Samuel Hurst Seager

Samuel Hurst Seager (Jr.) was a builder, draftsman, architect, town planner, architectural writer, lecturer, and industry advocate who spent much of his life in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Born in London, he emigrated with his parents to New Zealand in 1870, settling in Lyttelton where his father, a master builder, established himself as a contractor. His father died in 1874, leaving his son to continue running the firm (which he did until 1879). Seager also worked as an architectural draughtsman for B. W. Mountfort and A. W. Simpson, and Mountfort’s influence can be seen in his work.

From 1879-1882 Seager undertook studies at Canterbury College before travelling to London where, over the course of the next two years, he studied architecture at University College London, the National Art Training School, the Architectural Association, and the Royal Academy of Arts, and was invited to lecture at the National Art Training School in South Kensington. He was made an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1884 and a fellow in 1907. After a period of travel in Europe he returned to Christchurch well versed in the latest developments in European architecture.

In 1885 he won a competition to design the new Christchurch municipal buildings, and in 1887 married Hester Connon. After a brief period in Sydney (1891-1893) he returned to Christchurch and became a lecturer in Architecture and Decorative Design at the Canterbury College School of Art (1893-1903), and served on the college's board of governors from 1910-1919.

He helped introduce the Queen Anne style to Canterbury, was a leading designer of large houses in the English Domestic Revival style, and was one of the pioneers of the New Zealand bungalow. Notable examples of his work in Canterbury include Daresbury (1900), Clarisford (1914), the Macmillan Brown cottage (1901), The Spur development, three rest homes on Christchurch’s Summit Road (the Sign of the Bellbird, Sign of the Kiwi, and Sign of the Packhorse, 1917), and his scheme for the completion of the Canterbury College buildings.

Seager worked in a partnership with Cecil Wood from 1906-1912, designing workers' cottages including those built as part of the 1906 Heretaunga settlement in Petone. From 1910 his energies were increasingly directed towards town planning issues.

Seager lectured widely on town planning and the need for appropriate legislation. He was the government representative at the second Australian Town-planning Conference and Exhibition (Brisbane, 1918), and the organising director of the first New Zealand Town-planning Conference and Exhibition (Wellington, 1919). The success of the conference, and the subsequent enactment of the Town-planning Act 1926, owed much to Seager's foresight, commitment and energy. In recognition of this work he was appointed a CBE in 1926.

Following the First World War, Seager campaigned for improved aesthetic standards in memorials, organising a travelling exhibition of model designs in 1920 and writing a government report on war memorials. As official architect of New Zealand battlefield memorials he spent much time abroad from 1920 to 1925. His overseas memorials include Longueval and Le Quesnoy in France, Messines in Belgium and Chunuk Bair in Gallipoli.

An internationally respected authority on the lighting of art galleries, the topside lighting system invented by Seager, is now used in art galleries throughout the world.

He was president of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1926 and a member of the council and chairman of the Canterbury branch at various times between 1911 and 1926. He was also a pioneering advocate for the preservation of historic buildings and, as a writer and lecturer, promoted a wider understanding of architecture and its history.

Around 1929 he moved to Wellington. After two years, in declining health he retired to Turramurra, in Sydney, where he died on 5 October 1933, survived by his wife, Hester.

Biography adapted from Ian J. Lochhead. 'Seager, Samuel Hurst', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.

See also:

• Ian J. Lochhead. 'Seager, Samuel Hurst', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1996, updated May, 2002. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, (accessed 11 April 2025)
• Samuel Hurst Seager - Wikipedia
• Samuel Hurst Seager (1858-1933) | University of Canterbury
• Seager, Samuel Hurst, 1855-1933 | Items | National Library of New Zealand