The Elms

These photos are taken at 'The Elms' which is the site of the oldest European settlement in our area - a mission station formerly called Te Papa.

The first settlers in our area were Maori, traditional history puts their first arrivals at 1250.

In the mid 1830's there were only two Europeans living in this area, the flax traders Faulkner and Farrow. The Missionaries began their station here in 1835 but it was abandoned due to tribal unrest
until 1838 when it was reopened.

It operated until 1873. It was then purchased by the minister who had been there all those years, Archdeacon Brown, and he renamed the site 'The Elms'.

The top picture is the old library. It was built first as the missionaries brought many books with them and they needed to be stored in a warm dry place. Rev Brown also used it as an office where he complied his reports to be sent back to the Church Missionary Society in London.

The second photo is the house. It took about eight years to build, was finished in 1847, and was built entirely on the site. The kauri logs were logged in the Coromandel and towed down by sea and into the Tauranga harbour where they were dragged up the cliff and pit sawn on what is now the front lawn. Before the house was built the missionary families lived in raupo (bullrush) houses.

The third photo is looking down the path towards the chapel. The bell and belfry can be seen on the right. The chapel is not the original building, it was a replica built in the early 1960's. It is a popular place for weddings and the occasional funeral.

We are very lucky that Archdeacon Brown's descendants who lived there until 1996 never threw away anything of historical value and saw it as their duty to preserve the site, buildings and contents in the original state as much as possible. When the site was purchased by The Elms Foundation a treasure trove of artifacts was discovered. Up in the attic were trunks and trunks of old gowns, baby wear etc, many dating back to the mid 1800's.

My Great Great Grandmother was married there by Archdeacon Brown in 1843. She was the sister of a missionary whose wife had died leaving four little children and had been told it was her duty to come out from England to look after the children. I imagine she had very little say about the matter!


The Elms is a popular stop for tour buses especially in the cruise ship season over the summer when we have many ships arriving at the port.