Former resident of Hokitika and then premier of the country, Richard Seddon, lent his support, laid the foundation stone, and gave the main speech at the memorial's unveiling, some 17 months later in June 1903.

The memorial is within a roundabout on the main road into Hokitika and is practically unchanged, apart from the square iron fence that initially surrounded the tower having been replaced by a much larger circular concrete kerb.

Former Hokitika resident, New Zealand premier, and representative of the local Westland electorate, Richard Seddon, agreed for troops to be sent to South Africa in September 1899.

The Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899 and the Westland region would send 130 men to serve in South Africa, four of whom would be killed.

[5] In October 1901, it was decided to place the memorial in the middle of the intersection of Sewell and Weld streets, and to invite the premier to lay the foundation stone early in the coming year.

[6] The selected site had previously been used for a memorial for four West Coast pioneers who drowned or were murdered in the 1860s: George Dobson, Charlton Howitt, Henry Whitcombe, and Charles Townsend.

The committee received 40 letters and the chosen motto was the Latin phrase Non sibi sed patriae meaning "Not for self, but for country".

The chosen motto had been submitted by Miss Vida Perry and she won the one guinea (21 shilling) prize donated by the mayor.

[10] On 28 December 1901, Seddon sent a telegraph that he was leaving for Greymouth later that day to spend a week on the West Coast, during which time the foundation stone could be laid.

[2][17] As was usual at the time, the funds for the memorial were fundraised, and Louisa Jane Seddon (the premier's wife) had raised NZ£70 from ex-West Coasters who were living in the country's capital, Wellington.

[4] The clock tower was unveiled on 3 June 1903 (the birthday of the Prince of Wales, George Frederick Ernest Albert), with perfect weather and a crowd of 5,000 onlookers; over 3,000 of them[19] arrived by train.

Brief speeches were then given by Arthur Clifton (chairman of Westland County), Arthur Guinness (member of the House of Representatives for the Grey electorate), James Holmes (a Hokitika resident and member of the Legislative Council), and Major General James Babington (a Boer War veteran who at the time was the Commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces).

[2] The company had previously produced the Trooper's Memorial[22] and the granite plinth for the Queen Victoria Statue,[23] both located in Auckland's Albert Park.