Seddon.
Many ways in which Seddon formed the political structure and culture of New Zealand, but the first time I folded over a page corner was p. 132: "Seddon helped change the style of politics irrevocably during the 1893 election campaign by imposing stricter party discipline than ever before and engaging with the electorate on an unprecedented scale." Seddon modernized NZ politics. This entailed a certain loss of innocence.
Extended treatment of Maori relations, with focus on Liberal land issues--pressure to acquire lands for settlement--leading historians to characterize Seddon "as a rapacious land-grabbing racist, and conniving colonialist" (256). This, Brooking argues, is "little more than caricature." He describes Seddon as clumsy and naive at first, but as entering into a prolonged learning curve. "Overall, a careful reconsideration of Seddon's relations with Maori suggests that his record was at worst mixed" (256).
Another big issue: Seddon's relationship with labour. Cranky historians have argued he did not really serve labour's interests, that he diverted workers from organization of a proper Labour Party. Brooking credits Seddon for holding Liberals, including the key "popular liberals," and labour in effective coalition. This was largely a matter of Seddon's own mana. My own take on this: I don't think Seddon was either liberal or labour. He was a conservative. More on that later.
Most affective moment in the book: Seddon carries Sir George Gray down the stairs of the Hotel Cecil (291-92).
Seddon's refusal to join Australian confederation, and his imperial posturing in the Pacific, actually make sense if you take them in context. Seddon was a imperial loyalist, but he had fundamental loyalities to New Zealand, also. He was a nation-builder. This carries over into the next topic -
Fascinating treatment of landscape preservation. "Seddon's passionate appeal reinforces the point that environmentalism is most relevant when it involves those working at the sharp end of the environmental encounter as he had done" (370). We need to talk about this.
Another historical dispute about Seddon: was he misogynist? Did he manipulate the suffrage issue? I'll leave this for others.
Most intriguing of all: Brooking's treatment of the final years of Seddon's regime, as he slides left with a sort of "Christian socialism." Working for the health of mothers and infants, enhancing old-age pensions, livable housing for working-class families. Socialism? I think not. Seddon does not speak of these things as entitlements, or rights. Rather, they are the right thing to do, things to be done as we are able. This is the definition of conservatism. Seddon was neither liberal nor labour.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews