Pompallier House is a nineteenth-century building located in

Russell, New Zealand Russell, known as Kororāreka in the early 19th century, was the first permanent European settlement and seaport in New Zealand. It is situated in the Bay of Islands, in the far north of the North Island. History and culture Māori settle ...

which once served as the headquarters to the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

to the Western

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. It is named after

Jean Baptiste Pompallier Jean-Baptiste François Pompallier (11 December 1801 – 21 December 1871) was the first Roman Catholic bishop in New Zealand and, with priests and brothers of the Marist order, he organised the Roman Catholic Church throughout the country. ...

, the first

vicar apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

to visit New Zealand, who founded a number of missions in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. Pompallier House is owned and managed by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

, who open it to the public. It is New Zealand's oldest Roman Catholic building, oldest

rammed earth Rammed earth is a technique for constructing foundations, floors, and walls using compacted natural raw materials such as earth, chalk, lime, or gravel. It is an ancient method that has been revived recently as a sustainable building method. ...

building, and oldest industrial building.McGill, David; Sheehan, Grant; ''Landmarks: Notable Historic Buildings of New Zealand'', Wellington: Phantom Books, 2005, p 18 The mission and printery is open to the public seven days a week, from 10am to 4pm. Access to the building is by guided tour only, with guided tours running four times a day. Garden visit tickets are available to view the Victorian and Edwardian gardens and the hillside parkland walk with views out over the bay. There is also a French Coffee House on site which is open seven days a week from 9am.

History

Construction

In 1836, Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier, along with the newly formed French order the Society of Mary (or Marists) received papal approval and were given the mission of Western Oceania. In 1838, Pompallier, along with three of these brothers arrived in

Hokianga The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. The original name, still used by local Māori, is ...

, on the West Coast of New Zealand, to begin their work in the country. Joined by other members of the order, they moved to the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its ...

to set up their headquarters in Kororareka (now Russell). Bishop Pompallier bought land in Russell in 1839, and the building was constructed in 1841–2. In 1842, it produced its first

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

translations of religious texts.NZ Historic Places Trust: Pompallier History
/ref> Unable to bear the cost of purchasing much timber, the missionaries used the rammed earth construction common in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, their original home. The earth was dug on site and supplemented with sand and rocks from the nearby beaches.

Lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

was made by burning shells. The upper floor was constructed with earth supported by timber frames. The work was supervised by architect Louis Perret. There were a number of other buildings on the site, including a chapel, houses, kitchens and other outhouses, but the "Pompallier House" is the only one remaining.

Printing press

The original Gaveaux printing press was brought to the mission from France in the early 1840s; between 1842 and 1849 it printed over 30,000 books and tracts, some of the first in Māori.NZ Historic Places Trust: Printing Press
/ref> After the mission left Russell in 1850 the press was amongst the belongings redistributed. In 1857 the

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

Māori asked for the press, which was given to them by Bishop Pompallier. The press was used by

Tāwhiao Tāwhiao (Tūkāroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao; c. 1822 – 26 August 1894) was leader of the Waikato tribes, the second Māori King, and a religious figure. He was a member of the Ngati Mahuta (Hapū) of Waikato. Biography T ...

, the

Māori King Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

to print the Māori-language newspaper ''Te Paki o Matariki''. The press remained in Waikato until the 1990s when it was returned to Pompallier by the Māori Queen

Te Atairangikaahu Dame Te Atairangikaahu (23 July 1931 – 15 August 2006) was the Māori queen for 40 years, the longest reign of any Māori monarch. Her full name and title was Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. Her title Te Arikinui (meaning ''Paramount C ...

. While the building was originally built for a printery, it also housed a

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

for book-binding.

Relocation of missionary

In 1850 the mission headquarters moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, and in 1856 James Callaghan took over the building, converting it to a residence known as "Callaghan's Castle". It passed through a number of private owners, who altered the original building, until the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

purchased the building in 1941. In the 1990s, it was fully restored to replicate its early condition. The building contains the original printing press, restored to working order, and the gardens remain as an example of the Victorian and

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

gardens typical of the latter owners.

References

External links

NZ Historic Places: Pompallier
{{Authority control Houses completed in 1842 Museums in the Northland Region Far North District NZHPT Category I listings in the Northland Region Rammed earth buildings and structures Houses in New Zealand History of the Northland Region Historic house museums in New Zealand Bay of Islands 1840s architecture in New Zealand Historic homes in New Zealand Religious buildings and structures in the Northland Region