Ask Phoebe: Mystery of lost memorial to first great PM

The Seddon Memorial's unveiling at Royal Oak in 1909.

There is no longer a memorial in Auckland to Richard John Seddon, the first of our great prime ministers. Years ago, there was the Seddon Memorial Technical College, now partly Western Springs College and partly AUT, and the beautiful Seddon Memorial in the Royal Oak roundabout. In part this was used to support overhead wires for trams, but when they went, the memorial was pulled down. Is there any possibility that the memorial could be found and restored? Even a photograph would help. Graeme McDermott, New Lynn.

And here it is, kindly provided by Auckland City Library's Sir George Grey Special Collection. The picture was taken at the unveiling of the memorial at Royal Oak on July 7, 1909. But little is known about where it is today. The Auckland City Council's heritage manager, George Farrant, believes that the memorial was dismantled in about 1947, but subsequent arrangements for its disposal are unknown. Does anyone have more information about the memorial?

What happened to the timber from One Tree Hill's late lamented icon? Arch Thomson, Auckland.

It went to several places. The council's manager of parks services, Mark Bowater, says that when the Monterey pine was removed in October 2000, the main trunk logs were donated to Ngati Whatua, which had expressed an interest in carving them. The butt log section, taken from the base of the trunk, was given to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, which held it for some time before returning it to the council. Te Papa in Wellington has also made noises about displaying the butt log, but no decisions have been made yet. It remains in storage in a contractor's depot. A spokesman for Ngati Whatua says the iwi still has the logs but they are badly affected by insect infestation. They remain on Orakei Marae awaiting ideas for their use.

Are taxis and airport shuttles allowed in the Northern Busway lanes? I have often seen shuttle vans using them. Nate Hancock, North Shore.

Surprisingly, yes, they can. But for safety and operational reasons they must first get permission from the Transport Agency and the North Shore City Council. Bylaws allow bus operators, including tour buses and airport shuttle operators, to use the busway providing they have authorisation.

What is the correct procedure for pedestrians at pedestrian crossings? The law used to say that a person was not allowed to step out on to a crossing if there was a vehicle in the space between the warning diamond and the crossing itself. Is this still the case? Evan Taylor, Auckland.

The Road Code now states that a pedestrian should not step out on to a crossing if there is a vehicle so close that it cannot stop. And, in a change to the road rules made last year, there is now a requirement that drivers must also give way to pedestrians who are obviously waiting to cross at a pedestrian crossing. Failing to give way to a pedestrian on a pedestrian crossing, or one waiting to cross, can result in an infringement fine of $150. And pedestrians who are within 20m of a pedestrian crossing or traffic signals must use the crossing, footbridge, underpass or pedestrian traffic signals to cross the road.