Seddon is a small town in Marlborough, at the Northern end of the South Island. It is 25 kilometres south of Blenheim, close to the mouths of the Awatere and Blind Rivers and the Lake Grassmere salt works.

In 1899, the 14,000ha Starborough Estate, covering the Seddon area, was divided up into 260ha holdings. The railway from Picton reached Seddon in 1902. World War 1 slowed railway construction southwards from Seddon, and work did not resume until 1928.

The distinctive 325m Awatere Bridge was completed in 1901. The railway line travelled over the top deck of the bridge with the road below. It was part of State Highway 1 for 105 years. But a modern road bridge was built beside it in 2007 and now only trains use the historic bridge.

Today much of Seddon’s farmland is made up of vineyards and there are a number of wineries close to the township. The Awatere River Wine Company planted the first grapes in the Awatere Valley in the 1980s. And the enormous Yealands Estate, recognised as the world’s most sustainable winery, is also nearby.