Woman and man looking out over Kerikeri Mission Station

Discover heritage

From the Cape to the Bluff, the heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand is waiting to be discovered.

Our heritage places are some of the most important and fascinating in the country's history, including the birthplace of the famous Ka Mate Haka at Opotaka, the location of the largest signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi at Māngungu Mission, sites of industry and innovation at Te Waimate, Hayes Engineering, Totara Estate and Clarks Mill, and sites telling stories of extraordinary women, such as Kate Sheppard House, Clendon House and Pencarrow Lighthouse.

What are you waiting for? It's yours to explore.

Te Tai Tokerau | Northland

Mother and son crouching down to look at historic wallpaper in the attic

Clendon House

Dating from the early 1860s, Clendon House reflects James’ standing in the community. But it’s the story of the impressive Jane Clendon, of Hokianga Māori and Irish descent, that the handsome kauri dwelling best tells.
Mother and children looking out from Te Ahurea to Kerikeri Mission Station

Kerikeri Mission Station

Established in 1819 by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in the shadow of Kororipo Pā, this was a junction of early Māori-Pakeha contact, a hotbed of CMS intrigue and politics, and a key site during two decades of rapid-fire societal change leading up to the signing of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Māngungu Mission with a couple picnicking on the lawn and a couple standing on the veranda

Māngungu Mission

Māngungu Mission sits in a soulful spot on the Hokianga Harbour. It was the site of the largest ever signing of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi), on February 12, 1840.
A mother and two children explore the garden of Pompallier Mission with the printery building in the background

Pompallier Mission and Printery

From 1839, Pompallier Mission and Printery in Kororāreka/Russell was the hub of the Catholic mission in the country, its ground-floor printery producing prayer books in te reo Māori (Māori language) by the hundreds.
The front of Ruatuna cottage painted yellow with a red roof.

Ruatuna
A mother and three children walk past the mission house at Te Waimate Mission

Te Waimate Mission

Aotearoa New Zealand’s second oldest building, Te Waimate Mission, preserves missionary, farming and architectural history, as well as stories of important early relationships between Māori and Pākehā.

Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland

Aerial view of Alberton house with suburbia in the background

Alberton

Nestled in the Mt Albert suburb of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest city, Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, Alberton showcases a majestic colonial property and the lives of the Kerr Taylor family that made it a much-loved and admired home.
Exterior Cottage of Ewelme Cottage at dusk

Ewelme Cottage

The kauri-constructed Ewelme Cottage has a link with the Anglican community in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, the dwelling designed and built by the Reverend Vicesimus Lush (1817-1882) and his wife Blanche in 1863-64.
Exterior of Highwic

Highwic

Perched above Newmarket’s bustling commercial strip, Highwic is the legacy of early colonial Alfred Buckland. A businessman, farmer and father of 21 children, Buckland made a lasting contribution to provincial Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland during the 19th century.

Te puku o te ika a Māui | Central North Island

Exterior of Hurworth Cottage across the lawn situation in native bush

Hurworth Cottage

Built in 1855-56 by pioneer settler and future four-time Premier of Aotearoa New Zealand, Sir Harry Atkinson, Hurworth Cottage is the only remaining building of Hurworth settlement that flourished during the 1850s.
Shelters surrounded by native bush over looking the water at Opotaka.

Opotaka

Opotaka is a historical Māori kāinga (settlement) where you can learn about the history of the famous Ka Mate Haka, see the remains of the settlement, and enjoy stunning views across Lake Rotoaira to Mt Tongariro.
Thames School of Mines from the outside at dusk with the lights on

Thames School of Mines

Fascinating Māori, industrial, education and geological history converge at one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest and best-preserved mining schools in the heart of the Hauraki gold fields.

Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington

Exterior of Antrim House at dusk with lights on inside

Antrim House

In the heart of Te-Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington is Antrim House, a prominent landmark in what was once a predominantly residential central city street. Its historic significance arises from its origins as the home of successful businessman and founder of Hannah's shoes, Robert Hannah, his wife Hannah and their family.
Statue Peter Fraser outside Old Government Buildings lit up at dusk

Old Government Buildings

In its heyday Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest and grandest wooden building housed our entire public service. Old Government Buildings is an outstanding example of the country's architectural heritage and one of the great wooden buildings of the world.
Interior of Old St Paul's timber Gothic Revival church

Old St Paul's

Be embraced by the beauty of this gorgeous wooden cathedral – still sacred, welcoming to all, and a tranquil sanctuary in the heart of the bustling capital.
Aerial shot of Pencarrow Head with old Pencarrow Lighthouse on the hill, above new Pencarrow Head Lighthouse below

Pencarrow Lighthouse

At the storm-lashed entrance to Wellington Harbour, Aotearoa New Zealand’s first lighthouse tells stories of early settlement, shipwreck, and one very strong woman.
Exterior of Upper Hutt Blockhouse on a winters day

Upper Hutt Blockhouse

Discover the mystery behind one of Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington’s remaining buildings associated with the New Zealand Wars.

Te raki o te Moana Pounamu | Upper South Island

Aerial view of Fyffe House with the ocean in the backyard

Fyffe House

In a stunning seaside setting, Fyffe House is Kaikōura’s oldest surviving building and the last remnant of a pioneer whaling station established in 1842 with a rich history that is centuries deep, dating from the arrival of tangata whenua.

Staff at the front door of Kate Sheppard House welcoming a mother and two girls to visit the house

Te Whare Waiutuutu
Kate Sheppard House

Discover the story behind the celebrated leader of the Aotearoa New Zealand women's suffrage movement, Kate Sheppard.
Lyttelton Timeball lit up at night overlooking the Lyttelton Harbour

Lyttelton Timeball

Visual signals were important features of any port, necessary for communication between ship and shore, in pre-radio times. The Timeball Station sustained devasting damage during the Canterbury earthquakes, with only the tower remaining.

Ōtākou | Otago

Clarks Mill limestone building with family walking up to it

Clarks Mill

An important industrial landmark in beautiful North Otago, this historic flour mill houses fascinating working machinery inside striking stone and timber buildings.
People exploring Hayes Engineering Works and Homestead.

Historic Hayes

Marvel at the workshop and homestead of Ernest and Hannah Hayes, 19th-century pioneers whose resourcefulness, skill and determination define the spirit of Kiwi ingenuity.
Matanaka reddish-brown pitsawn timber farm buildings across the paddock on a stormy day

Matanaka

Aotearoa New Zealand’s oldest surviving European farm buildings are set in an exposed paddock high above the Ōtākou, Otago coast, five reddish-brown pitsawn timber structures stark against a slate-grey sea.

Ophir Post Office building made of unworked schist slabs with a touch of square pointing on the formal façade, concrete pillars and arched arcade

Ophir Post Office

A small but significant legacy from the Central Otago gold rushes, this handsome post office is just one gem in a town full of architectural treasures.
Family walking towards Totara Estate.

Totara Estate

A historic farm situated in beautiful North Otago countryside, Totara Estate played a significant role in the making of Aotearoa New Zealand as we know it today.