Captain Arthur Wakefield served with the Royal Navy, before joining his brother, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, in founding the new settlement at Nelson, New Zealand.

Edward Gibbon Wakefield is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand. He also had significant interests in British North America, being involved in the drafting of Lord Durham's Report and being a member of the Parliament of the Province of Canada for a short time.