William Field Porter was a ship owner from Liverpool, who migrated to South Australia in 1838. He relocated to Auckland in 1841, where he became a member of the New Zealand Parliament.

The 1853 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's first term. It was the first national election ever held in New Zealand, although Parliament did not yet have full authority to govern the colony, which was part of the British Empire at that time. Elections for the first provincial councils and their Superintendents were held at the same time.