Canterbury Association
Plaque commemorating the first meeting of the Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in order to establish a colony in what is now the Canterbury Region in the South Island of New Zealand. Contents 1 Formation of the Association 2 Establishment of the colony 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External links Formation of the Association Main category: Members of the Canterbury Association The Association was founded in London on 27 March 1848, and incorporated by Royal Charter on 13 November 1849. The prime movers were Edward Gibbon Wakefield and John Robert Godley. Wakefield was heavily involved in the New Zealand Company, which by that time had already established four other colonies in New Zealand. He approached Godley to help him establish a colony sponsored by the Church of England. The President of the Association's Committee of Management was John Sumner, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Committee itself i...