A new exhibit at the Historic Places Trust property Te Waimate Mission showcases the remnants of New Zealand's first factory. The original Te Waimate mill was used to grind wheat grown in the area by Church Mission Society missionaries and Maori farmers. Te Waimate Mission manager Debbie Land said the relics on displaywere components of the original mill built at Waimate North between 1833 and 1835. "The machinery also represents the somewhat mixed success of the missionaries' flour milling venture in the Bay of Islands," she said. The idea for developing a wheat-based economy originated among the missionaries at the Kerikeri Mission Station - today only a 20-minute drive from Te Waimate. "The missionaries had initially established themselves in Kerikeri throughout the 1820s, during which time their operation grew and thrived," Ms Land said. But their dream was to build a flour mill and grain store by the waterfall close to Kemp House. Quite apart from the fact that the Kerikeri waterfall was completely unsuitable for milling flour, the Paihia-based missionaries opposed the idea from the beginning as a waste of time and money. The Kerikeri-based missionaries ignored the opposition, however, and managed to secure funding for the idea from the London-based Church Mission Society. "The Kerikeri missionaries built their flour mill at the new mission station at Te Waimate, though they didn't stop there," Ms Land said. "Undeterred by negativity from their Paihia brethren, they also built the Stone Store at the Kerikeri mission, which was to double as a trading post and a store for all the grain they dreamed of producing." Sadly, the Paihia missionaries had been right all along. Wheat didn't catch on, but not for want of trying. New Zealand's oldest stone building became a white elephant. "Although its mechanical components were adapted and reused elsewhere, the Te Waimate mill had fallen into disuse by the 1850s."
Te Waimate Mission is open daily except Christmas Day from 10am-5pm at 344 Te Ahu Ahu Rd, Waimate North.
