Arthur Wakefield
| Arthur Wakefield | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
19 November 1799 Essex, England |
| Died | 17 June 1843 (aged 43) Wairau Valley |
| Occupation | Royal Navy, New Zealand Company |
| Known for | founder of Nelson, New Zealand |
Captain Arthur Wakefield (19 November 1799 – 17 June 1843) served with the Royal Navy, before joining his brother, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, in founding the new settlement at Nelson, New Zealand.
Arthur Wakefield was born in Essex near London, a son of Edward Wakefield (1774–1854) and Susanna Crash (1767–1816); his other brothers were William Wakefield and Felix Wakefield.
He joined the Royal Navy at age eleven. He saw action in the Dutch East Indies, and was part of the force that captured and burnt Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812. He took part in the bombardment of Algiers. In the post-Napoleonic period he was stationed off South America, involved in diplomatic duties during the various wars of independence. He then spent several years off the coast of West Africa as part of the flotilla engaged in the suppression of the slave trade. He also saw duty in the North Atlantic, the West Indies and the Mediterranean Sea. He was eventually given command of his own ship, the steam frigate Rhadamanthus. However, in 1837 he was passed over for promotion, so, recognising that his career was going nowhere, he resigned from the Navy in 1841.
Immediately after Arthur Wakefield left the Navy in 1841, his brother, Edward Gibbon Wakefield recruited him to join the New Zealand Company, tasking him to select settlers for a new settlement to be named Nelson, escort the party to New Zealand, and supervise the growth of the new town. Arthur Wakefield sailed from London on the Whitby in April 1841 and reached Wellington in September 1841. The first immigrant ships arrived in Nelson in February 1842.
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