A number of fascinating sites provide a better understanding of the region’s history.
The Elms Mission House is one of the most significant places in the history of New Zealand. Previously known as the Te Papa Mission Station, the buildings contain many original items of furniture brought from England.
The Historic Village in Tauranga includes a reconstructed church and houses a number of historic buildings.
Athenree Homestead is a unique homestead which is being gradually restored to its former glory. Built in 1878 by Hugh and Adela Stewart, it is the only homestead of its kind left in the area which was a part of the only planned Irish settlement in the world – George Vesey Stewart’s “Ulster Plantation” of Katikati. Athenree Homestead is open to the public on Sundays between 10am and 4pm.
The Te Awanui waka is located on the northern end of The Strand. Carved from a totara tree in 1973 by master carver Tuti Tukaokao, the waka is used on ceremonial occasions.
Almost 100 hectares of the historically significant land of the Papamoa Hills was purchased to create a cultural heritage park. The hills are home to 10 Maori pa sites with some of their construction thought to date back as far as 1500 – some of the oldest in New Zealand.
A visit to the Mission Cemetery gives insight into Tauranga’s early history. Although the cemetery was officially closed in 1881, some of the early settlers and their families are buried here.