The company was formed to carry out the principles of systematic colonisation devised by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of a new-model English society in the southern hemisphere.
[5] Of New Zealand's English immigrants, most of them predominately originated from the south-west counties of Cornwall and Devon, with significant numbers also coming from England's southeast of London and Kent.
For instance, English is the predominant and most widely spoken language, with approximately 4.4 million speakers (c. 95% of the population) as of the 2018 census.
[7] Also, based on the same census, England has remained the most common place from which immigrants to New Zealand come.
[25] Some of the most popular sports in New Zealand such as cricket, netball, rugby union, and league, are of English origin.