Hannan Seddon

History

The Very Beginning

Our origins are in Kaiapoi in 1892.  The Corcoran name first appears with Edmund Corcoran in 1923 and in 1930 the firm became Papprill, Salter & Corcoran.  In 1956 E.J. Corcoran was joined in partnership by his son, Anthony Robin Corcoran.  Other partners have included K.H Thwaites (1963) and R.T. Brown (1965) with the firm name E J Corcoran Son Thwaites & Brown.  The French connection started in 1975 when Michael French joined the firm.  The firm was renamed Corcoran French and has retained that name since 1988. 

Kaiapoi Office

Our Kaiapoi presence dates back to 1892, in a wooden office on the corner of Charles-Williams (then Cookson) Streets.  Fire destroyed the building in the 1920s and a new building was put in its place.

After another major fire in 1976 led to the demolition of surrounding buildings, the partners decided to build the town's first major office block a short distance along the street.  The three storey building was the most significant business building in Kaiapoi at the time.  The new building named "Ngai Tahu Court" opened in 1978.  (Corcoran French had a long standing connection with Ngai Tahu).

 

Christchurch Office

The Christchurch presence commenced in a small office in New Regent Street in 1954.  In 1982, with the building no longer big enough, the firm shifted to Gloucester Street where it remained until the 2011 earthquake.  After a short temporary relocation to our Kaiapoi office, in December 2011 we moved back into Christchurch, 166 Moorhouse Avenue.  2017 saw us move to a new block at the same address.

Other Offices 

Corcoran French had offices in New Brighton from 1985 to  2015.  A Belfast office was opened in 2001 operating from the Harcourts premises but it was only a few years before this was no longer needed.  Since 1993 we have worked with Harcourts Akaroa and continue to regularly meet clients in their offices.

Walker Rodger

 

 

 

Michael Walker merged his practice with Corcoran French in 2012, continuing as a consultant until his retirement in 2015.

 

 

 

 

Hannan & Seddon

2021 saw Hannan & Seddon become part of Corcoran French, continuing to operate from it's usual premises in Greymouth, with the support and additional expertise of Corcoran French's Christchurch and Kaiapoi teams.

The Hannan & Seddon firm goes back to 1867.  Since then, the firm of Hannan & Seddon has operated from only 3 locations, and at the first of those for 115 years.  The Hannan name comes from Michael Hannan, whose son Jack joined the firm in 1908 and remained with the firm until 1974.  The Seddon name comes from T E Y Seddon (the son of Premier Richard John Seddon), who joined the firm in the 1920's, resulting in the name Hannan & Seddon since then.  Tony Sullivan joined the firm in 1985 and Colin Smith in 1988.

Present Partners

Rachael Robertson

Mark Henderson

Christine Eastgate

Shehan de Silva

Michael Bendall

Rowan Aspros

Richard Hearn

Colin Smith (not pictured)

Ryan Keen 

Brett Kilbride