Alfred Ludlam - Final Illness, Death & Burial

Final Illness, Death & Burial

Following the loss of Fanny, a despondent Ludlam returned to New Zealand. He had developed a chronic kidney ailment, and sensing that his days were now numbered, devoted himself to helping needy people and supporting good causes. Ludlam died at a house in Hobart Street, Wellington, on 8 November 1877 and was buried four days later in Bolton Street Cemetery. His death certificate (registration number 1877/2787) ascribed the cause of his demise to "Bright's disease" (an old-fashioned term for nephritis) and "acute peritonitis".

Ludlam was aged 67 when he died. The final phase of his life had been devoted to charitable works, and his passing was sincerely mourned by a wide circle of friends, acquaintances and beneficiaries. He was not survived by any children and his grave was destroyed during the 1960s by the construction of the Wellington Urban Motorway. An official photograph of him is preserved, however, in the archives of the library of the Parliament of New Zealand in Wellington. Ludlam Street in the Wellington suburb of Seatoun and Ludlam Crescent at Lower Hutt perpetuate his name.