Seeing a hand waving at some distance in the dam, he immediately plunged in, and, after a long struggle, succeeded in bringing the man to the edge. By this time others had come, and the two were hauled up on to the embankment. The miner was unconscious, and Mr. Seddon was almost exhausted. After he had changed his clothes, he returned to see how the rescued man was getting on, naturally expecting to receive an expression of thanks. To his surprise he was addressed in an aggrieved tone. “See here, they tell me that you pulled me out; I don’t believe it, and I’ll swim you for a pound in the morning; it was the load strapped on my back that caused the trouble.”
Another story which has often been told on the Coast relates that a bully, who had made things intolerable, insulted Mr. Seddon. This resulted in a fight and a complete victory for the man from Victoria. During the combat the brother of the bully had been profuse in advice and direction, and when the bully was beaten, Mr. Seddon challenged the brother to come into the circle, but he refused to do so. The second challenge appealed to the diggers’ fancy, and, shouldering Mr. Seddon, they carried him to the township amidst hearty cheers.
The year 1869 was an eventful one for him in more ways than one. It was the year of his marriage, as has been stated, and it was the year in which he entered definitely upon his career as a public man.
On one day he offered himself to the miners as their representative on two local bodies, the Arahura Road Board and the Westland County Council. Bad tracks and worse roads were the grievances that actually called him forth. There had been great neglect on the part of the local authorities that controlled road-making work in the district. There were many complaints from the miners, but not the slightest notice was taken of them.
The miners thought that the young agitator would stir the authorities into some kind of activity. They therefore elected him at the head of the poll for the seat on the Road Board, but, being convinced that he was too young to take part in the work of the larger body, they made him stand by in preference to an older man. Only a few years passed, however, before he
