Edward Gibbon Wakefield | NZ Ancestor Search Helper

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Registration	Family Name	Given Name(s)	Born (approx.)	Age at Death (approx.)
1862/2736	Wakefield	Edward Gibbon	1796	66Y	Order Product

Registration1862/2736

Family NameWakefield Given Name(s)Edward Gibbon Born (approx.)1796 Age at Death (approx.)66Y

Otago Nominal Index

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Source: Hocken Collections

Surname	Forename	Address	Event Place	Date
WAKEFIELD	Edward Gibbon		Otago	1837-1839

WAKEFIELD	Edward Gibbon	the New Zealand Company	Otago	31 Mar 1898

SurnameWAKEFIELD ForenameEdward Gibbon Event PlaceOtago Date1837-1839

SurnameWAKEFIELD ForenameEdward Gibbon Addressthe New Zealand Company Event PlaceOtago Date31 Mar 1898

Our Stuff - Denise & Peter's NZ history site

Edward Gibbon Wakefield 🔍 ASH

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Search URL: https://search.freefind.com/find.html?id=39508558&pageid=r&mode=ALL&n=0&_charset_=UTF-8&bcd=%D1%97&query=%22Wakefield+Edward+Gibbon%22

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Source: Our Stuff by Denise and Peter on Rootsweb / "All information, lists and stories on this site may be freely linked to"

Elect1858Q-Z
Wellington Tce Settler Wakefield Edward Gibbon Tinakori Rd Settler Wakelin George Willis St Cabinet maker Wakelin Richard Mulgrave St Government clerk Waldegrave John James
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ourstuff/genealogy/Elect1858Q-Z.htm

Elect1857Q-Z
Wellington Tce Settler Wakefield Edward Gibbons Tinakori Rd Settler Wakelin George Willis St Cabinet maker Wakelin Richard Mulgrave St Government Clerk Wakelin Thomas Molesworth
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ourstuff/genealogy/Elect1857Q-Z.htm

ElectoralRol1857K-P
Wellington Tce Settler Wakefield Edward Gibbon Tinakori Rd Settler Wakelin George Willis St Cabinet Maker Wakelin Richard Mulgrave St Government Clerk Wakelin Thomas Molesworth St
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ourstuff/genealogy/Elect1856Q-Z.htm

Elect1854Q-Z
Jerningham Christchurch Settler Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wellington Settler Wakelin George Willis St Cabinetmaker Wakelin Richard Lambton Qu Coffee House Keeper Wakelin Thomas
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ourstuff/genealogy/Elect1854Q-Z.htm

Elect1855 Q-Z
Barrister at law Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wellington Settler Wakelin George Willis St Cabinet maker Wakelin Richard Mulgrave St Clerk Wakelin Thomas Molesworth St Builder
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ourstuff/genealogy/Elect1855Q-Z.htm

Minerva
Mrs Sneyd Mr Wakefield Edward Gibbon Second Cabin Passengers Cuff Mr Mrs 5 children Cuff Miss Miss Docker Mr Fletcher Miss Graham Mr Knowles John Mrs Child Knowles Mrs Senior
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ourstuff/genealogy/Minerva1853.htm

StPaulsS-Z
Judge, Supreme Court Wakefield Edward Gibbon 66 16th May 1862 Gentleman Wakefield Selina Elizabeth - 20th August 1848 Wakefield William 47 19th September 1848 Principal Agent to
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ourstuff/genealogy/StPaulsS-Z.htm

NZ Genealogy Research Made Easy

Edward Gibbon Wakefield 🔍 ASH

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Search URL: https://search.freefind.com/find.html?si=20870511&pid=r&n=0&_charset_=UTF-8&bcd=%C3%B7&query=%22Wakefield%2C+Edward+Gibbon%22+OR+%22Edward+Gibbon+Wakefield%22&submit=search

Retrieved at 2:30pm, 28 March 2025 in 0.935 seconds

Source: New Zealand Genealogy Research Made Easy, by Barbara Andrew / "pages may be freely linked"

burials
Judge, Supreme Court Wakefield Edward Gibbon 66 16th May 1862 Gentleman Wakefield Selina Elizabeth - 20th August 1848 Wakefield William 47 19th September 1848 Principal Agent to
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~babznz/genealogy/burials.html

Alexander Turnbull Library

Wakefield, Edward Gibbon 🔍 ASH

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Search URL: https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/imu/request.php

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Showing first 20 results

Source: Alexander Turnbull Library by National Library / CC BY 3.0 NZ

TitleLoose correspondence SummaryMS-Papers-9512-52. Loose correspondence. [ca 1951-2007]. Wakefield family : Papers (MS-Group-1801). [Item]

TitleTransparencies relating to the Wakefield family SummaryPA12-7930. Transparencies relating to the Wakefield family. [1860s?]. Wakefield family :Photographs (PA-Group-00566). [Item]

TitlePapers relating to proceedings of seminar on Edward Gibbon Wakefield SummaryMS-Papers-11386-20. Papers relating to proceedings of seminar on Edward Gibbon Wakefield. 1996-1997. Friends of the Turnbull Library : Records (MS-Group-1585). [Item]

TitleHouse where Edward Gibbon Wakefield died, The Terrace, Wellington Summary1/2-031729-F. House where Edward Gibbon Wakefield died, The Terrace, Wellington. [186-?]. Allom, Albert James, 1825-1909 : Photographs from the Allom collection of Edward Gibbon Wakefield papers (PAColl-8688). [Item] Thumbnail

TitleCentennial Memorial Lookout under construction, Mount Victoria, Wellington SummaryPAColl-7796-28. Centennial Memorial Lookout under construction, Mount Victoria, Wellington. [ca 20 Nov 1939]. Evening post (Newspaper. 1865-2002) :Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post newspaper (PA-Group-00287). [Piece] Thumbnail

TitleA J Harrop - Scrapbook of cuttings relating to The amazing career of Edward Gibbon Wakefield SummaryMS-Papers-10818-32. A J Harrop - Scrapbook of cuttings relating to The amazing career of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. 1928-1929. Thwaite, Ann, 1932- : Papers relating to the Harrop and Valentine families (MS-Group-1967). [Item]

TitleRecording of a talk by Irma O'Connor on the life of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, printed transcript SummaryOHA-3827. Recording of a talk by Irma O'Connor on the life of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, printed transcript. Recording of a talk by Irma O'Connor on the life of Edward Gibbon Wakefield (OHColl-0262/1). [Item]

TitleResearch material and drafts for chapter 8 of `Passageways' SummaryMS-Papers-10818-11. Research material and drafts for chapter 8 of `Passageways'. 1926-1934, 1996, 2004-2005. Thwaite, Ann, 1932- : Papers relating to the Harrop and Valentine families (MS-Group-1967). [Item]

TitleRintoul and Wakefield / A J Harrop SummaryMS-Papers-10818-25. Rintoul and Wakefield / A J Harrop. 1928. Thwaite, Ann, 1932- : Papers relating to the Harrop and Valentine families (MS-Group-1967). [Item]

TitlePapers relating to Edward Gibbon Wakefield Seminar SummaryMS-Papers-11386-05. Papers relating to Edward Gibbon Wakefield Seminar. 1994-1996. Friends of the Turnbull Library : Records (MS-Group-1585). [Item]

TitlePapers relating to the Edward Gibbon Wakefield bicentennial seminar SummaryMS-Papers-11386-23. Papers relating to the Edward Gibbon Wakefield bicentennial seminar. 1994-1996. Friends of the Turnbull Library : Records (MS-Group-1585). [Item]

TitleAdelaide SummaryPA12-7056. Adelaide. [ca 1960s]. Ingle, Alfred John, 1917-2003 :Colour slides of New Zealand and a world trip (PA-Group-00374). [Item]

TitleAdelaide, Western Australia SummaryPA12-7060. Adelaide, Western Australia. [ca 1960s]. Ingle, Alfred John, 1917-2003 :Colour slides of New Zealand and a world trip (PA-Group-00374). [Item]

TitleHouse in Hobson Street, Thorndon, Wellington SummaryEP/1975/0997/21-F. House in Hobson Street, Thorndon, Wellington. 12 March 1975. Dominion Post (Newspaper): Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post and Dominion newspapers (PA-Group-00685). [Piece] Thumbnail

TitleFile relating to seminar on Edward Gibbon Wakefield Summary2003-228-39. File relating to seminar on Edward Gibbon Wakefield. 1996. Starke, June, 1923-2006 : Research papers (MS-Group-0978). [Item]

TitleDigital photographs of records relating to surveyor Henry Stokes Tiffen SummaryMSDL-2483. Digital photographs of records relating to surveyor Henry Stokes Tiffen. 29 November and 7 December 2009, 21 April 2015. Leask, Derek William, 1948-: Papers (MS-Group-1780). [Item] Thumbnail

TitleGrave of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Bolton Street Cemetery, Wellington SummaryEP/1960/1799-F. Grave of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Bolton Street Cemetery, Wellington. 14 May 1960. Dominion Post (Newspaper): Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post and Dominion newspapers (PA-Group-00685). [Item] Thumbnail

TitleGroup standing at the lookout on Mt Victoria, Wellington SummaryPAColl-7796-27. Group standing at the lookout on Mt Victoria, Wellington. Mar 1940. Evening post (Newspaper. 1865-2002) :Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post newspaper (PA-Group-00287). [Piece]

TitleHouse in Hobson Street, Thorndon, Wellington SummaryEP/1975/0997-F. House in Hobson Street, Thorndon, Wellington. 12 March 1975. Dominion Post (Newspaper): Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post and Dominion newspapers (PA-Group-00685). [Item]

TitlePhotographs relating to the Valentine and Harrop families SummaryPAColl-9921-1. Photographs relating to the Valentine and Harrop families. [ca 1890]-2004. Thwaite, Ann, 1932- :Photographs relating to the Harrop and Valentine families (PA-Group-00737). [Item]

DigitalNZ

Edward Gibbon Wakefield 🔍 ASH

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Search URL: https://api.digitalnz.org/v3/records.json?text=%22Edward+Gibbon+Wakefield%22+or+%22Wakefield%2C+Edward+Gibbon%22&fields=contributor,creator,description,title,subject,collection,++display_collection,display_content_partner,landing_url,thumbnail_url&without[display_collection]=Papers+Past,Military+Personnel+Files,Cenotaph+Database,Hocken+Digital+Collections,Te+Ara+-+The+Encyclopedia+of+New+Zealand

Retrieved at 2:30pm, 28 March 2025 in 0.328 seconds

Source: DigitalNZ by NZ DIA / Fair Use

Thumbnail	Article	Description	Author	Source
	[Reviews] A Great View of Things: Edward Gibbon Wakefield; Edward Gibbon Wakefield in New Zealand: His Political Career 1853-1854, reviewed by Jeanine Williams, p 91-93	NZ Journal of History > 1973 Volume 07 > No. 1 > [Reviews] A Great View of Things: Edward Gibbon Wakefield; Edward Gibbon Wakefield in New Zealand: His Political Career 1853-1854, reviewed by Jeanine Williams, p 91-93	Jeanine Williams	New Zealand Journal of History / The University of Auckland Library
	Portrait of Edward Gibbon Wakefield	Quantity: 1 b&w copy negative(s). Physical Description: Film negative	Not specified	TAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library
	Edward Gibbon Wakefield Esq.r.	Dr Hocken’s collector’s chop: Hoc in Loco Deus Rupes; label: Na Te Hakena Tenei Tiki; label in ink in Dr Hocken’s hand: Edward Gibbon Wakefield, to whom the annexation & colonization of NZ is due was born in London March 20th 1796, and educated at Westminster & Edinburgh High School. Impetuous & an enthusiast he formed the N.Z. Company, was the spring of their actions & fought the Colonial Office. Exercised a wonderful influence over men. Was the parent & prime mover of all the N.Z. settlements. At last emigrated to N.Z. in 1853 taking great part in all public movements. Died at Wellington May 16th 1862, disappointed, friendless & almost alone. T.M.H.; on original mount in ink: T.M. Hocken.	Wivell, Abraham, 1786-1849	Otago University Research Heritage / University of Otago
	Edward Gibbon Wakefield : builder of the British Commonwealth		Bloomfield, Paul, 1898-	Howick Historical Village NZMuseums / Howick Historical Village
	Edward Gibbon Wakefield's grave			Trove / Trove
	Edward Gibbon Wakefield: the colonization of South Australia and New Zealand	Physical Description: 386p. Note: Title in red and black. Published: London T. Fisher Unwin 1898	Garnett, Richard, 1835-1906.	HathiTrust Digital Library / HathiTrust
	Edward Gibbon Wakefield : the colonization of South Australia and New Zealand by R. Garnett	Physical Description: xxvii, 386 p. : port., maps ; 20 cm. Note: Title in red and black. Published: London : Unwin, 1898.	Garnett, Richard, 1835-1906.	HathiTrust Digital Library / HathiTrust
	Letter to Edward Gibbon Wakefield	Letter from an unknown correspondent, identified only as CGT, to Wakefield. Expresses pleasure at the Bishop and clergymen coming to New Zealand. News of a personal nature; Hobson's movements Quantity: 1 folder(s).	Not specified	TAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library
	Grave of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Bolton Street Cemetery, Wellington	Photograph taken for the Evening Post newspaper of Wellington by an unidentified staff photographer. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Cellulosic film negative, 6.5 x 6.5 cm	Not specified	TAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library
	Edward Gibbon Wakefield Esqr. [picture] /	Exhibited: "Horizons", National Museum of Australia, Commencing 11 March 2001.; U7099; U7092; U7088 a lithographic impression published 1898.; Rex Nan Kivell Collection NK551, NK11172, NK3672.	Holl, Benjamin, 1808-1884.	Digital Collections (Pictures) / National Library of Australia
	Mills, J., fl 1820s :Nina and Jerningham Wakefield from a portrait by J. Mills in 1822 [1928]	The two small children of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, seated holding hands on a cushion Proof for illustrations in O'Connor, Irma. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, the man himself. London 1928 Quantity: 1 b&w photo-mechanical print(s). Physical Description: Photolithograph, 206 x 121 mm	Mills, J, active 1820s	TAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library
	Wivell, Abraham, 1786-1849 :Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Esq. Engraved by B Holl from a drawing by A Wivell, 1823, in the possession of Daniel Wakefield Esqur. London, Pubd Novr 1st 1826 by M Colnaghi 23 Cockspur Street. Proof	Head and shoulders portrait of E G Wakefield Inscriptions: Recto - beneath image - on backing paper in pencil: Edward Gibbon Wakefield Esqr Quantity: 1 b&w art print(s). Physical Description: Engraving 139 x 101 mm	Wivell, Abraham, 1786-1849 Molteno Colnaghi & Company Holl, Benjamin, 1808-1884	TAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library
	Irma O'Connor with a painted portrait of Edward Gibbon Wakefield	Photograph taken for the Evening Post newspaper of Wellington by an unidentified staff photographer. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Cellulosic film negative 3.25 x 4.25 inches	Not specified	TAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library
	Wivell, Abraham, 1786-1849 :Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Esq. Engraved by B Holl from a drawing by A Wivell, 1823. in the possession of Daniel Wakefield Esqr. London, Pub.d Novrl 1st 1826 by M Colnaghi 23 Cockspur Street	Head, shoulders and chest portrait of Edward Gibbon Wakefield as a young man, seated in a chair. Wakefield was the founder and theorist of the New Zealand Company, coloniser of central New Zealand in the 1840s Quantity: 1 b&w art print(s). Physical Description: Engraving 139 x 101 mm	Wivell, Abraham, 1786-1849 Holl, Benjamin, 1808-1884 Molteno Colnaghi & Company	TAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library
	Edward Gibbon Wakefield and the colonial dream : a reconsideration.	"In August 1996 the Friends of the Turnbull Library held a seminar entitled Edward Gibbon Wakefield and New Zealand 1830-1865 : a reconsideration to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Edward Gibbon Wakefield"--P. v. Contents: Part I : Wakefield's life : Edward Gibbon Wakefield : a Maori perspective / Ngatata Love -- New Zealand : a family business / Philip Temple -- Wakefield's past and futures / Ged Martin -- Part II : Wakefield's thought : Wakefield and the Scottish Enlightenment, with particular reference to Adam Smith and his Wealth of Nations / Erik Olssen -- Wakefield and the Quaker tradition / Graham Butterworth -- Men, women and Wakefield / Raewyn Dalziel -- Part III : Wakefield's historical influence : Wakefield and Australia / Eric Richards -- A 'small nation on the move' : Wakefield's theory of colonisation and the relationship between State and labour in the mid-nineteenth century / John E. Martin -- The great escape : Wakefield and the Scottish settlement of Otago / Tom Brooking. Part IV : Views of the land : Edward Gibbon Wakefield's dream, Thomas Shepherd's eye and New Zealand's spatial constitution / Geoff Park -- Wakefield towns / Grahame Anderson -- Promotional shots : the New Zealand Company's paintings, drawings and prints of Wellington in the 1840s and their use in selling a colony / Marian Minson -- Part V : Wakefield's cultural legacy : Scholars, gentlemen and floppy disks / Susan Butterworth -- My Mrs Harris / Lydia Wevers -- Unnatural occupancy : the Wakefields versus James Heberley in Symmes Hole / Linda Hardy -- Edward Gibbon Wakefield : a Ngati Toa view / Matiu Rei. Includes bibliographical references.	Friends of the Turnbull Library	Howick Historical Village NZMuseums / Howick Historical Village

Article[Reviews] A Great View of Things: Edward Gibbon Wakefield; Edward Gibbon Wakefield in New Zealand: His Political Career 1853-1854, reviewed by Jeanine Williams, p 91-93 DescriptionNZ Journal of History > 1973 Volume 07 > No. 1 > [Reviews] A Great View of Things: Edward Gibbon Wakefield; Edward Gibbon Wakefield in New Zealand: His Political Career 1853-1854, reviewed by Jeanine Williams, p 91-93 AuthorJeanine Williams SourceNew Zealand Journal of History / The University of Auckland Library

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ArticlePortrait of Edward Gibbon Wakefield DescriptionQuantity: 1 b&w copy negative(s). Physical Description: Film negative AuthorNot specified SourceTAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library

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ArticleEdward Gibbon Wakefield Esq.r. DescriptionDr Hocken’s collector’s chop: Hoc in Loco Deus Rupes; label: Na Te Hakena Tenei Tiki; label in ink in Dr Hocken’s hand: Edward Gibbon Wakefield, to whom the annexation & colonization of NZ is due was born in London March 20th 1796, and educated at Westminster & Edinburgh High School. Impetuous & an enthusiast he formed the N.Z. Company, was the spring of their actions & fought the Colonial Office. Exercised a wonderful influence over men. Was the parent & prime mover of all the N.Z. settlements. At last emigrated to N.Z. in 1853 taking great part in all public movements. Died at Wellington May 16th 1862, disappointed, friendless & almost alone. T.M.H.; on original mount in ink: T.M. Hocken. AuthorWivell, Abraham, 1786-1849 SourceOtago University Research Heritage / University of Otago

ArticleEdward Gibbon Wakefield : builder of the British Commonwealth AuthorBloomfield, Paul, 1898- SourceHowick Historical Village NZMuseums / Howick Historical Village

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ArticleEdward Gibbon Wakefield's grave SourceTrove / Trove

ArticleEdward Gibbon Wakefield: the colonization of South Australia and New Zealand DescriptionPhysical Description: 386p. Note: Title in red and black. Published: London T. Fisher Unwin 1898 AuthorGarnett, Richard, 1835-1906. SourceHathiTrust Digital Library / HathiTrust

ArticleEdward Gibbon Wakefield : the colonization of South Australia and New Zealand by R. Garnett DescriptionPhysical Description: xxvii, 386 p. : port., maps ; 20 cm. Note: Title in red and black. Published: London : Unwin, 1898. AuthorGarnett, Richard, 1835-1906. SourceHathiTrust Digital Library / HathiTrust

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ArticleLetter to Edward Gibbon Wakefield DescriptionLetter from an unknown correspondent, identified only as CGT, to Wakefield. Expresses pleasure at the Bishop and clergymen coming to New Zealand. News of a personal nature; Hobson's movements Quantity: 1 folder(s). AuthorNot specified SourceTAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library

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ArticleGrave of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Bolton Street Cemetery, Wellington DescriptionPhotograph taken for the Evening Post newspaper of Wellington by an unidentified staff photographer. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Cellulosic film negative, 6.5 x 6.5 cm AuthorNot specified SourceTAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library

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ArticleEdward Gibbon Wakefield Esqr. [picture] / DescriptionExhibited: "Horizons", National Museum of Australia, Commencing 11 March 2001.; U7099; U7092; U7088 a lithographic impression published 1898.; Rex Nan Kivell Collection NK551, NK11172, NK3672. AuthorHoll, Benjamin, 1808-1884. SourceDigital Collections (Pictures) / National Library of Australia

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ArticleMills, J., fl 1820s :Nina and Jerningham Wakefield from a portrait by J. Mills in 1822 [1928] DescriptionThe two small children of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, seated holding hands on a cushion Proof for illustrations in O'Connor, Irma. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, the man himself. London 1928 Quantity: 1 b&w photo-mechanical print(s). Physical Description: Photolithograph, 206 x 121 mm AuthorMills, J, active 1820s SourceTAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library

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ArticleWivell, Abraham, 1786-1849 :Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Esq. Engraved by B Holl from a drawing by A Wivell, 1823, in the possession of Daniel Wakefield Esqur. London, Pubd Novr 1st 1826 by M Colnaghi 23 Cockspur Street. Proof DescriptionHead and shoulders portrait of E G Wakefield Inscriptions: Recto - beneath image - on backing paper in pencil: Edward Gibbon Wakefield Esqr Quantity: 1 b&w art print(s). Physical Description: Engraving 139 x 101 mm AuthorWivell, Abraham, 1786-1849
Molteno Colnaghi & Company
Holl, Benjamin, 1808-1884 SourceTAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library

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ArticleIrma O'Connor with a painted portrait of Edward Gibbon Wakefield DescriptionPhotograph taken for the Evening Post newspaper of Wellington by an unidentified staff photographer. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Cellulosic film negative 3.25 x 4.25 inches AuthorNot specified SourceTAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library

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ArticleWivell, Abraham, 1786-1849 :Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Esq. Engraved by B Holl from a drawing by A Wivell, 1823. in the possession of Daniel Wakefield Esqr. London, Pub.d Novrl 1st 1826 by M Colnaghi 23 Cockspur Street DescriptionHead, shoulders and chest portrait of Edward Gibbon Wakefield as a young man, seated in a chair. Wakefield was the founder and theorist of the New Zealand Company, coloniser of central New Zealand in the 1840s Quantity: 1 b&w art print(s). Physical Description: Engraving 139 x 101 mm AuthorWivell, Abraham, 1786-1849
Holl, Benjamin, 1808-1884
Molteno Colnaghi & Company SourceTAPUHI / Alexander Turnbull Library

ArticleEdward Gibbon Wakefield and the colonial dream : a reconsideration. Description"In August 1996 the Friends of the Turnbull Library held a seminar entitled Edward Gibbon Wakefield and New Zealand 1830-1865 : a reconsideration to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Edward Gibbon Wakefield"--P. v. Contents: Part I : Wakefield's life : Edward Gibbon Wakefield : a Maori perspective / Ngatata Love -- New Zealand : a family business / Philip Temple -- Wakefield's past and futures / Ged Martin -- Part II : Wakefield's thought : Wakefield and the Scottish Enlightenment, with particular reference to Adam Smith and his Wealth of Nations / Erik Olssen -- Wakefield and the Quaker tradition / Graham Butterworth -- Men, women and Wakefield / Raewyn Dalziel -- Part III : Wakefield's historical influence : Wakefield and Australia / Eric Richards -- A 'small nation on the move' : Wakefield's theory of colonisation and the relationship between State and labour in the mid-nineteenth century / John E. Martin -- The great escape : Wakefield and the Scottish settlement of Otago / Tom Brooking. Part IV : Views of the land : Edward Gibbon Wakefield's dream, Thomas Shepherd's eye and New Zealand's spatial constitution / Geoff Park -- Wakefield towns / Grahame Anderson -- Promotional shots : the New Zealand Company's paintings, drawings and prints of Wellington in the 1840s and their use in selling a colony / Marian Minson -- Part V : Wakefield's cultural legacy : Scholars, gentlemen and floppy disks / Susan Butterworth -- My Mrs Harris / Lydia Wevers -- Unnatural occupancy : the Wakefields versus James Heberley in Symmes Hole / Linda Hardy -- Edward Gibbon Wakefield : a Ngati Toa view / Matiu Rei. Includes bibliographical references. AuthorFriends of the Turnbull Library SourceHowick Historical Village NZMuseums / Howick Historical Village

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Edward Gibbon Wakefield 🔍 ASH

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Search URL: https://api.digitalnz.org/v3/records.json?text=Edward+Gibbon+Wakefield&and[display_collection][]=Te+Ara+-+The+Encyclopedia+of+New+Zealand

Retrieved at 2:30pm, 28 March 2025 in 0.515 seconds

Source: DigitalNZ by NZ DIA / Fair Use

Thumbnail	Article	Description	Author	Source
	Wakefield, Edward Gibbon		New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	WAKEFIELD, Edward Gibbon	In 1966 the first encyclopedia of New Zealand was published in three thick volumes. An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand was a critical and publishing success at the time, and has been used as a basic reference work about the country since then. We are proud to make it available online.	McLintock, Alexander Hare William Parker Morrell, M.A.(N.Z.), D.PHIL.(OXON.), Professorial Fellow, History and Political Science Department, University of Otago. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Economic thought: Wakefield and the economics of colonies	Systematic colonisation New Zealand’s organised European settlement from 1840 owed much to Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a major figure in the New Zealand Company. His plan of ‘systematic colonisation’ marked the most significant early impact of economic thinking on New ...	New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Wakefield, Edward Jerningham		New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	William Wakefield memorial	This memorial was ordered in 1850, two years after William Wakefield, the younger brother of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, died. William had assisted Edward Gibbon in the abduction of Ellen Turner, for which both were imprisoned, and had supported his brother's vision for colonies in the New World...	Andy Palmer New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Grave of Edward Gibbon Wakefield	Edward Gibbon Wakefield, publicist and promoter of the New Zealand Company’s colonisation plan for New Zealand, made his final home in Wellington, the first of the New Zealand Company settlements to be established. He died there on 16 May 1862. His tombstone, in Bolton Street Cemetery, ...	Melanie Lovell-Smith New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Paremata whaling station	This engraving shows the whaling station of Joseph Toms (spelt 'Thoms' in the picture title) at Paremata in the 1840s. The station was visited by Edward Jerningham Wakefield, the son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. In 1845 Jerningham Wakefield published Adventure in New Zealand	Samuel Charles Brees New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Engraved portrait of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, 1826		New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Land ownership: Early Pākehā land settlement	For Pākehā, as for Māori, land ownership was the most important political issue in New Zealand during the 19th century. This was only partly because of its economic importance – owning land had immense cultural and ideological importance to settlers and their descendants, as it did to M...	New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Priscilla Wakefield	Priscilla Wakefield, the grandmother of Edward Gibbon Wakefield (who was to found the New Zealand Company), was a Quaker. Like many Protestant dissenters in late 18th-century and 19th-century Britain, she was a reformer and activist. Wakefield started a charity for ...	Thomas Charles Wageman New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	William Wakefield	William Wakefield was responsible for a number of pre-Treaty purchases by the New Zealand Company which were drawn up at Port Nicholson (Wellington Harbour). This sketch shows him at his 1826 trial for assisting his brother Edward Gibbon Wakefield in the ...	New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	View of Nelson	This lithograph of Nelson in 1842 was based on a work by early Nelson settler John Waring Saxton. The lithograph was published in 1845 in Adventures in New Zealand by Edward Jerningham Wakefield, Edward Gibbon Wakefield's only son. The book was a conscious effort ...	John Waring Saxton New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Ideas in New Zealand: Wakefield and the ‘better Britain’	Wakefield’s ideas New Zealand was the most important setting for the experimental ideas of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a child of the Enlightenment. His central idea was that if land in colonies was sold at a ‘sufficient price’, this would cure major problems for both ...	New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Economic thought	Largely ignored by the public, economic thinking has had a major influence on economic policy and New Zealand’s prosperity. Most economic theories have been imported, but they have required some local adaptation.	New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Wairaweke (William Wakefield)	Nā Wairaweke (William Wakefield) ngā hoko whenua a te Kamupene o Niu Tīreni i whakahaere i mua i te hainatanga o te Tiriti. I whakaritea ēnei hokonga ki Pōneke. He tānga huahua tēnei o Wairaweke mai i te tau 1826, i te whakawātanga o tana teina a Edward Gibbon Wakefield i te tau mō te ...	New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Rural mythologies: Immigrant hopes	The Wakefield vision In the 1840s the New Zealand Company and its offshoots brought out thousands of migrants from England and Scotland. These initiatives were driven by the ideas of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Concerned at the effects that population growth, industry and large ...	New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Meeting on Chinese immigration, 1853	In June 1853 Edward Gibbon Wakefield organised a meeting in Wellington. On the agenda was a scheme to bring in Chinese to work in occupations where labour was scarce. Although strong opposition later forced Wakefield to abandon his plan, the minutes of the meeting show that there was initially ...	New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Class: Colonial society – the rich	Inherited distinctions From the beginning of organised European settlement in New Zealand, newcomers have brought class expectations. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, whose ideas influenced the southern settlements, envisaged a society of traditional rural classes...	New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Canterbury Association advertisement	Edward Gibbon Wakefield was English, as were most of the initiators of the New Zealand Company. Not surprisingly, over 80% of those assisted to migrate by the company were English, as were those who migrated after 1850 with the help of the Canterbury ...	New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
	Manners and social behaviour: New Zealand manners	Colonial manners In the 19th century ‘colonial manners’ were a topic of much debate in newspapers. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, founder of the New Zealand Company, wrote in 1849 that colonial manners were ‘slovenly, coarse, and often far from decent, even in the higher ...	New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga	Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleWakefield, Edward Gibbon AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

ArticleWAKEFIELD, Edward Gibbon DescriptionIn 1966 the first encyclopedia of New Zealand was published in three thick volumes. An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand was a critical and publishing success at the time, and has been used as a basic reference work about the country since then. We are proud to make it available online. AuthorMcLintock, Alexander Hare
William Parker Morrell, M.A.(N.Z.), D.PHIL.(OXON.), Professorial Fellow, History and Political Science Department, University of Otago.
New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

ArticleEconomic thought: Wakefield and the economics of colonies DescriptionSystematic colonisation New Zealand’s organised European settlement from 1840 owed much to Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a major figure in the New Zealand Company. His plan of ‘systematic colonisation’ marked the most significant early impact of economic thinking on New ... AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleWakefield, Edward Jerningham AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleWilliam Wakefield memorial DescriptionThis memorial was ordered in 1850, two years after William Wakefield, the younger brother of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, died. William had assisted Edward Gibbon in the abduction of Ellen Turner, for which both were imprisoned, and had supported his brother's vision for colonies in the New World... AuthorAndy Palmer
New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleGrave of Edward Gibbon Wakefield DescriptionEdward Gibbon Wakefield, publicist and promoter of the New Zealand Company’s colonisation plan for New Zealand, made his final home in Wellington, the first of the New Zealand Company settlements to be established. He died there on 16 May 1862. His tombstone, in Bolton Street Cemetery, ... AuthorMelanie Lovell-Smith
New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleParemata whaling station DescriptionThis engraving shows the whaling station of Joseph Toms (spelt 'Thoms' in the picture title) at Paremata in the 1840s. The station was visited by Edward Jerningham Wakefield, the son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. In 1845 Jerningham Wakefield published Adventure in New Zealand AuthorSamuel Charles Brees
New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleEngraved portrait of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, 1826 AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

ArticleLand ownership: Early Pākehā land settlement DescriptionFor Pākehā, as for Māori, land ownership was the most important political issue in New Zealand during the 19th century. This was only partly because of its economic importance – owning land had immense cultural and ideological importance to settlers and their descendants, as it did to M... AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticlePriscilla Wakefield DescriptionPriscilla Wakefield, the grandmother of Edward Gibbon Wakefield (who was to found the New Zealand Company), was a Quaker. Like many Protestant dissenters in late 18th-century and 19th-century Britain, she was a reformer and activist. Wakefield started a charity for ... AuthorThomas Charles Wageman
New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleWilliam Wakefield DescriptionWilliam Wakefield was responsible for a number of pre-Treaty purchases by the New Zealand Company which were drawn up at Port Nicholson (Wellington Harbour). This sketch shows him at his 1826 trial for assisting his brother Edward Gibbon Wakefield in the ... AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleView of Nelson DescriptionThis lithograph of Nelson in 1842 was based on a work by early Nelson settler John Waring Saxton. The lithograph was published in 1845 in Adventures in New Zealand by Edward Jerningham Wakefield, Edward Gibbon Wakefield's only son. The book was a conscious effort ... AuthorJohn Waring Saxton
New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

ArticleIdeas in New Zealand: Wakefield and the ‘better Britain’ DescriptionWakefield’s ideas New Zealand was the most important setting for the experimental ideas of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a child of the Enlightenment. His central idea was that if land in colonies was sold at a ‘sufficient price’, this would cure major problems for both ... AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleEconomic thought DescriptionLargely ignored by the public, economic thinking has had a major influence on economic policy and New Zealand’s prosperity. Most economic theories have been imported, but they have required some local adaptation. AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleWairaweke (William Wakefield) DescriptionNā Wairaweke (William Wakefield) ngā hoko whenua a te Kamupene o Niu Tīreni i whakahaere i mua i te hainatanga o te Tiriti. I whakaritea ēnei hokonga ki Pōneke. He tānga huahua tēnei o Wairaweke mai i te tau 1826, i te whakawātanga o tana teina a Edward Gibbon Wakefield i te tau mō te ... AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

ArticleRural mythologies: Immigrant hopes DescriptionThe Wakefield vision In the 1840s the New Zealand Company and its offshoots brought out thousands of migrants from England and Scotland. These initiatives were driven by the ideas of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Concerned at the effects that population growth, industry and large ... AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleMeeting on Chinese immigration, 1853 DescriptionIn June 1853 Edward Gibbon Wakefield organised a meeting in Wellington. On the agenda was a scheme to bring in Chinese to work in occupations where labour was scarce. Although strong opposition later forced Wakefield to abandon his plan, the minutes of the meeting show that there was initially ... AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

ArticleClass: Colonial society – the rich DescriptionInherited distinctions From the beginning of organised European settlement in New Zealand, newcomers have brought class expectations. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, whose ideas influenced the southern settlements, envisaged a society of traditional rural classes... AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

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ArticleCanterbury Association advertisement DescriptionEdward Gibbon Wakefield was English, as were most of the initiators of the New Zealand Company. Not surprisingly, over 80% of those assisted to migrate by the company were English, as were those who migrated after 1850 with the help of the Canterbury ... AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

ArticleManners and social behaviour: New Zealand manners DescriptionColonial manners In the 19th century ‘colonial manners’ were a topic of much debate in newspapers. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, founder of the New Zealand Company, wrote in 1849 that colonial manners were ‘slovenly, coarse, and often far from decent, even in the higher ... AuthorNew Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga SourceTe Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand / Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Find A Grave (NZ cemeteries)

Edward Gibbon Wakefield 🔍 ASH

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Search URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/search?firstname=Edward&middlename=Gibbon&lastname=Wakefield&location=New+Zealand&locationId=country_85&page=1&exactName=true

Retrieved at 2:30pm, 28 March 2025 in 0.384 seconds

Source: FindAGrave / limited search result excerpts for non-commercial personal research

Name	Born	Died	Cemetery	Cemetery location	Region
Edward Gibbon Wakefield	20 Mar 1796 🔍	16 May 1862 🔍 📰	Bolton Street Cemetery	Wellington, Wellington City	Wellington

NameEdward Gibbon Wakefield Born20 Mar 1796 🔍 Died16 May 1862 🔍 📰 CemeteryBolton Street Cemetery Cemetery locationWellington, Wellington City RegionWellington

Kura Heritage Collections (Auckland)

Edward Gibbon Wakefield 🔍 ASH

ⓘ

Search URL: https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/api/search/collection/akldpeople!indexcards!oralhistory!cemeteries!passengers!acm!electoral!localhistory!photographers/searchterm/Edward+Gibbon!Wakefield/field/all!title/mode/exact!exact/conn/and!and/maxRecords/10

Retrieved at 2:30pm, 28 March 2025 in 0.322 seconds

Source: Copyright Auckland Council Libraries Heritage Collections / non-commercial personal use

Title	Date	Record type
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862	1853-06-25	Auckland People and Events
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862	1850	Auckland People and Events
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862	1850	Auckland People and Events
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862		Index Cards
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862		Index Cards
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862		Index Cards
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862		Index Cards
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862		Index Cards
Wakefield House		Index Cards
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862		Index Cards

Title Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862 Date1853-06-25 Record typeAuckland People and Events

Title Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862 Date1850 Record typeAuckland People and Events

Title Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862 Record typeIndex Cards

Title Wakefield House Record typeIndex Cards

Title Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796-1862 Record typeIndex Cards

Upper Hutt City Libraries Heritage Collections

Edward Gibbon Wakefield 🔍 ASH

ⓘ

Search URL: https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/search?datefrom=&dateto=&keywords=Edward+Gibbon+Wakefield&orderby=relevance&order=desc&ntids=W10=&filter=eyJudGlkcyI6W10sImZhY2V0Ijp7fX0=&a2z=W10=&page=1&viewtype=list&type=phrase&or-term1=Wakefield%2C+Edward+Gibbon&digital=0&in=0&access=0&has=W10=&bid=0&meta=W10=&metainc=W10=

Retrieved at 2:30pm, 28 March 2025 in 0.255 seconds

Source: Upper Hutt City Libraries (via RECOLLECT) / 'personal, informational and non-commercial proposes'

Select Item

Member of Parliament, Hutt electorate, 1853-1855 Edward Gibbon Wakefield.

Format: PhotosCollection: Hutt MPs Collection

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Our First Hundred Years: Parish of Trentham, New Zealand 1861-1961 [Publication 63]

Page Hits: Preview (1)

Format: PublicationDate of publication: 1961

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Barton Family

Format: Archive

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Scholes Family History

Format: ManuscriptTitle: The road to Mangaroa and beyond : an abbreviated history and genealogy of the Scholes family in New Zealand Date: December 2013

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Upper Hutt College Magazine 1964

Page Hits: Preview (1)

Format: PublicationPublisher: Upper Hutt College Date of publication: 1964

Archives NZ

Edward Gibbon Wakefield 🔍 ASH

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Search URL: https://archway.howison.co.nz/ajax/simple.php?search=%22edward+gibbon%22+AND+%22wakefield%22&simple_view=1

Retrieved at 2:30pm, 28 March 2025 in 0.222 seconds

Source: Archives NZ Collections Search / CC BY / via Archway

Department of Internal Affairs, Head Office > Central filing system

Name	Year(s)	Held At	Access
Minister of Internal Affairs - General Applications - Edward Gibbon Wakefield Statue	1989 ‑ 1990	Wellington	Open

NameMinister of Internal Affairs - General Applications - Edward Gibbon Wakefield Statue Year(s)1989 ‑ 1990 Held AtWellington AccessOpen

Wellington High Court > Wellington probate files (first sequence)

Name	Scan	Year(s)	Held At	Access
WAKEFIELD, Edward Gibbon	📃 View Scan	1862	Wellington	Open

NameWAKEFIELD, Edward Gibbon Scan

📃 View Scan Year(s)1862 Held AtWellington AccessOpen

Department of Justice, Head Office > Wellington Land District Deposited Deeds

Name	Year(s)	Held At	Access
Crown Grant No. 336 to Edward Gibbon Wakefield - Sections 572 & 576, Town of Wellington	1872	Wellington	Open
Crown Grant No. 871 to Edward Gibbon Wakefield - Town Section 466 Wellington	1871	Wellington	Open

NameCrown Grant No. 336 to Edward Gibbon Wakefield - Sections 572 & 576, Town of Wellington Year(s)1872 Held AtWellington AccessOpen

NameCrown Grant No. 871 to Edward Gibbon Wakefield - Town Section 466 Wellington Year(s)1871 Held AtWellington AccessOpen

Sir Walter Nash > Photographs

Name	Year(s)	Held At	Access
Walter Nash at Edward Gibbon Wakefield Memorial, 16th May, 1945	1945	Wellington	Open

NameWalter Nash at Edward Gibbon Wakefield Memorial, 16th May, 1945 Year(s)1945 Held AtWellington AccessOpen

Sir Walter Nash > Newspaper clippings and speeches

Name	Year(s)	Held At	Access
Speech: Edward Gibbon Wakefield	1959	Wellington	Open
Speech on Edward Gibbon Wakefield		Wellington	Open

NameSpeech: Edward Gibbon Wakefield Year(s)1959 Held AtWellington AccessOpen

NameSpeech on Edward Gibbon Wakefield Held AtWellington AccessOpen

Palmerston North High Court > Palmerston North Probate files [second sequence]

Name	Scan	Year(s)	Held At	Access
JENNINGS Edward Gibbon Wakefield	📃 View Scan	1987 ‑ 1989	Wellington	Open

NameJENNINGS Edward Gibbon Wakefield Scan

📃 View Scan Year(s)1987 ‑ 1989 Held AtWellington AccessOpen

Department of Lands and Survey, Christchurch District Office > Papers of the [Canterbury] Provincial Council

Name	Scan	Year(s)	Held At	Access
Session 2 - Petition - Edward Dobson, for Edward Gibbon Wakefield: For leave to introduce a bill to divert a road on section No: 6 - 16 Feb 1854	📃 View Scan	1854	Christchurch	Open

NameSession 2 - Petition - Edward Dobson, for Edward Gibbon Wakefield: For leave to introduce a bill to divert a road on section No: 6 - 16 Feb 1854 Scan

📃 View Scan Year(s)1854 Held AtChristchurch AccessOpen

Department of Lands and Survey, Christchurch District Office > Canterbury Association, Canterbury Office Inwards & Outwards Correspondence

Name	Scan	Year(s)	Held At	Access
H.F. Alston to J.R. Godley - agreement made by Alexander Ridgway of London, Notary Public, for Edward Gibbon Wakefield to Felix Wakefield concerning transfer of land orders - 28/05/1851	📃 View Scan	1851	Christchurch	Open

NameH.F. Alston to J.R. Godley - agreement made by Alexander Ridgway of London, Notary Public, for Edward Gibbon Wakefield to Felix Wakefield concerning transfer of land orders - 28/05/1851 Scan

H.F. Alston to J.R. Godley - agreement made by Alexander Ridgway of London, Notary Public, for Edward Gibbon Wakefield to Felix Wakefield concerning transfer of land orders - 28/05/1851

📃 View Scan Year(s)1851 Held AtChristchurch AccessOpen

🏢 Agency

Name	Year(s)
New Zealand Company	1839 ‑ 1858
New Zealand Company	1825 ‑ 1858

NameNew Zealand Company Year(s)1839 ‑ 1858

NameNew Zealand Company Year(s)1825 ‑ 1858

Canterbury Museum Collections - People

Edward Gibbon Wakefield 🔍 ASH

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Search URL: https://collection.canterburymuseum.com/persons?view=list&query=pe_sym_name_lf%3A%22Wakefield%2C+Edward+Gibbon%22

Retrieved at 2:30pm, 28 March 2025 in 1.881 seconds

Source: Canterbury Museum / CC BY NC

	Name	Born	Died	Place of birth	Place of death	Nationality
	Wakefield, Edward Gibbon	b.1796	d.1862

NameWakefield, Edward Gibbon
Bornb.1796
Diedd.1862

Lower Hutt MyRecollect

Edward Gibbon Wakefield 🔍 ASH

Dictionary of NZ Biography (Scholefield, 1940)

Edward Gibbon Wakefield 🔍 ASH

ⓘ

Search URL: https://dict-bio.howison.co.nz/ash_search/?s=Edward+Gibbon+Wakefield

Retrieved at 2:30pm, 28 March 2025 in 0.268 seconds

Indexed by Luke Howison, 2023

Source: A Dictionary of NZ Biography, by Scholefield (1940), from NZ History / CC BY-NC 3.0 NZ

Name	Biography	Reference
Edward Gibbon Wakefield	WAKEFIELD, EDWARD GIBBON (1796-1862) was the son of Edward Wakefield, who at the time of his birth was a farmer in Essex, but afterwards became a land agent in London; achieved fame as an educationalist and philanthropist and was the author of An Account of Ireland, Statistical and Political (1812). Through his mother, Priscilla Bell, he was descended from the Quaker family of Robert Barclay, the apologist, and he was thus related to F. D. Bell (q.v.). Owing to the straitened circumstances of his father, Edward and several of his brothers lived for part of their childhood with their grandmother at Tottenham. She was a noted philanthropist. The boys went first to Haigh's school. At that early age Edward showed a perverseness and intractability which increased in his youth and was the cause of his leaving each of the schools to which he was sent. He left Haigh's in Dec 1807 for Westminster, where he had many fights and difficulties, and eventually refused to go back. Thence to the High School at Edinburgh, which he left in 1811, stubbornly refusing to go back. In 1813 he was admitted at Gray's Inn, but in the following year he became private secretary to the Hon William Noel Hill, son of Lord Berwick, and then envoy to the court of Turin. He travelled a good deal as a king's messenger and saw much of fashionable life in Italy and Paris. Having made the acquaintance of Eliza Susan Pattle, the heiress of a Canton merchant, Thomas Charles Pattle (deceased), they eloped and were married at Edinburgh (1816). The mother and uncles of the girl were won over, and through the influence of Hill the Lord Chancellor not only sanctioned the marriage, but made the most liberal settlement on Wakefield. He was to receive from £1,500 to £2,000 a year, independent of any private property of his own and subject to no control, the allowance to be increased by £2,000 a year at the death of his mother-in-law. The couple went to Genoa on a diplomatic mission, and then back to Turin. Wakefield became secretary to the legation, where his brother William was also employed. There Wakefield's first child, Susan Priscilla, was born (1817). The mother died on 5 Jul 1820, after the birth of the second child, Edward Jerningham. Meanwhile Wakefield had been employed as attache and secretary-general at the embassy in Paris, where they saw much of fashionable life. In 1824 his father married Frances, the daughter of the Rev Dr Davies, headmaster of the Macclesfield Grammar School. Wakefield and his brother visited this family at Macclesfield, and through them became aware of the existence of a wealthy heiress, Ellen, the daughter of William Turner, a manufacturer, of Shrigley, Cheshire, and sheriff of the county of Yorkshire. In Mar 1826 Edward and William Wakefield, by means of a ruse, persuaded the girl to leave the school and took her to Gretna Green, where Edward went through a form of marriage with her. He then took his wife to London, Dover and Calais, where they were overtaken by the girl's uncles and police agents. William had already been arrested in England, and Wakefield offered to return to face the charge of abduction. They were tried at the Lancaster assizes, their stepmother, Frances Wakefield, and the servant, Thevenot, being also indicted; and were found guilty. On 14 May 1827 Edward and William were each sentenced to three years imprisonment, the former at Newgate and the latter at Lancaster. Frances was not sentenced. A bill was passed by Parliament to annul the marriage, which had not been consummated. After his transfer to Newgate prison Wakefield was permitted to see his children and to take an active part in their education. In his prison surroundings he saw much of the seamy side of life, and became interested in trying to reform aspects which seemed unnecessarily harsh. In 1830 he wrote an essay, The Condemned Sermon (which was published in Popular Politics in 1837), and in 1831 he wrote Facts Relating to the Punishment of Death in the Metropolis. The public were shocked by some of his disclosures, and certain reforms which he suggested were carried into effect. It was here, too, that Wakefield entered upon that close study of the subject of colonisation which was to issue in a masterly thesis a few years later. He investigated the Swan river failure, which he was convinced was due to the dispersal of the settlers over too wide an area by the granting of vast estates to wealthy emigrants in the neighbourhood of the settlement. From this he developed his theory that land should be sold at too high a price to enable the labourers too readily to become landowners, thus depriving the land of its due supply of labour. He elaborated his system in the sketch of a proposed colony which appeared in a series of articles in the Morning Chronicle (Aug-Oct 1829). In the same year was published his book, A Letter from Sydney, together with an Outline of a System of Colonisation. In this book (edited by Robert Gouger) he insisted that all land in the colony should be sold, and that there should be a tax on rents of lands already sold and on future sales to form an emigration fund, which should be applied to the introduction of a due proportion of labourers for the needs of the settlement. He now abandoned his fixed price of £2 per acre for land, and suggested that the 'sufficient price' must be fixed according to the conditions of each settlement. In Apr 1830 he published (in the Spectator) 'The Cure and Prevention of Pauperism by means of Systematic Colonisation.' Shortly after his release (which took place in May) he formed the National Colonisation Society, which consisted of a small select band of thinkers, and absorbed Gouger's Emigration Society. The first pamphlet, A Statement of the Principles and Objects of the Proposed National Society for the Cure and Prevention of Pauperism by Means of Systematic Colonisation, appeared in 1830. In 1831 Lord Goderich became Secretary of State for the Colonies (with Lord Howick as Under-secretary), and in regulations published shortly afterwards it was provided that henceforth all land in New South Wales should be sold at not less than 5s per acre. In 1831 Gouger and Wakefield brought forward the South Australia project and obtained the approval of Howick, with the proviso that the governor of the settlement should be appointed by the government and not by the chartered company. Goderich, however, did not approve the scheme (30 May 1832). In 1833, when Wakefield published his England and America; a Comparison of the Social and Political State of both Nations, the Society had 42 members, including Charles Buller, John Stuart Mill, John Hutt, Colonel R. Torrens, Sir F. Burdett, and Sir J. C. Hobhouse. It was revitalised by this publication. At the end of the year the South Australian Association was formed, with Buller, Torrens and Roebuck on the committee. Wakefield, restrained by the consciousness of his too recent misdemeanour and its punishment, remained discreetly in the background; but his brother Daniel (q.v.) assisted in drafting the articles of association. The Duke of Wellington approved the scheme, and Wakefield urged, in recognition of his interest, that the chief town of the settlement should be named after him. The serious illness of his daughter Nina (Priscilla) now took Wakefield to Lisbon, where to his intense grief she died on 12 Feb 1835. His personal life was wrapped up in the two children, and Nina had become his confidant in schemes and economic speculations which were beyond the comprehension of most young women. Wakefield brought back to England with him a Portuguese girl, Leocadia de Oliveira, who had helped to soothe the last days of his daughter. He educated her and brought her to New Zealand, where she married. On his return to England Wakefield found that changes had been made in the South Australian scheme which he considered fatal. He fell out with Gouger, and Torrens was unable to effect a reconciliation. The price fixed for the sale of land, 12s an acre, he considered too low. When he himself was unable to sell the land at that price, George Fife Angas came forward with a joint stock company which took the necessary area at 12s. Wakefield now withdrew from the South Australian scheme and turned his attention to New Zealand, Torrens continuing as chairman of the commissioners. In Jun 1836 Wakefield gave valuable evidence before the select committee on methods of disposing of land in the colonies. This evidence was published in 1841 for the government of Texas. The select committee recommended that the upset price should be a permanent principle of future colonial regulations. As a result of the evidence given by Wakefield at this inquiry the New Zealand Association was constituted at a meeting at his house on 22 May 1837. It soon announced its intention of settling New Zealand, and thus came into immediate conflict with the Church Missionary Society, which strongly opposed the foundation of a British colony in New Zealand. In a book published under the auspices of the Association in 1837, entitled The British Colonisation of New Zealand, Wakefield proposed making treaties with the native tribes for the cession of territory and all other necessary activities. Urged by the missionary societies, the Colonial Office, now under the strong control of Stephen as permanent under-secretary, dismissed the proposal (Jun 1837) because it involved the acquisition of sovereignty in New Zealand, which would inevitably issue in the conquest and extermination of the native race. The Secretary of State (Lord Glenelg) was, however, so impressed by accounts of lawlessness amongst whites in New Zealand that he informed Lord Durham that he would be willing to consent to the incorporation of a company by royal charter so long as the government had the right of veto over the personnel of the directorate and officials. Wakefield having assured him that the Association assumed no pecuniary risk and did not expect pecuniary gain, he said he would not oppose the bill (5 Feb 1838). Both the Church Missionary Society and the Wesleyan Missionary Society petitioned against the bill, and the missionary influence in Parliament and the country was so strong that the select committee of the House of Lords (at which Wakefield produced a Maori witness, Nayti) reported against it. The best way to further the civilisation of New Zealand, it recommended, was to support the existing missions there. Wakefield was in Canada at the time when the bill was being discussed in Parliament, and it was defeated by 92 votes to 32. Thus ended the Association's scheme of appointing commissioners in New Zealand and making treaties with the natives or exercising criminal jurisdiction. In 1836 Wakefield's friends made an effort to find him a seat in the House of Commons, and he actually issued an address to the electors of Birmingham strongly approving the reform bill, and hoping to see universal suffrage, the ballot, annual elections and three-year parliaments. Having withdrawn from his parliamentary ambitions, he took part in forming the New Zealand Association, and in the same year brought about the select committee on transportation, which warmly endorsed his principles. In Jan 1838 he accepted a position on Durham's staff for Canada. Buller was chief secretary, and Wakefield was invited to accompany the mission really to investigate the management of crown lands. But for the veto of the Colonial Office he would have been appointed commissioner of crown lands. In fact, Buller was commissioner, but Wakefield took charge of the land commission, the registry of titles and the commutation of feudal tenures. When he arrived in Canada in the middle of 1838 (some time after Durham), the rebellion of 1837 was still a recent memory and he had unique opportunities of discussing the grievances of the colonists. He failed to see the rebel Papineau, though he made a journey to Saratoga for that purpose, but he soon formed the opinions that the trouble in Canada was a racial war; that the French Canadians were a poor class and the country must be made English by every means. Durham had humanely dispensed with the trial of rebels in prison in favour of exiling to Bermuda eight of the leaders. His enemies in England seized on the fact that Bermuda was outside his jurisdiction and the government weakly disallowed the ordinance. Disgusted at this desertion of him after a promise of full support, he resigned (25 Sep). Wakefield defended Durham with the greatest energy. Fearing that his report would be mutilated by the government to cover its own faults, he disregarded official propriety and communicated the greater part of it to The Times before Parliament received it. The substance of the Report on the Affairs of British North America (which was addressed to Glenelg on 31 Jan 1839) appeared in The Times on 8 Feb. It proposed the reunion of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada as a prelude to the inauguration of responsible government. Durham's enemies refused him credit for the report ('Wakefield thought it, Buller wrote it, and Durham signed it'), but the refusal was malevolent. Durham, an extremely able man, both thought and wrote. Wakefield was responsible for the appendix on land-reform, where Durham was his pupil; but Wakefield at that time had no comprehension of the principle of responsible government, such as both Durham and Buller displayed; and the statement of this principle was in fact the essence of the report. Wakefield later appropriated it as part of his 'system.' His land-policy was divorced from Canadian reality. On his return to England late in 1838 Wakefield found a new impetus to the New Zealand project in the scheme of de Thierry (q.v.) Though the proposal, as communicated by George F. Angas, envisaged a sovereignty in de Thierry's own person, there was already a widespread fear of French designs in New Zealand. When Lord Glenelg went out of office (Feb 1839) he left a minute recommending that action be taken. His successor (Lord Normanby) refusing to move, the New Zealand Company hastened its plans, selected Colonel W. H. Wakefield as leader of the proposed settlement in New Zealand (28 Mar 1839), and arranged for the despatch of the expeditionary ship, the Tory. She left the river on 25 Apr rather hurriedly, lest the government should intervene. When Normanby refused letters of introduction to the governors of New South Wales and Tasmania Wakefield feared some more definite sign of disapproval. There is a legend, lacking proof, that he hastened to Plymouth to despatch the ship. That done, he established himself in the Company's headquarters in Broad street buildings, and throughout the year was the directing spirit in all the negotiations with the Colonial Office. In Feb 1840 Captain Hobson concluded the Treaty of Waitangi and took office as Lieutenant-governor of New Zealand. Wakefield became a director of the Company on 9 Apr 1840, and a few weeks later he persuaded the board to adopt the name 'Wellington' for the first town in recognition of the Duke's assistance. He arranged a great meeting of shipowners, bankers and merchants of the city of London to urge the Government to take measures to preserve the 'long established sovereignty of the British crown in New Zealand.' Before the select committee of the House of Lords Wakefield gave evidence, the value of which was acknowledged by the chairman (Lord Eliot) at a public dinner at Plymouth on 5 Nov. In Sep the directors, on his advice, applied to Lord John Russell for a charter. Stephen agreed, and Wakefield and Lord Petre were appointed to negotiate with Russell as to the terms. On 26 Oct Russell agreed to issue a charter for 40 years, with increased capital and more powers, and the Company was to receive four acres of land in the Colony for every pound of expenditure incurred in colonising. The charter was dated 12 Feb 1841. In Dec 1841 Wakefield again visited Canada to look after an interest which he had acquired in a land company. While there he was elected (Nov 1842) to represent in the House of Assembly of Lower Canada the French-speaking county of Beauharnois, the electors of which appreciated what he had done to secure for them a share in their administration. The governor, Sir Charles Bagot, regarded him as 'a vindictive, as well as subtle serpent,' and was careful to have nothing to do with him; but his confidential advice to Bagot's successor, Sir Charles Metcalfe, in Metcalfe's conflict with ministers on the subject of responsible government, earned for him the hatred of the Canadian Radicals and the title of 'arch-traitor.' His perception in Canadian politics was nevertheless sometimes shrewd, though in the responsible government controversy he was clearly fighting against the future. Metcalfe had declined to consult his ministers in the making of appointments. Wakefield supported the governor, for reasons which he set forth in his pamphlet, A View of Sir Charles Metcalfe's Government of Canada, by a Member of the Provincial Parliament. He came back to England (1844) to find the Company once more at war with the Colonial Office over the interpretation of the agreement as regards the allocation of grants of land. A select committee appointed by the House of Commons upheld the Company on every point except its 'highly irregular and improper conduct' in sending out settlers in defiance of the authority of the crown. Lord Stanley (the Secretary of State) would not, however, accept the Company's contention that the Maori possessed only a qualified dominion in New Zealand. In Mar and Jun 1845 there were stormy debates in Parliament. Earl Grey became Secretary of State in Jun 1846. Wakefield had a discouraging interview with him at Buller's house in Jul, and a week or two later suffered an apoplectic stroke as the result of overwork and excitement (15 Aug 1846). This placed him hors de combat for some years, though he continued to attend meetings. In May 1847 Buller made an agreement with Grey under which the Company should receive a new loan and come under government control. Wakefield protested against government control, but was in no state of health to fight, and retired to undergo the water cure at Great Malvern. His enthusiasm in colonisation was revived by the Church of England proposal to settle a colony in New Zealand, and by a meeting with John Robert Godley (q.v.), whom he importuned to lend his influence to the scheme. Godley acceded (30 Nov 1847), and Wakefield transferred to him sufficient stock (£500) to qualify him as a director. The site proposed for the settlement was Wairarapa. Wakefield was now writing topics regularly for the Spectator. Late in 1848 he retired to France (with A. J. Allom, q.v.) to finish his book on the Art of Colonisation, in which he hoped to establish his claim as the author of the school of thought now almost triumphant. The book was published in Feb 1849. He resigned from the directorate of the Company. Earl Grey about this time submitted to Durham a scheme for a colony in Canada, which Wakefield criticised and showed to be impracticable. Early in 1849 he drew up the heads of the articles of association for the Canterbury settlement, which being done, he wrote to F. D. Bell (his kinsman) in New Zealand to say that he was now determined to proceed thither, since his work in England was finished. He arranged for the publication of the Canterbury Papers and, the land sales being insufficient to justify proceeding, he arranged a personal guarantee of £15,000 by Lord Lyttelton, Sir John Simeon, Lord Richard Cavendish and himself. Having worked with his accustomed zeal until the first four ships of the Canterbury settlement had passed down the Channel, he then turned to the New Zealand constitution. On 8 Feb 1850 Lord John Russell proposed in parliament that provision be made for the better government of her Majesty's Australian colonies. The bill was passed on 13 May, a similar one being promised for New Zealand in the following year. In the drafting of the New Zealand constitution some share was taken by Wakefield, Fox, Weld, Sewell, Adderley (afterwards Lord Norton) and Lyttelton. In 1851 it was impossible to bring in the bill, but it came in 1852. In Jun Wakefield, fearing its destruction by the opposition of Molesworth, petitioned both houses in favour of it. The act received the royal assent on 30 Jun. Wakefield sailed for New Zealand in the Minerva in Oct 1852, arriving in Lyttelton on 2 Feb 1853. He became involved almost immediately in a controversy with Governor Grey over his land regulations of 4 Mar 1853, in which the price was fixed at 10s per acre, reducible to 5s in cases where the land was not easily accessible. Wakefield wrote home characteristically that 'he worked the newspapers and went to law with the Governor.' Thereafter he was at odds with Grey over alterations in the constitution and his delay in having Parliament constituted, and later in summoning the General Assembly to meet. Wakefield was elected a member of Parliament for Hutt (19 Aug 1853) and of the Wellington Provincial Council, also for Hutt (5 Sep), defeating by a very large majority candidates who supported the policy of Grey. Grey left the Colony on 31 Dec 1853. The Provincial Council met on 28 Oct 1853 and, having elected Clifford to be Speaker, had good reason to approve its choice. So that when Parliament assembled seven months later Wakefield had already been in consultation with other members and persuaded them to elect Charles Clifford (q.v.), though a Catholic, to the chair of the House of Representatives. Colonel Wynyard, the administrator, was inexperienced and lacking in initiative, and Wakefield soon appeared as the Machiavelli of Parliament. The House had no sooner shaken down to its task when he moved (2 Jun 1854) to establish full responsible government. Swainson (the Attorney-general) ruled that the Governor had no power to introduce the responsible system, but Wakefield had won his point and was prepared to await developments. He wrote Home that he was happy in having the full realisation of all he had hoped and longed for. Friction occurred between the responsible ministers and the permanent officials who sat with them in the executive and whom, according to Wakefield's ruling, the Governor had no power to dismiss since they were appointed by the crown. Wynyard therefore accepted the resignation of ministers and consulted Wakefield, who once more appeared as the enemy of the system he had always advocated. Provoked by his rather tactless conduct, the House passed a resolution (proposed by one of the executive, FitzGerald) protesting against the acceptance of advice from a private member of Parliament. On the intimation that Wynyard intended to prorogue Parliament (also on the advice of Wakefield), the House passed a resolution demanding the full grant of responsible government and the removal of Wakefield from his position as unofficial adviser. Wakefield's supporters walked out of the chamber in the hope of preventing the motion being carried. He withdrew then from his unique position, and a fortnight later Parliament met and passed supply for a ministry led by T. S. Forsaith (q.v.), with Travers, Macandrew and E. J. Wakefield as colleagues. On 8 Dec the Secretary of State approved the grant of responsible government. Wakefield retired at the general election (1855). He was re-elected to the Provincial Council, but attended less frequently owing to failing health. His most noteworthy intervention in this period was at the election of 1857, when his son (E. J. Wakefield) made a determined attempt to capture the provincial government. Thereafter he lived in enforced retirement at his home in Wellington, his principal companion in the evening of his life being Alice, daughter of his brother Daniel, and later the wife of Harold Freeman. He died on 16 May 1862, and was buried in the Sydney street cemetery. E. Irving Carlyle, in the Dictionary of National Biography, says: "The importance of Wakefield's achievements in colonial matters can hardly be overestimated. The tangible fruits of his labours are the least part of their result, for all subsequent colonial development has followed the direction of his thought. He brought to the subject for the first time the mind of a philosopher and statesman, equally fitted for framing a comprehensive theory and for directing its working in practical detail. The great flaw in his character was lack of scruple in selecting the means for attaining his ends. This imperfection of character brought about serious disaster in his private affairs, and in his public life it prevented even his most devoted supporters from giving him their implicit confidence." Wakefield's publications include: Swing Unmasked, or the Causes of Rural Incendiarism (1831), The Hangman and the Judge (1833), Popular Politics (1837). G.B.O.P. 1836-45; N.Z.P.D. 1854-62; N.Z. Comy reports; Wakefield Letters in Canterbury Museum; N.Z.C., pass. (including many manuscript and draft letters in Wakefield's hand); E. J. Wakefield, Adventure; Harrop, Wakefield; Wakefield, New Zealand (p); Wakelin; O'Connor (p); Gisborne; Saunders; Rusden; E.G. Wakefield, op. cit.; Egerton; Sherrin and Wallace; Garnett (p); Godley, Letters; Lovat; J. Collier (introd. The Art of Colonisation, 1914); R. C. Mills, The Colonisation of Australia (1915); John Morley, Life of William Ewart Gladstone (1904); Hight and Bamford; Keith; Scholefield, Hobson; Ward (p); A. J. Harrop in The Press, Oct-Nov 1928; Stuart J. Reid; Lucas; Chester W. New, Lord Durham; Chester Martin, Empire and Commonwealth; W. P. Morrall, Colonial Policy of Peel and Russell; Fisher's Colonial Magazine, Jul 1844; Wellington Independent, 20 May 1862; Wellington Spectator, 5 Jan, 23 Jul 1853; Otago Daily Times, 30 Dec 1931; The Press, 1 May 1909, 12 Dec 1925. Portrait: Bust by Joseph Durham, R.A., in Colonial Office (replica in Parliament House, Wellington); portrait by E. J. Collins and Richard Ai in Provincial Hall, Christchurch.	Volume 2, page 225

Name

Biography

Reference

Edward Gibbon Wakefield

WAKEFIELD, EDWARD GIBBON (1796-1862) was the son of Edward Wakefield, who at the time of his birth was a farmer in Essex, but afterwards became a land agent in London; achieved fame as an educationalist and philanthropist and was the author of An Account of Ireland, Statistical and Political (1812). Through his mother, Priscilla Bell, he was descended from the Quaker family of Robert Barclay, the apologist, and he was thus related to F. D. Bell (q.v.). Owing to the straitened circumstances of his father, Edward and several of his brothers lived for part of their childhood with their grandmother at Tottenham. She was a noted philanthropist. The boys went first to Haigh's school. At that early age Edward showed a perverseness and intractability which increased in his youth and was the cause of his leaving each of the schools to which he was sent. He left Haigh's in Dec 1807 for Westminster, where he had many fights and difficulties, and eventually refused to go back. Thence to the High School at Edinburgh, which he left in 1811, stubbornly refusing to go back.

In 1813 he was admitted at Gray's Inn, but in the following year he became private secretary to the Hon William Noel Hill, son of Lord Berwick, and then envoy to the court of Turin. He travelled a good deal as a king's messenger and saw much of fashionable life in Italy and Paris. Having made the acquaintance of Eliza Susan Pattle, the heiress of a Canton merchant, Thomas Charles Pattle (deceased), they eloped and were married at Edinburgh (1816). The mother and uncles of the girl were won over, and through the influence of Hill the Lord Chancellor not only sanctioned the marriage, but made the most liberal settlement on Wakefield. He was to receive from £1,500 to £2,000 a year, independent of any private property of his own and subject to no control, the allowance to be increased by £2,000 a year at the death of his mother-in-law. The couple went to Genoa on a diplomatic mission, and then back to Turin. Wakefield became secretary to the legation, where his brother William was also employed. There Wakefield's first child, Susan Priscilla, was born (1817). The mother died on 5 Jul 1820, after the birth of the second child, Edward Jerningham.

Meanwhile Wakefield had been employed as attache and secretary-general at the embassy in Paris, where they saw much of fashionable life. In 1824 his father married Frances, the daughter of the Rev Dr Davies, headmaster of the Macclesfield Grammar School. Wakefield and his brother visited this family at Macclesfield, and through them became aware of the existence of a wealthy heiress, Ellen, the daughter of William Turner, a manufacturer, of Shrigley, Cheshire, and sheriff of the county of Yorkshire. In Mar 1826 Edward and William Wakefield, by means of a ruse, persuaded the girl to leave the school and took her to Gretna Green, where Edward went through a form of marriage with her. He then took his wife to London, Dover and Calais, where they were overtaken by the girl's uncles and police agents. William had already been arrested in England, and Wakefield offered to return to face the charge of abduction. They were tried at the Lancaster assizes, their stepmother, Frances Wakefield, and the servant, Thevenot, being also indicted; and were found guilty. On 14 May 1827 Edward and William were each sentenced to three years imprisonment, the former at Newgate and the latter at Lancaster. Frances was not sentenced. A bill was passed by Parliament to annul the marriage, which had not been consummated.

After his transfer to Newgate prison Wakefield was permitted to see his children and to take an active part in their education. In his prison surroundings he saw much of the seamy side of life, and became interested in trying to reform aspects which seemed unnecessarily harsh. In 1830 he wrote an essay, The Condemned Sermon (which was published in Popular Politics in 1837), and in 1831 he wrote Facts Relating to the Punishment of Death in the Metropolis. The public were shocked by some of his disclosures, and certain reforms which he suggested were carried into effect. It was here, too, that Wakefield entered upon that close study of the subject of colonisation which was to issue in a masterly thesis a few years later. He investigated the Swan river failure, which he was convinced was due to the dispersal of the settlers over too wide an area by the granting of vast estates to wealthy emigrants in the neighbourhood of the settlement. From this he developed his theory that land should be sold at too high a price to enable the labourers too readily to become landowners, thus depriving the land of its due supply of labour. He elaborated his system in the sketch of a proposed colony which appeared in a series of articles in the Morning Chronicle (Aug-Oct 1829). In the same year was published his book, A Letter from Sydney, together with an Outline of a System of Colonisation. In this book (edited by Robert Gouger) he insisted that all land in the colony should be sold, and that there should be a tax on rents of lands already sold and on future sales to form an emigration fund, which should be applied to the introduction of a due proportion of labourers for the needs of the settlement. He now abandoned his fixed price of £2 per acre for land, and suggested that the 'sufficient price' must be fixed according to the conditions of each settlement. In Apr 1830 he published (in the Spectator) 'The Cure and Prevention of Pauperism by means of Systematic Colonisation.' Shortly after his release (which took place in May) he formed the National Colonisation Society, which consisted of a small select band of thinkers, and absorbed Gouger's Emigration Society. The first pamphlet, A Statement of the Principles and Objects of the Proposed National Society for the Cure and Prevention of Pauperism by Means of Systematic Colonisation, appeared in 1830. In 1831 Lord Goderich became Secretary of State for the Colonies (with Lord Howick as Under-secretary), and in regulations published shortly afterwards it was provided that henceforth all land in New South Wales should be sold at not less than 5s per acre. In 1831 Gouger and Wakefield brought forward the South Australia project and obtained the approval of Howick, with the proviso that the governor of the settlement should be appointed by the government and not by the chartered company. Goderich, however, did not approve the scheme (30 May 1832). In 1833, when Wakefield published his England and America; a Comparison of the Social and Political State of both Nations, the Society had 42 members, including Charles Buller, John Stuart Mill, John Hutt, Colonel R. Torrens, Sir F. Burdett, and Sir J. C. Hobhouse. It was revitalised by this publication. At the end of the year the South Australian Association was formed, with Buller, Torrens and Roebuck on the committee. Wakefield, restrained by the consciousness of his too recent misdemeanour and its punishment, remained discreetly in the background; but his brother Daniel (q.v.) assisted in drafting the articles of association. The Duke of Wellington approved the scheme, and Wakefield urged, in recognition of his interest, that the chief town of the settlement should be named after him.

The serious illness of his daughter Nina (Priscilla) now took Wakefield to Lisbon, where to his intense grief she died on 12 Feb 1835. His personal life was wrapped up in the two children, and Nina had become his confidant in schemes and economic speculations which were beyond the comprehension of most young women. Wakefield brought back to England with him a Portuguese girl, Leocadia de Oliveira, who had helped to soothe the last days of his daughter. He educated her and brought her to New Zealand, where she married. On his return to England Wakefield found that changes had been made in the South Australian scheme which he considered fatal. He fell out with Gouger, and Torrens was unable to effect a reconciliation. The price fixed for the sale of land, 12s an acre, he considered too low. When he himself was unable to sell the land at that price, George Fife Angas came forward with a joint stock company which took the necessary area at 12s. Wakefield now withdrew from the South Australian scheme and turned his attention to New Zealand, Torrens continuing as chairman of the commissioners. In Jun 1836 Wakefield gave valuable evidence before the select committee on methods of disposing of land in the colonies. This evidence was published in 1841 for the government of Texas. The select committee recommended that the upset price should be a permanent principle of future colonial regulations. As a result of the evidence given by Wakefield at this inquiry the New Zealand Association was constituted at a meeting at his house on 22 May 1837. It soon announced its intention of settling New Zealand, and thus came into immediate conflict with the Church Missionary Society, which strongly opposed the foundation of a British colony in New Zealand. In a book published under the auspices of the Association in 1837, entitled The British Colonisation of New Zealand, Wakefield proposed making treaties with the native tribes for the cession of territory and all other necessary activities. Urged by the missionary societies, the Colonial Office, now under the strong control of Stephen as permanent under-secretary, dismissed the proposal (Jun 1837) because it involved the acquisition of sovereignty in New Zealand, which would inevitably issue in the conquest and extermination of the native race. The Secretary of State (Lord Glenelg) was, however, so impressed by accounts of lawlessness amongst whites in New Zealand that he informed Lord Durham that he would be willing to consent to the incorporation of a company by royal charter so long as the government had the right of veto over the personnel of the directorate and officials. Wakefield having assured him that the Association assumed no pecuniary risk and did not expect pecuniary gain, he said he would not oppose the bill (5 Feb 1838). Both the Church Missionary Society and the Wesleyan Missionary Society petitioned against the bill, and the missionary influence in Parliament and the country was so strong that the select committee of the House of Lords (at which Wakefield produced a Maori witness, Nayti) reported against it. The best way to further the civilisation of New Zealand, it recommended, was to support the existing missions there. Wakefield was in Canada at the time when the bill was being discussed in Parliament, and it was defeated by 92 votes to 32. Thus ended the Association's scheme of appointing commissioners in New Zealand and making treaties with the natives or exercising criminal jurisdiction. In 1836 Wakefield's friends made an effort to find him a seat in the House of Commons, and he actually issued an address to the electors of Birmingham strongly approving the reform bill, and hoping to see universal suffrage, the ballot, annual elections and three-year parliaments.

Having withdrawn from his parliamentary ambitions, he took part in forming the New Zealand Association, and in the same year brought about the select committee on transportation, which warmly endorsed his principles.

In Jan 1838 he accepted a position on Durham's staff for Canada. Buller was chief secretary, and Wakefield was invited to accompany the mission really to investigate the management of crown lands. But for the veto of the Colonial Office he would have been appointed commissioner of crown lands. In fact, Buller was commissioner, but Wakefield took charge of the land commission, the registry of titles and the commutation of feudal tenures. When he arrived in Canada in the middle of 1838 (some time after Durham), the rebellion of 1837 was still a recent memory and he had unique opportunities of discussing the grievances of the colonists. He failed to see the rebel Papineau, though he made a journey to Saratoga for that purpose, but he soon formed the opinions that the trouble in Canada was a racial war; that the French Canadians were a poor class and the country must be made English by every means. Durham had humanely dispensed with the trial of rebels in prison in favour of exiling to Bermuda eight of the leaders. His enemies in England seized on the fact that Bermuda was outside his jurisdiction and the government weakly disallowed the ordinance. Disgusted at this desertion of him after a promise of full support, he resigned (25 Sep). Wakefield defended Durham with the greatest energy. Fearing that his report would be mutilated by the government to cover its own faults, he disregarded official propriety and communicated the greater part of it to The Times before Parliament received it. The substance of the Report on the Affairs of British North America (which was addressed to Glenelg on 31 Jan 1839) appeared in The Times on 8 Feb. It proposed the reunion of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada as a prelude to the inauguration of responsible government. Durham's enemies refused him credit for the report ('Wakefield thought it, Buller wrote it, and Durham signed it'), but the refusal was malevolent. Durham, an extremely able man, both thought and wrote. Wakefield was responsible for the appendix on land-reform, where Durham was his pupil; but Wakefield at that time had no comprehension of the principle of responsible government, such as both Durham and Buller displayed; and the statement of this principle was in fact the essence of the report. Wakefield later appropriated it as part of his 'system.' His land-policy was divorced from Canadian reality.

On his return to England late in 1838 Wakefield found a new impetus to the New Zealand project in the scheme of de Thierry (q.v.) Though the proposal, as communicated by George F. Angas, envisaged a sovereignty in de Thierry's own person, there was already a widespread fear of French designs in New Zealand. When Lord Glenelg went out of office (Feb 1839) he left a minute recommending that action be taken. His successor (Lord Normanby) refusing to move, the New Zealand Company hastened its plans, selected Colonel W. H. Wakefield as leader of the proposed settlement in New Zealand (28 Mar 1839), and arranged for the despatch of the expeditionary ship, the Tory. She left the river on 25 Apr rather hurriedly, lest the government should intervene. When Normanby refused letters of introduction to the governors of New South Wales and Tasmania Wakefield feared some more definite sign of disapproval. There is a legend, lacking proof, that he hastened to Plymouth to despatch the ship. That done, he established himself in the Company's headquarters in Broad street buildings, and throughout the year was the directing spirit in all the negotiations with the Colonial Office. In Feb 1840 Captain Hobson concluded the Treaty of Waitangi and took office as Lieutenant-governor of New Zealand.

Wakefield became a director of the Company on 9 Apr 1840, and a few weeks later he persuaded the board to adopt the name 'Wellington' for the first town in recognition of the Duke's assistance. He arranged a great meeting of shipowners, bankers and merchants of the city of London to urge the Government to take measures to preserve the 'long established sovereignty of the British crown in New Zealand.' Before the select committee of the House of Lords Wakefield gave evidence, the value of which was acknowledged by the chairman (Lord Eliot) at a public dinner at Plymouth on 5 Nov. In Sep the directors, on his advice, applied to Lord John Russell for a charter. Stephen agreed, and Wakefield and Lord Petre were appointed to negotiate with Russell as to the terms. On 26 Oct Russell agreed to issue a charter for 40 years, with increased capital and more powers, and the Company was to receive four acres of land in the Colony for every pound of expenditure incurred in colonising. The charter was dated 12 Feb 1841. In Dec 1841 Wakefield again visited Canada to look after an interest which he had acquired in a land company. While there he was elected (Nov 1842) to represent in the House of Assembly of Lower Canada the French-speaking county of Beauharnois, the electors of which appreciated what he had done to secure for them a share in their administration. The governor, Sir Charles Bagot, regarded him as 'a vindictive, as well as subtle serpent,' and was careful to have nothing to do with him; but his confidential advice to Bagot's successor, Sir Charles Metcalfe, in Metcalfe's conflict with ministers on the subject of responsible government, earned for him the hatred of the Canadian Radicals and the title of 'arch-traitor.' His perception in Canadian politics was nevertheless sometimes shrewd, though in the responsible government controversy he was clearly fighting against the future. Metcalfe had declined to consult his ministers in the making of appointments. Wakefield supported the governor, for reasons which he set forth in his pamphlet, A View of Sir Charles Metcalfe's Government of Canada, by a Member of the Provincial Parliament. He came back to England (1844) to find the Company once more at war with the Colonial Office over the interpretation of the agreement as regards the allocation of grants of land. A select committee appointed by the House of Commons upheld the Company on every point except its 'highly irregular and improper conduct' in sending out settlers in defiance of the authority of the crown. Lord Stanley (the Secretary of State) would not, however, accept the Company's contention that the Maori possessed only a qualified dominion in New Zealand. In Mar and Jun 1845 there were stormy debates in Parliament. Earl Grey became Secretary of State in Jun 1846. Wakefield had a discouraging interview with him at Buller's house in Jul, and a week or two later suffered an apoplectic stroke as the result of overwork and excitement (15 Aug 1846). This placed him hors de combat for some years, though he continued to attend meetings. In May 1847 Buller made an agreement with Grey under which the Company should receive a new loan and come under government control. Wakefield protested against government control, but was in no state of health to fight, and retired to undergo the water cure at Great Malvern. His enthusiasm in colonisation was revived by the Church of England proposal to settle a colony in New Zealand, and by a meeting with John Robert Godley (q.v.), whom he importuned to lend his influence to the scheme. Godley acceded (30 Nov 1847), and Wakefield transferred to him sufficient stock (£500) to qualify him as a director. The site proposed for the settlement was Wairarapa.

Wakefield was now writing topics regularly for the Spectator. Late in 1848 he retired to France (with A. J. Allom, q.v.) to finish his book on the Art of Colonisation, in which he hoped to establish his claim as the author of the school of thought now almost triumphant. The book was published in Feb 1849. He resigned from the directorate of the Company. Earl Grey about this time submitted to Durham a scheme for a colony in Canada, which Wakefield criticised and showed to be impracticable. Early in 1849 he drew up the heads of the articles of association for the Canterbury settlement, which being done, he wrote to F. D. Bell (his kinsman) in New Zealand to say that he was now determined to proceed thither, since his work in England was finished. He arranged for the publication of the Canterbury Papers and, the land sales being insufficient to justify proceeding, he arranged a personal guarantee of £15,000 by Lord Lyttelton, Sir John Simeon, Lord Richard Cavendish and himself. Having worked with his accustomed zeal until the first four ships of the Canterbury settlement had passed down the Channel, he then turned to the New Zealand constitution. On 8 Feb 1850 Lord John Russell proposed in parliament that provision be made for the better government of her Majesty's Australian colonies. The bill was passed on 13 May, a similar one being promised for New Zealand in the following year. In the drafting of the New Zealand constitution some share was taken by Wakefield, Fox, Weld, Sewell, Adderley (afterwards Lord Norton) and Lyttelton. In 1851 it was impossible to bring in the bill, but it came in 1852. In Jun Wakefield, fearing its destruction by the opposition of Molesworth, petitioned both houses in favour of it.

The act received the royal assent on 30 Jun. Wakefield sailed for New Zealand in the Minerva in Oct 1852, arriving in Lyttelton on 2 Feb 1853. He became involved almost immediately in a controversy with Governor Grey over his land regulations of 4 Mar 1853, in which the price was fixed at 10s per acre, reducible to 5s in cases where the land was not easily accessible. Wakefield wrote home characteristically that 'he worked the newspapers and went to law with the Governor.' Thereafter he was at odds with Grey over alterations in the constitution and his delay in having Parliament constituted, and later in summoning the General Assembly to meet. Wakefield was elected a member of Parliament for Hutt (19 Aug 1853) and of the Wellington Provincial Council, also for Hutt (5 Sep), defeating by a very large majority candidates who supported the policy of Grey. Grey left the Colony on 31 Dec 1853. The Provincial Council met on 28 Oct 1853 and, having elected Clifford to be Speaker, had good reason to approve its choice. So that when Parliament assembled seven months later Wakefield had already been in consultation with other members and persuaded them to elect Charles Clifford (q.v.), though a Catholic, to the chair of the House of Representatives.

Colonel Wynyard, the administrator, was inexperienced and lacking in initiative, and Wakefield soon appeared as the Machiavelli of Parliament. The House had no sooner shaken down to its task when he moved (2 Jun 1854) to establish full responsible government. Swainson (the Attorney-general) ruled that the Governor had no power to introduce the responsible system, but Wakefield had won his point and was prepared to await developments. He wrote Home that he was happy in having the full realisation of all he had hoped and longed for. Friction occurred between the responsible ministers and the permanent officials who sat with them in the executive and whom, according to Wakefield's ruling, the Governor had no power to dismiss since they were appointed by the crown. Wynyard therefore accepted the resignation of ministers and consulted Wakefield, who once more appeared as the enemy of the system he had always advocated. Provoked by his rather tactless conduct, the House passed a resolution (proposed by one of the executive, FitzGerald) protesting against the acceptance of advice from a private member of Parliament. On the intimation that Wynyard intended to prorogue Parliament (also on the advice of Wakefield), the House passed a resolution demanding the full grant of responsible government and the removal of Wakefield from his position as unofficial adviser. Wakefield's supporters walked out of the chamber in the hope of preventing the motion being carried. He withdrew then from his unique position, and a fortnight later Parliament met and passed supply for a ministry led by T. S. Forsaith (q.v.), with Travers, Macandrew and E. J. Wakefield as colleagues.

On 8 Dec the Secretary of State approved the grant of responsible government. Wakefield retired at the general election (1855). He was re-elected to the Provincial Council, but attended less frequently owing to failing health. His most noteworthy intervention in this period was at the election of 1857, when his son (E. J. Wakefield) made a determined attempt to capture the provincial government. Thereafter he lived in enforced retirement at his home in Wellington, his principal companion in the evening of his life being Alice, daughter of his brother Daniel, and later the wife of Harold Freeman. He died on 16 May 1862, and was buried in the Sydney street cemetery.

E. Irving Carlyle, in the Dictionary of National Biography, says: "The importance of Wakefield's achievements in colonial matters can hardly be overestimated. The tangible fruits of his labours are the least part of their result, for all subsequent colonial development has followed the direction of his thought. He brought to the subject for the first time the mind of a philosopher and statesman, equally fitted for framing a comprehensive theory and for directing its working in practical detail. The great flaw in his character was lack of scruple in selecting the means for attaining his ends. This imperfection of character brought about serious disaster in his private affairs, and in his public life it prevented even his most devoted supporters from giving him their implicit confidence."

Wakefield's publications include: Swing Unmasked, or the Causes of Rural Incendiarism (1831), The Hangman and the Judge (1833), Popular Politics (1837).

G.B.O.P. 1836-45; N.Z.P.D. 1854-62; N.Z. Comy reports; Wakefield Letters in Canterbury Museum; N.Z.C., pass. (including many manuscript and draft letters in Wakefield's hand); E. J. Wakefield, Adventure; Harrop, Wakefield; Wakefield, New Zealand (p); Wakelin; O'Connor (p); Gisborne; Saunders; Rusden; E.G. Wakefield, op. cit.; Egerton; Sherrin and Wallace; Garnett (p); Godley, Letters; Lovat; J. Collier (introd. The Art of Colonisation, 1914); R. C. Mills, The Colonisation of Australia (1915); John Morley, Life of William Ewart Gladstone (1904); Hight and Bamford; Keith; Scholefield, Hobson; Ward (p); A. J. Harrop in The Press, Oct-Nov 1928; Stuart J. Reid; Lucas; Chester W. New, Lord Durham; Chester Martin, Empire and Commonwealth; W. P. Morrall, Colonial Policy of Peel and Russell; Fisher's Colonial Magazine, Jul 1844; Wellington Independent, 20 May 1862; Wellington Spectator, 5 Jan, 23 Jul 1853; Otago Daily Times, 30 Dec 1931; The Press, 1 May 1909, 12 Dec 1925.

Portrait: Bust by Joseph Durham, R.A., in Colonial Office (replica in Parliament House, Wellington); portrait by E. J. Collins and Richard Ai in Provincial Hall, Christchurch.

Volume 2, page 225

NameEdward Gibbon Wakefield Biography