24 Facts About Alfred Ludlam

Alfred Ludlam was a leading New Zealand politician, horticulturist and farmer who owned land at Wellington and in the Hutt Valley.

Alfred Ludlam is listed as a "cabin passenger" aboard the 700-ton emigrant vessel London, which sailed under the auspices of the New Zealand Company.

Alfred Ludlam assisted the Lower Hutt militia during the New Zealand Wars, which pitted the British colonists against the indigenous Maori tribes.

Alfred Ludlam served in the militia as Captain Ludlam from July 1860 onwards.

Alfred Ludlam resigned his seat before the conclusion of both the 1st and 2nd Parliaments.

Alfred Ludlam was nicknamed "Old Bricks" because of his solid, reliable character and stern appearance.

Alfred Ludlam was a Legislative Councillor from 1855 to 1863, impressing Ludlam with the strength of his belief in noblesse oblige community service and his advocacy of high ethical standards.

Alfred Ludlam's holdings included real estate in Ghuznee Street, Wellington, and he owned a substantial riverside farm at Waiwhetu in Lower Hutt, where he ran flocks of sheep and developed a reputation as an expert in horticulture.

Alfred Ludlam had purchased the Waiwhetu farm from fellow-pioneer Francis Molesworth in the mid-1840s, calling it Newry after his home town in Ireland.

Alfred Ludlam built a large house at Newry in 1848, replacing the farm's first homestead.

In 1860 Alfred Ludlam imported the first Romney Marsh sheep from England into New Zealand, instituting a successful ovine breeding programme at a purpose-built stud at Newry.

Alfred Ludlam opened a beautiful landscaped garden at Newry in 1868.

Alfred Ludlam called it The Gums as a tribute to Australia's native eucalyptus trees, which he had studied.

Alfred Ludlam supported the Wellington Colonial Museum and was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the Wellington Botanic Garden in 1869, having introduced into the New Zealand Parliament legislation to "establish and regulate" the garden.

Alfred Ludlam introduced an act of parliament which entrusted management of the Botanic Garden to the New Zealand Institute.

Alfred Ludlam was a periodic visitor to the Australian colony of New South Wales.

The main reason for these trans-Tasman visits of Alfred Ludlam's was to do business in the City of Sydney, which served as New South Wales' principal trading port, population centre and seat of government.

Alfred Ludlam found time to socialise while in Sydney and, on 1 October 1850, he married into Sydney's colonial establishment.

Alfred Ludlam had been head of the New South Wales Customs Service since 1834 and occupied a Crown-nominee's seat in the New South Wales Legislative Council.

Alfred Ludlam liked to garden on a serious scale, providing her husband with vital help in the completion of his various horticultural projects at Newry.

Alfred Ludlam had developed a chronic kidney ailment, and sensing that his days were now numbered, devoted himself to helping needy people and supporting good causes.

Alfred Ludlam died at a house in Hobart Street, Wellington, on 8 November 1877 and was buried four days later in Bolton Street Cemetery.

Alfred Ludlam was not survived by any children and his grave was destroyed during the 1960s by the construction of the Wellington Urban Motorway.

Alfred Ludlam's gravestone was relocated and can be found near the Bolton Street Chapel.