Pompallier House is a nineteenth-century building located in Russell, New Zealand which once served as the headquarters to the French Catholic mission to the Western Pacific. It is named after Jean Baptiste Pompallier, the first vicar apostolic to visit New Zealand, who founded a number of missions in the North Island. Pompallier House is owned and managed by Heritage New Zealand, who open it to the public. It is New Zealand's oldest Roman Catholic building, oldest rammed earth building, and oldest industrial building.[1]
The mission and printery is open to the public seven days a week, from 10 am to 4 pm. Access to the building is by guided tour only, with guided tours running four times a day. Garden visit tickets are available to view the Victorian and Edwardian gardens and the hillside parkland walk with views out over the bay. There is also a French Coffee House on site which is open seven days a week from 9am.[2]
- ^ McGill, David; Sheehan, Grant; Landmarks: Notable Historic Buildings of New Zealand, Wellington: Phantom Books, 2005, p 18 ISBN 0-9582388-5-5
- ^ "Pompallier House". Heritage New Zealand.