It was ordered in 1850, some time after the death of William Wakefield, an important but controversial agent for the New Zealand Company.

[1] He was regarded as Wellington's first leader,[2] and when he died in 1848, his friends raised the funds for a memorial, which was ordered from England; sources vary whether this was done in 1850,[2] in the early 1850s,[3] or in 1862.

[4] The New Zealand Company's reputation deteriorated significantly, and the memorial was not installed, but put in storage in Bethune and Hunter's yard for many years.

[2] William Barnard Rhodes, another prominent early Wellington settler, put up £50 towards the installation of the memorial in 1876.

[3] The William Wakefield Memorial was registered as a Category I heritage structure by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust with registration number 1441.