William Gilbert Rees was an early explorer, surveyor, and settler in central Otago, New Zealand. He and his colleague, explorer Nicholas von Tunzelmann, were the first Europeans to settle in the Wakatipu Basin region of New Zealand. Otago, and Reese is considered the founder of the beautiful city of Queenstown, and the people of the city erected this statue in his honor and his achievements. If you want to learn about the history of Queenstown, do not miss visiting it.