Interest high at Far North historic site open with hundreds visiting Edmonds Ruins

Visitors at the Edmonds Ruins, near Kerikeri, on the Labour Weekend Sunday open day, showing that interest in Northland’s historic sites is high

Interest in Northland’s historic sites is alive and well, judging by the response to an open day at the Edmonds Ruins near Kerikeri.

An open day showcasing Edmonds Ruins – a historic place cared for by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (HNZ) – drew unprecedented crowds over Labour Weekend in what HNZ said was a record-breaking success.

Around 400 people attended the open day – the first for many years – with some people travelling from as far away as Invercargill, Hamilton and Rotorua.

The Sunday event was well supported by local people and visitors from out of town as well as descendants of John Edmonds, the stonemason who began building the house from locally sourced stone in 1840, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Northland manager, Bill Edwards said. The ruins of his house, located 15 minutes drive from Kerikeri, are still standing after 180 years and proved to be a fascinating drawcard for people keen to celebrate their family connection to the place, as well as for those wanting to explore the site.

Edwards acknowledged the support and enthusiasm of volunteers and community leaders who made the day such a success.

“We are very grateful to Kerry Revell, a volunteer and descendant of John Edmonds who has done a huge amount of ground maintenance over the past year, and who has worked hard to connect with other members of the Edmonds whānau around the country generating a lot of interest and support in the process,” he said.

“I would also like to acknowledge Edmonds descendants and local residents Esther Horton and Ian Mitchell who provided a warm welcome and kōrero for visitors – and Edmonds whanau in particular, many of whom travelled significant distances to attend.”

The open day highlighted a number of key milestones achieved at the site over the past 12 months including the restoration of the front wall of Edmonds Ruins by local stonemason Ian McDiamard.

Volunteers Ben Perry of Vision Engineering and daughter Sunny, who earlier this year won a Prime Minister’s Science Prize, demonstrated some of the highly accurate 3D scans they made of the ruins which will help inform future conservation and other initiatives at the site.

Mike Collins of South Kerikeri Inlet Landcare was also present talking about some of the environmental management initiatives the group has undertaken in the area – including the provision of weed spray and advice.

“This year has been a big year for Edmonds Ruins, and we’re delighted with the support we’ve had from a wide range of interested individuals, organisations and businesses – including Cafe Jerusalem who provided delicious food on the day,” Edmonds said.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised by people’s interest in the ruins, and the turn-out on Sunday only reinforced the importance of the site and the strong sense of connection many people have with it.”

An orchard of heritage trees descended from some of the country’s oldest fruit trees was planted at the historic Edmonds Ruins site ahead of the open day.

The tree stock for the new orchard was sourced from remnant plantings that still exist at Paetae Reserve – the site where the Edmonds family first established themselves in 1837-38. The trees were almost certainly planted by Edmonds and are still producing fruit there.

The new trees at Edmonds Ruins – which include peach and fig saplings – were propagated from this original stock by Heritage New Zealand staff member Alex Bell as a project during the national Covid-19 lockdown.