British colonists found the settlement of Wellington

Background. Steps towards European settlement began in 1839 when Colonel William Wakefield arrived to purchase land for the New Zealand Company. An advance party arrived on the ship Tory in September 1839. The settlement was officially founded on 22 January 1840, when 150 settlers arrived on the Aurora. This founding occurred before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in February 1840.

Settlement. The 1840 settlers constructed their first homes at Petone, known as Britannia, on the flat area at the mouth of the Hutt River. The town's layout was designed by Captain William Mein Smith, the first Surveyor General for the New Zealand Company, in 1840. The settlement was named Wellington in November 1840 by the original settlers.

Naming. The settlement was named Wellington in November 1840 by the original settlers on the suggestion of the New Zealand Company directors. This choice recognized the Duke's strong support for the company's principles of colonisation and his successful defence of the measure for colonising South Australia. The name Pōneke was already in use by February 1842.