Sole survivor of the Musket Wars of the 1820s, the Mission House is New Zealand’s oldest standing European building. Built to house the Rev. John Butler in 1821-22, this simple but elegant wooden house was occupied by the Clarke family from 1824-31, and then by James and Charlotte Kemp and their descendants until 1974, when the house and most of its contents were presented to the Historic Places Trust. The garden, first dug in 1820 and cultivated ever since, recalls this mission period.
Source: New Zealand Historic Places Trust