 Beetham’s portraits were popular among Māori and pakeha alike, and his paintings of social groups, urban and rural leaders, children and family groups, provide a fascinating light on social as well as political interactions of the day and the early settlement history of the wider Wellington region.Set during the aftermath of the New Zealand Company and the early provincial era, Beetham's portrait paintings featured the eminent movers of the day, such as the son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield and William Mein Smith the Surveyor General of the New Zealand Company.Beetham also painted the portrait of Archdeacon Henry Williams (missionary) who translated the Treaty of Waitangi for the British Crown into Te Reo Māori language.