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Kōrero: Historic places

Oldest European buildings in New Zealand

Oldest European buildings in New Zealand

This view takes in New Zealand's oldest European stone and wooden buildings: the Stone Store and Kerikeri mission house. The house was built in 1822 for the Anglican Church Missionary Society's Kerikeri mission. It first housed the Reverend John Butler and then the mission store keeper James Kemp. The Kemp family and its descendants continued to live in the house until 1974, when it was gifted to the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. The Stone Store opened in 1836 as a mission storage depot, but later came into Kemp family ownership. It was bought by the Historic Places Trust in 1976. The buildings and surrounding area are highly valued as a cradle of Pākehā and Māori relations.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Flickr: russellstreet's photostream

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Ben Schrader, Historic places – Colonial ideas and practice, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/42115/oldest-european-buildings-in-new-zealand (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Ben Schrader, i tāngia i te 4 July 2013, updated 19 August 2016.

Comments

neil coaley
10 August 2016
The fact that this was the first house in nz could be challenged I worked in milford sound for 3 yrs and took an interest in the history of fiordland > in 1793 the Discovery was wrecked in Dusky Sound with about 30 castaways .They used one of the longboats to sail back to Australia and raise the alarm,The 244 left repaired a sealing gangs boat left behind and built a house where they lived for 20 months(.While doing a tour of the treaty grounds they informed us that the treaty house their was the 4th built in NZ. built in 1833).Could the claim that this house at Keri Keri be wrong-would be interested to hear , Thanks