The Elms Historic Homestead, Tauranga (must see)
The Elms Historic Homestead is one of New Zealand鈥檚 earliest mission stations and a place where M膩ori and European traditions came together. Surrounded by old trees, landscaped gardens, and carefully preserved category-one heritage buildings, it offers visitors an important insight into Tauranga鈥檚 cultural history.
For centuries, the site where The Elms now sits was known as Otamataha P膩 Site, a significant landing and settlement place for M膩ori canoe. In 1838, missionary Alfred Nesbit Brown was invited by local chiefs to establish a mission station here鈥攎arking the beginning of a powerful era where M膩ori and European settlers exchanged ideas, beliefs, and knowledge.
At the heart of The Elms stands the Mission House, completed in 1847 and considered one of New Zealand鈥檚 finest examples of Georgian architecture. Constructed from locally kauri logs, it remains largely intact鈥攃omplete with its original layout and much of its furnishing, including the very table where General Cameron and his officers dined on the eve of the Battle of Gate P膩. Right beside it is New Zealand鈥檚 oldest free鈥憇tanding library, housing over 1,000 volumes once owned by Alfred Nesbit Brown鈥攔anging from theological works to guides for life in a remote settlement.
The Elms is surrounded by lush heritage gardens and the modern TECT Heritage Garden & Pavilion, where plants important to both M膩ori and early settlers flourish in beautifully curated beds. Guided tours of the mission house, library, and gardens offer immersive steps back in time, with gifted storytellers bringing each space to life through tales of ancestry, gardening traditions, and colonial enterprise.
For centuries, the site where The Elms now sits was known as Otamataha P膩 Site, a significant landing and settlement place for M膩ori canoe. In 1838, missionary Alfred Nesbit Brown was invited by local chiefs to establish a mission station here鈥攎arking the beginning of a powerful era where M膩ori and European settlers exchanged ideas, beliefs, and knowledge.
At the heart of The Elms stands the Mission House, completed in 1847 and considered one of New Zealand鈥檚 finest examples of Georgian architecture. Constructed from locally kauri logs, it remains largely intact鈥攃omplete with its original layout and much of its furnishing, including the very table where General Cameron and his officers dined on the eve of the Battle of Gate P膩. Right beside it is New Zealand鈥檚 oldest free鈥憇tanding library, housing over 1,000 volumes once owned by Alfred Nesbit Brown鈥攔anging from theological works to guides for life in a remote settlement.
The Elms is surrounded by lush heritage gardens and the modern TECT Heritage Garden & Pavilion, where plants important to both M膩ori and early settlers flourish in beautifully curated beds. Guided tours of the mission house, library, and gardens offer immersive steps back in time, with gifted storytellers bringing each space to life through tales of ancestry, gardening traditions, and colonial enterprise.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Tauranga. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "黑料吃瓜网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
Download The 黑料吃瓜网 App
The Elms Historic Homestead on Map
Sight Name: The Elms Historic Homestead
Sight Location: Tauranga, New Zealand (See walking tours in Tauranga)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Tauranga, New Zealand (See walking tours in Tauranga)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Tauranga, New Zealand
Create Your Own Walk in Tauranga
Creating your own self-guided walk in Tauranga is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Tauranga Introduction Walking Tour
Tauranga sits in the Bay of Plenty with a name lifted straight from the M膩ori language, meaning 鈥渟afe anchorage鈥� or 鈥渞esting place for canoes.鈥� It鈥檚 not flowery metaphor鈥攊t鈥檚 a job description the harbour fulfilled for centuries before Europeans showed up. Archaeologists trace human settlement here back to the 13th century, long before the 19th-century wave of missionaries who... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.6 Km or 1 Miles
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.6 Km or 1 Miles