Mangungu Mission Station

We have literally been to this place in the heart of Horeke a few times now and it's become one of my favourite historical spots. Māngungu was established on the shore of the spectacular Hokianga Harbour in 1828 as a Wesleyan Mission station. It was built in 1838-1839 for the Reverend Nathaniel Turner.  It is a simple building that looks out over the beautiful Hokianga Harbour, a serene scene that belies the sometimes turbulent history of the area. Following lengthy discussions, the largest signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in the country took place here, with over 70 chiefs adding their assent before a crowd of up to 3,000 people.  The event is remembered each year on 12 February.

Honey bees were introduced at Māngungu, providing a major contribution to the success of pastoral farming in New Zealand. From 1840, the mission house was occupied by the Reverend John Hobbs and his family.   Hobbs had drawn the plans for the house – a single-storey structure in a symmetrical, Georgian style - and supervised its construction from local kauri.  

The family left Māngungu for Auckland in 1855 and the house was moved to Onehunga where it was used as a Methodist parsonage and then sold to private owners.  The mission house was returned to the Māngungu site in the 1970s, restored on behalf of Heritage New Zealand, and opened to visitors in 1977.  

I found this video on youtube of the 2021 commemoration which was held in February and was screened on Te Karere (our Maori news show), you might not be able to understand the language but you'll get the gist of it.

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