Pahiatua's Sedcole Flagpole donated to descendants

Ian Bailey with his son Dominic, loading the Sedcole Flagpole at Sedco Engineering where it has been stored.

By Steve Carle

Pahiatua's centrepiece Sedcole Flagpole will have many homes soon as it is cut up and mounted with plaques for any Sedcole descendants.

The historic Sedcole flagpole was removed from Main St in November 2015 to be restored. The engineering report undertaken concluded the flagpole was beyond repair, being split over the majority of its length and therefore considered structurally unsound and unsafe. A new flagpole will be erected as part of the Main St upgrade.

The Sedcoles moved to Pahiatua in 1882. In 1900 Henry Sedcole designed a flagpole for Pahiatua and erected it in Main St in November. The official unfurling on February 13, 1901 had been greatly anticipated locally.

Helping to erect the flagpole was the grandfather of local Ian Bailey, William Joseph Sedcole.

Dignitaries in attendance included the Acting Premier, Joseph Ward (1856-1930), and Charles Haughton Mills (1844-1923). As such, a large gathering of people were reported to have attended the ceremony and the presence of these gentlemen, as well as the contribution of Henry Sedcole, inspired rounds of applause.

Given his involvement in the timber industry the wood construction of the flagpole was appropriate, and to crown this civically-minded gesture his youngest daughter, Annie, made the first flag unfurl, using the newly erected flagpole.

The Sedcole Flagpole has social value because it was the first public structure in Pahiatua's distinctive Main St squares and helped cement the future function of the land as a place for commemorative structures and recreational use.

The flagpole continued to preside over the squares, however, by 1972 its structural integrity was questioned. It was suggested that the flagpole be removed and replaced with a fountain but this was avoided when the local council initiated a restoration project. Later, in the 1980s a picnic shelter was attached to the lower half of the Sedcole Flagpole.

The Sedcoles were embroiled in one of the most sensational poisoning cases known in New Zealand in 1892. William Joseph Sedcole got married to Miss Naylor.

"The wedding caused some controversy between the families," said Ian Bailey. " At the wedding function in the evening, somebody mixed in arsenic with the cold meat."

Two people died as a result of the poison, while a number of others were seriously ill. Peter Dickson, draper, and Joseph Moore, farmer, died within a couple of days and post mortems led to the belief that arsenic poisoning was the cause. Murder was even suspected, according to a report in the Hawera & Normanby Star. It remains an unsolved mystery.

Ian Bailey intends to try and contact as many of the direct descendants of Henry Sedcole as possible to offer them a piece of the flagpole.

"I'm looking at getting plaques made to go on a wall with appropriate inscription to commemorate the erection of the flagpole and to record its demise in 2015," he said.

"Henry had five or six children, a daughter married a Bentley and these are the ones I'm hoping will contact me (email me on ianb@xtra.co.nz)."