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William Hayward Wakefield (1801 – 19 September 1848) was an English colonel, the leader of the first colonising expedition to New Zealand and one of the founders of
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...
. As a leader, he attracted much controversy.


Early life

William Wakefield was born just outside London in 1801, the son of Edward Wakefield (1774–1854), a distinguished surveyor and land agent, and Susanna Crush (1767–1816). His grandmother,
Priscilla Wakefield Priscilla Wakefield, ''nee'' Priscilla Bell (31 January 1751 – 12 September 1832) was an English Quaker philanthropist. Her writings cover feminist economics and scientific subjects and include children's non-fiction.Ann B. Shteir, "Wakefield ...
(1751–1832), was a popular author for the young, and one of the introducers of savings banks. He was the brother of: Catherine Gurney Wakefield (1793–1873), the mother of
Charles Torlesse Charles Obins Torlesse (2 May 1825 – 14 November 1866) was a prominent surveyor for the Canterbury Association in Canterbury, New Zealand. Biography Torlesse was born in Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk, England, in 1825. He was the eldest son of ...
(1825–1866);
Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Brit ...
(1796–1862);
Daniel Wakefield Daniel Wakefield (1776–1846) was a writer on political economy. Life Daniel, born in 1776, was the second son of Edward Wakefield (1750–1826), merchant, of London, by his wife Priscilla Bell, daughter of Daniel Bell. Edward Wakefield (1774 ...
(1798–1858);
Arthur Wakefield Captain Arthur Wakefield (19 November 1799 – 17 June 1843) served with the Royal Navy, before joining his brother, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, in founding the new settlement at Nelson, New Zealand. Early life Arthur Wakefield was born in Essex, a ...
(1799–1843); John Howard Wakefield (1803–1862); Felix Wakefield (1807–1875); Priscilla Susannah Wakefield (1809–1887); Percy Wakefield (1810–1832); and an unnamed child born in 1813. Wakefield was largely raised by his elder sister, Catherine, who found him a difficult child. As he grew older he came very much under the influence of his elder brother, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who was not always a good influence on his life. In 1825, Wakefield became formally betrothed to Emily Sidney but, before they could be married, he became involved with his elder brother Edward in the abduction of a wealthy heiress and both brothers were arrested. Then, while out on bail, Wakefield absconded to Paris, apparently to meet up with Emily who was now three months
pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...
. He returned to England when the baby was born and was promptly arrested and held in Lancaster Castle until his trial. He was subsequently sentenced to three years in jail. During this time Emily, his 'wife', died leaving him with a six-month-old daughter, Emily. Upon his release from jail, Wakefield spent some time with his daughter at his sister Catherine's. Then in 1832 he travelled to
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
and enlisted as a mercenary soldier in the service of
Dom Pedro Dom Pedro (''Lord Peter'') is the traditional Portuguese appellation of several kings of Portugal: * Peter I of Portugal * Peter II of Portugal * Peter III of Portugal * Pedro IV of Portugal * Pedro V of Portugal and of the two 19th-century Emperors ...
, the Emperor of
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Although he had no military experience he was apparently able to enlist as a Captain. He survived the
Siege of Porto The siege of Porto is considered the period between July 1832 and August 1833 in which the troops of Dom Pedro remained besieged by the forces of Dom Miguel I of Portugal. The resistance of the city of Porto and the troops of Dom Pedro made ...
and the subsequent campaigning, but he gained little from it except experience and a handful of medals. After the Portuguese Campaign, he returned briefly to England and enlisted in the
British Auxiliary Legion The British Auxiliary Legion, also called the British Legion (''La Legión Británica'') or Westminster Legion, existed from 1835 to 1837. It was a British military force sent to Spain to support the Liberals and Queen Isabella II of Spain against ...
fighting for the infant Queen
Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the succes ...
in the
First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Spanish monarchy: the conservative and devolutionist ...
. He emerged from the campaign as a major, re-enlisted and was promoted to Colonel. Among his junior officers was Henry Inman (police commander). Wakefield was one of the few officers to survive the campaign; he stayed until the Legion was disbanded in 1837 and returned to England the following year.


New Zealand

In early 1839 the
New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model focused on the systematic colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principl ...
in London was hurriedly organising its first expedition, because they were anxious to get it underway before the government stopped them. They already had a ship, the ''Tory''. At the suggestion of his brother, Edward Gibbon, they appointed Wakefield as the commander of the expedition. The ''Tory'' sailed from Plymouth on 12 May 1839, with Wakefield as sole and unqualified leader of the expedition. He also had a very full and complete set of instructions about their activities in New Zealand. The instructions came under three headings: the purchase of land for the New Zealand Company, the acquisition of knowledge about New Zealand, and preparation for the formation of settlements. Wakefield was expected to treat the Māori with the utmost fairness. Wakefield's first sight of New Zealand was not encouraging: successive ranges of formidable mountains. They took on supplies of wood and water at Ship Cove in Queen Charlotte Sound and met their first Māori, who were very interested in trading. One of the offers Wakefield firmly rejected was that of their wives and daughters for the comfort of the sailors. After five weeks in the
Marlborough Sounds The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of sea-drowned valleys at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand. The Marlborough Sounds were created by a combination of land subsidence and rising sea levels. According to Māori ...
in the
South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
, the ''Tory'' sailed over to Te Whanganui a Tara ("The Big Harbour of Tara") and
Port Nicholson A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...
. Here he began serious negotiations for the purchase of land. The negotiations involved two tribes or iwi, Ngati Toa and Te Atiawa; it involved sixteen chiefs, and after five days a deal was made that apparently pleased everyone. It was subsequently endorsed by the paramount chief of the area, Te Rauparaha. Strong objections were raised by Te Rauparaha's nephew,
Te Rangihaeata Te Rangihaeata ( 1780s – 18 November 1855), was a Ngāti Toa chief, nephew of Te Rauparaha. He had a leading part in the Wairau Affray and the Hutt Valley Campaign. Early life A member of the Ngāti Toa, he was born at Kawhia around 1780. Hi ...
. The purchase completed, Wakefield and the ''Tory'' set out to explore a bit more of New Zealand sailing up the west coast. They were impressed with the potential of the
Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...
area for further settlement. They then sailed up to the Hokianga, made contact with the traders, and looked at buying land in that district. However, the expedition was curtailed when the ''Tory'' ran aground in Hokianga Harbour. The ship was saved but it needed extensive repairs.


Wellington settlement

Wakefield arrived back in Port Nicholson in early January 1840. The first of the settlers’ ships arrived on 21 January with five others coming in over the next few weeks. However, as the settlers prepared to begin building their new homes it became apparent that the land around
Petone Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in P ...
was not suitable, being too swampy. A new site had to be selected and
Lambton Harbour Lambton is the name of several places and people: People * Viscount Lambton, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom associated with the Earls of Durham *Anne Lambton (born 1954), an actress *Antony Lambton (1922–2006), formerly 6th Earl of ...
was chosen, a few kilometres further west. The newly chosen site was already occupied by Māori, being one of their residential areas. Wakefield was quite clear that he had bought and paid for the land on behalf of the New Zealand Company but it soon emerged that despite his efforts the Māori had not fully understood the nature of the deal. They had expected to share the land with the Pakeha and were most unwilling to move. The Waitangi Tribunal investigated the company's 1839 Port Nicholson deed of purchase, declared it invalid. Reasons given were that Māori were never paid for some , the boundaries weren't clear, not all those with customary rights signed the deed and those who did sign didn't understand it, as it was in English and Richard Barrett's translation missed or confused several important facts. To make matters worse the missionary Henry Williams appeared in the district with copies of the
Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the History of New Zealand, history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in ...
for Māori to sign. Furthermore, he was claiming some of the land the New Zealand Company had purchased. Wakefield was furious as he recognised that Williams’s claims were made for selfish reasons but he granted him one acre (4,000 m²) of town land for his personal ownership. Williams was soon to be dismissed and disgraced by the Church Missionary Society for defrauding the Māori. Meanwhile, another problem was looming; the consequences of the furtive and hurried way in which the New Zealand Company had established the settlement ahead of the establishment of British Sovereignty. Naturally, the new governor,
William Hobson Captain William Hobson (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi. Hobson was dispatched from London in July 1 ...
, resented their actions. The Settlers' Council was seen as an attempt to establish an illegal republic. The Acting Colonial Secretary Willoughby Shortland was dispatched with soldiers and mounted police to disband the illegal organisation. Wakefield strongly believed that Port Nicholson's central position made it the obvious choice to be New Zealand's capital and seat of government. However, Hobson chose Auckland, he probably recognised that Port Nicholson was dominated by the New Zealand Company. Meanwhile, Shortland was scrutinising the details of the land purchase very critically. When the General Legislative Council was formed in May 1841, Hobson appointed Wakefield as one of its members. After the first session had ended, Wakefield's membership terminated in September 1841. Other problems arose. Many of the settlers were not happy with the land they had been allocated, others were not getting the land they had paid for. To satisfy its commitments the New Zealand Company needed about 500 km², which was difficult given the lack of arable land in the Wellington area. Furthermore, Wakefield's nephew, Jerningham Wakefield, was causing concern, drinking heavily and fornicating with Māori women. Altogether Wakefield was beset on all sides, and seemed to withdraw into himself; one of the settlers described him as "the coldest mannered man they have met". Despite all the difficulties, the colony thrived, Port Nicholson or Brittania became Wellington and continued to grow. The death of his brother Arthur in the Wairau Affray (as it is now called, rather than ''Massacre'') was a huge blow particularly as Wakefield felt partly responsible. Governor Hobson died in September 1842 and was replaced by Robert FitzRoy. Initially Fitzroy and Wakefield clashed seriously, particularly when FitzRoy declined to take any action against his brother's killers, as the settler party was acting illegally over a questionable land claim. There was continuing criticism of the land deals the New Zealand Company had made. Wakefield felt he had been honest but very few of the government agreed with him. Several of the deals were renegotiated and the putative owners paid a second time. Gradually though the Land Claims Commissioner, William Spain, swung around. Over the next few years Wakefield was involved in disputes with the Crown, with the Māori and with his own surveyors. These disputes meant that the colonist land titles were delayed by months or years leading in turn to disputes with the various settlements. One of the undertakings of the New Zealand Company was that labourers going to the colony were guaranteed work. Because of the delays Wakefield had no work for them and this caused further anger, at one stage Nelson was almost in a state of armed rebellion against the Company’s agents. Wakefield and the Company simply did not have the resources to carry out their commitments. The situation was made worse by Wakefield's personality; he demonstrated no sign of any leadership qualities and was unwilling to take any initiative in dealing with the problems. His time was apparently spent writing letters back to London describing the wonderful progress being made. When confronted with problems he blustered, cajoled, and criticised, but he would not do anything. By April 1844 he had alienated practically every colonist. One of them wrote: "The baneful influence of Colonel Wakefield has ruined every settler and the colony of Port Nicholson." Early in 1842 Wakefield had been joined in New Zealand by his daughter, Emily, then sixteen years old. Shortly afterwards she became engaged to Francis Molesworth, but it was broken off when ill health after receiving an injury forced him to return to England (Molesworth died in 1846). Then in late 1845 she met
Edward Stafford Edward Stafford may refer to: People *Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (1470–1498) *Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1478–1521), executed for treason * Edward Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford (1535–1603) *Sir Edward Stafford (diplom ...
of Nelson and they were married the following year. In March 1847 Wakefield fought a duel with his doctor,
Isaac Featherston Isaac Earl Featherston (21 March 1813 – 19 June 1876) was a New Zealand politician, and was known for his advocacy for the establishment of New Zealand self-government, and the importance of the provincial governments. Early life and family ...
, over an editorial in the Wellington Independent newspaper that questioned his honesty. Featherstone fired first and missed then Wakefield fired into the air. Wakefield suffered a mild stroke early in 1848 and then a more severe one in August. On 15 September 1848, while at the bathhouse, he collapsed; there were soon three doctors on the scene but to no avail and he died four days later in a room at the
Wellington Hotel Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
(known as Alzdorfs after the proprietor Baron von Alzdorf). He was given what amounted to a state funeral, Governor
George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, ...
attended as did nearly half of Wellington, both Māori and Pakeha, the Māori Chief, Hōniana Te Puni-kōkopu, was one of his pallbearers. Soon after his death, his friends began to fund-raise for a memorial, but it was not until 1882 that the William Wakefield Memorial was unveiled at the Basin Reserve. The memorial is registered as a Category I heritage structure by the Heritage New Zealand with registration number 1441.


Notes


References

* from the ''
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went onlin ...
'' *
Biography
in 1966 ''
An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand ''An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand'' is an official encyclopaedia about New Zealand, published in three volumes by the New Zealand Government in 1966. Edited by Alexander Hare McLintock, the parliamentary historian, assisted by two others, the ...
'' *Temple, Philip (2002).''A sort of conscience: The Wakefields''. Auckland: Auckland University Press. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wakefield, William 1803 births 1848 deaths Criminals from London New Zealand people of English descent Wellington City New Zealand duellists British Auxiliary Legion personnel Burials at Bolton Street Cemetery
William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
Military personnel from London Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council (1841–1853) Settlers of New Zealand History of Wellington