Pompallier Mission and Printery — Attraction in Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community

We really enjoyed our visit - the $20 pp cost for a guided tour was money very well spent, as we were only 2 plus our lovely guide, & we learned so much. Discovering how many phrases still in common use today, were derived from the printing trade e.g "strong silent type", "mind your ps & qs" & "make a good first impression" to name a few, was an added bonus to hearing the Catholic southseas mission story. Being able to work the old permanent press & see the tools & methods used to bind books was most interesting as well. Lastly it was noteworthy to we non-Kiwis, to learn that it was Bishop Pompallier's last-minute interventions, that ensured the Waitangi Treaty signed with The British Crown, contained language that gave all Maori ongoing religious, language &...

What an amazing heritage house. We had Tracy as our tour guide, and she was very knowledgeable and passionate about the history of Pompallier House. She showed us through the house, then let us wander back through it and the gardens by ourselves. The tanning process and the finding of the tanning area under the old slips at the back of the house was very interesting, as was the way the walls were made. We were able to make a couple of prints on the original printing press upstairs. It was interesting to learn how so many of our sayings came from the printing process. We highly recommend visiting Pompallier House and will definitely visit again. The highlight...

This guided tour was the highlight of our New Zealand trip. We were expecting to be part of a group, but we were treated to a personal tour by a lady who had grown up in Russell and knew the building very well. It's history is fascinating and to be able to see the original printing machine and tannery brought it all to life. It was also so interesting to find out do many of our sayings come from the printing process. The tour guide (unfortunately I didn't get her name) was clearly passionate about the museum and it definitely came across. We never got to try to cafe as it was full but it looked lovely. Don't miss visiting this museum it's...