Tauranga City Libraries

The Missionaries

The story of European settlement of the Tauranga district really begins with the establishment of a permanent mission presence. Most influential and long lasting was the Church Missionary Society's station at Te Papa. Its history reflects the development of the area and is dealt with in some detail below.

Catholic Mission Station

It is less generally known that a Catholic mission station was established here in 1840. Bishop Pompallier was given land at Otumoetai within the palisades of the pa for a church and a presbytery. The first resident priest was Father Viard. The close proximity to the CMS station and the competition for converts lasted for 23 years. The mission station closed in 1863 because of the effect of the land wars in the Waikato district, which spread to Tauranga the following year. Catholicism gained ground in the Te Puna district because of the settlement there of several French men, Bidois, Borell, and Potier, whose descendents are still living in that area.

The Anglican Te Papa Mission Station

(Maori occupation to 1828, known as The Elms since 1873. See also The Elms)

The Mission period. Rev. A.N.Brown and his wife Charlotte 1830s -1859

In the 1830s the missionaries decided to expand their work to the south, and establish stations in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. The northern end of the Te Papa peninsula was chosen as a suitable site, for its proximity to the harbour entrance and because it lay between two major pa, one at Otumoetai, the other at Maungatapu. Several attempts at living at Te Papa were abandoned because of the danger from warring tribes, but in 1838 with the arrival of Rev. A.N. Brown, his wife Charlotte and their children Marsh and Celia, permanent residence was established.

To consolidate the CMS presence at Te Papa, Brown made two purchases of land, one of 12.5 hectares in 1838 and a second of 240 hectares in 1839. The deeds of sale were signed by local chiefs.

The Mission Station consisted of several raupo houses for the missionaries, a shed for the carpenters, a store for supplies and a boatshed on the beach at the foot of the cliff. Brown arranged for work to begin on permanent structures. The first to be completed by the end of 1838 was the library, to which Brown himself added a chimney in 1842, when he found his books were suffering from damp.

Until the mission house was completed in 1847, the Browns lived in a raupo house, whose position is marked by a cairn on the north lawn.

The garden was a very important part of the mission station. It not only supplied fresh fruit and vegetables for the table, but also recreated a small part of England. Brown was known for his interest in gardening: he planted the oak tree, the Norfolk pines which are the most visible markers of the mission station, as well as ornamentals such as roses.

During this period, Brown was busy and successful in his attempts to take the Christian message to the Maori of the Bay of Plenty. He walked for many months of the year, over rough tracks, in all weathers to visit remote settlements where he preached, and prepared converts for baptism. He was made Archdeacon in 1843.

A great sadness at this period was the death in 1845 of his only son, Marsh, named after his father's mentor in England. Marsh was buried in the cemetery on the site of the Otamataha pa.

The 1850s saw a marked change for the missions. European settlers were arriving in New Zealand, hungry for land. The Maori were becoming more sceptical about the role of the missionaries. Another tragedy struck the small Brown family: Charlotte died of a respiratory complaint in 1855. She was buried in Auckland where she had gone for medical help. Celia, then in her late teens, was much sought after by suitors. Brown resisted, but in 1859 gave his consent to Celia's marriage to the Rev. John Kinder, principal of St John's College, Auckland.