Surrounded by mature trees and lovely gardens, Tauranga's original mission station incorporates the Bay of Plenty's earliest buildings, along with one of the country's oldest oaks and first pianos. Fascinating guided tours tell the story of the mission, founded by Anglican priest Alfred Nesbit Brown in 1838, and its relations with local Māori. The property remained in the extended Brown family until 1997, retaining much of its original furniture, books and other chattels.
The oldest building is Nesbit Brown's free-standing office, built in 1838. The family lived in a whare (traditional house) built of bulrushes until 1847, when the house was completed. There's also a reconstructed chapel (the original fell down) and various outbuildings.