Sedcole Flagpole is a tall timber structure located in central business area of the northern Wairarapa rural service town of Pahiatua. Constructed in 1900, Sedcole Flagpole is a prominent landmark on one of Pahiatua’s distinctive Main Street squares.
European settlement in the Wairarapa was gradual and began from the south after lengthy negotiations between the Crown and iwi in the early 1850s. Settlement further north was delayed which meant Pahiatua was founded in the early 1880s after local landowners, including the Sedcole family, subdivided their land to provide town sections. Pahiatua quickly rose to become the main service town in the district despite the early setback of the railway by-passing the town. When Pahiatua was planned Main Street was made three times the width usually required in order for the rail reserve to run down its centre. When this extra space became surplus the County Council decided to create recreational ‘squares’ in the large median strip. In a period when Pahiatua was gaining public institutions, such as Post Office and police, Henry Sedcole donated a flagpole in order for the local community to have a focal point to mark civic occasions and important events. After this initial structure, further commemorative monuments and public facilities were gradually added to the squares.
Sedcole Flagpole is approximately 18 metres tall, constructed from timber, and consists of a mast, topmast, and yardarms, secured at various points to the ground by guy-wires. In 1972 the continuance of the structure required a restoration project undertaken by the local council. Later in the twentieth century a picnic shelter was constructed around the base of Sedcole Flagpole, which changed the function of the structure.
As a place directly associated with an important local family who were involved in the founding and development of Pahiatua, Sedcole Flagpole has local historical importance. It is also of value because its construction was a marker of the maturing of the town, coinciding with the creation of other civic institutions in Pahiatua. The social significance of Sedcole Flagpole is inherent in its function, which it maintained for most of the twentieth century, as a place for local people to commemorate or celebrate important events and occasions.
European settlement in the Wairarapa was gradual and began from the south after lengthy negotiations between the Crown and iwi in the early 1850s. Settlement further north was delayed which meant Pahiatua was founded in the early 1880s after local landowners, including the Sedcole family, subdivided their land to provide town sections. Pahiatua quickly rose to become the main service town in the district despite the early setback of the railway by-passing the town. When Pahiatua was planned Main Street was made three times the width usually required in order for the rail reserve to run down its centre. When this extra space became surplus the County Council decided to create recreational ‘squares’ in the large median strip. In a period when Pahiatua was gaining public institutions, such as Post Office and police, Henry Sedcole donated a flagpole in order for the local community to have a focal point to mark civic occasions and important events. After this initial structure, further commemorative monuments and public facilities were gradually added to the squares.
Sedcole Flagpole is approximately 18 metres tall, constructed from timber, and consists of a mast, topmast, and yardarms, secured at various points to the ground by guy-wires. In 1972 the continuance of the structure required a restoration project undertaken by the local council. Later in the twentieth century a picnic shelter was constructed around the base of Sedcole Flagpole, which changed the function of the structure.
As a place directly associated with an important local family who were involved in the founding and development of Pahiatua, Sedcole Flagpole has local historical importance. It is also of value because its construction was a marker of the maturing of the town, coinciding with the creation of other civic institutions in Pahiatua. The social significance of Sedcole Flagpole is inherent in its function, which it maintained for most of the twentieth century, as a place for local people to commemorate or celebrate important events and occasions.
Sedcole Flagpole | Karen Astwood | 10/08/2010 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Upper section of mast and topmast | Karen Astwood | 10/08/2010 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Lower mast and picnic shelter | Karen Astwood | 10/08/2010 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Sedcole Flagpole | Karen Astwood | 10/08/2010 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Upper section of mast and topmast | Karen Astwood | 10/08/2010 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Lower mast and picnic shelter | Karen Astwood | 10/08/2010 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
