NZ’s oldest home Kemp House in Northland closed for summer

New Zealand’s oldest surviving home, Kerikeri’s Kemp House, will be closed over summer while it gets some much-needed TLC, including a new roof.

The country’s oldest house – Kerikeri’s Kemp House – is over 200 years old, and like many grand old homes it needs constant attention.

The historic Bay of Islands attraction will be closed for summer while it gets some much-needed TLC, including a new roof.

Kemp House will soon undergo a programme of work, including the replacement of its distinctive timber-shingled roof, which is at the end of its life and has been subject to ongoing monitoring and repairs in recent years.

Other roof repairs will include parts of the corrugated steel skillion roof and the roof on the front veranda. Conservators will also take the opportunity to strengthen the underlying roof structures as part of the project.

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is in charge of the two-storey building, which was built in 1821-22 by the Church Missionary Society for the Kerikeri Mission’s first overseer, Rev John Butler. The fragile building will be shrink-wrapped in protective white plastic to ensure it is watertight and safe from potential hazards during the work.

The project begins in early November with the removal of irreplaceable collection items, which will be carefully relocated from the house into secure storage before the scaffolding goes up, and the house is encased within its plastic shield.

“The mission house is a major tourist drawcard for visitors heading to Northland, and although the house will be closed to visitors this summer, the Kerikeri Mission Station will still be very much open for business, including the iconic Stone Store – Aotearoa New Zealand’s oldest store – and the famous Honey House Café,” Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Heritage Assets northern manager Boris Bogdanovic said.

“Kemp House won’t be completely hidden from view, however. An exciting exhibition based in the Stone Store looking at Kemp House over the years will incorporate audio visual interpretation, storytelling by guides and outstanding collection items. The exhibition will be available as a special tour experience for visitors. There will still be plenty going on and our team will be ready, as usual, to welcome visitors to this amazing place.”

Kemp House is expected to remain within its protective shield for most of the summer while work is undertaken in early 2026.

■ About Kemp House:

The Kerikeri Mission House is New Zealand’s oldest standing building, and an important remnant of early contact between Māori and Pakeha. Also known as Kemp House, it was erected in 1821-22 by the London-based Church Missionary Society (CMS), which had been formed to provide indigenous peoples with religious and practical education in Africa and the “East”. Kerikeri mission was the second CMS settlement in New Zealand, having been founded in 1819 under the protection of Hongi Hika (1772-1828), the most influential Māori leader in the Bay of Islands.

The timber mission house was built for Rev John Butler (c.1781-1841), the only ordained minister in the settlement at the time and the first person to use a plough in New Zealand. Built by both missionary carpenters and Māori sawyers, the dwelling was of significantly better quality than those erected for other members of the mission, and incorporated roof shingles from Australia as well as native timbers. The two-storey structure is of simple Georgian design, with a hipped roof and symmetrical facade. Initially only one room deep, the dwelling included an enclosed front verandah with rooms at either end for guests or lodgers. It was erected close to the shoreline in full view of the Māori village at Kororipo pa, where Hongi Hika had a house of similar materials erected by missionaries in 1824.