Historic Sites

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Monday

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Tuesday

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Wednesday

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Thursday

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Friday

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Saturday

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Sunday

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

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About

Pompallier Mission, where Catholic missionaries translated religious texts into Maori, printed and bound them into beautiful books, was a saintly enclave in the most sinful site of the southern seas. In what is undoubtedly one of the best heritage tours in the country, our passionate guides will take you through the steps of leather tanning and book-making as it was done by courageous pioneers living in this tiny outpost, over 170 years ago. Delight in our award winning heritage gardens, take in the wonderful views across the Bay and browse our Heritage Store for a unique reminder of a special place. Relax in our French Coffee House and enjoy the best coffee and views in the Bay! Covid19: We have increased hygiene protocols, hand sanitiser available, smaller tour group numbers, and contact tracing on site for all guests.

Duration: 1-2 hours

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See what travellers are saying

Pioneer700663
19 contributions
Guided tour a must
The guided tour is a must. Our guide was local and had so much knowledge of the history. Her explanation and the way she imparted the story was 5 star. The tour provides so many insights including the origins of some of our everyday sayings. Don’t miss it.
Visited September 2023
Travelled as a couple
Written 16 September 2023
Joel K
Vancouver, Canada3,738 contributions
Fabulous tour and great docent
We went in at the recommendation of our proprietor at the Acadia Lodge Inn. We were not disappointed. We opted for the afternoon tea and admission option. It was a nice respite sitting on the patio and relaxing prior to the tour. The tour and the tour guide was fascinating revealing an aspect of Russell History that we were not aware of about the French missionaries.
Visited May 2023
Travelled as a couple
Written 29 October 2023
deborahbC3444RB
327 contributions
Not to be missed!
This was one of the standout of this trip. The guided tour of the printery was amazing and very informative. We were the only two so we were not rushed and had plenty of time to ask questions and view the different parts of the printery. Terri our guide was knowledgeable and had a good sense of humour. The self guided tour of the gardens was a bonus. There is a small gift shop and a lovely French cafe on site. After the tour we had morning tea with fresh produce to accompany our drinks. Service again was friendly and efficient. I would imagine that it would get busy so go early.
Visited November 2023
Travelled as a couple
Written 17 November 2023
Notable Tours NZ
Wellington, New Zealand57 contributions
Great for a large group
These guys coped with a group of 40 with no trouble at all, allowing them to roam freely around but having staff on hand to help and answer questions. fascinating visit. Lovely shop and cafe facilities.
Visited August 2024
Travelled on business
Written 9 September 2024

These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5

638 reviews

Excellent

473

Very good

137

Average

16

Poor

9

Terrible

3

Sawhira

Auckland, New Zealand264 contributions

Fascinating info & setting

Feb 2020 • Friends

Great info during the NZ$15 guided tour.
The guide was witty and she thoughtfully involved a young girl in our group as her ‘assistant’. The gift shop is amazing!
Heritage plants in the garden too!
Snippets of NZ history and printing back then we’re fascinating for the history buffs and engineers in the group!
“Mind your Ps& Qs.
Dab hand.
First impression.”
Clever, very clever.

Written 7 February 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kirsty H

Thanks so much for your review. We love when our visitors let others know of their great experience here with us!

Written 10 February 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Serendipity

Auckland, New Zealand107 contributions

An educational experience

Jan 2021

This is a must see place as the history is fascinating .

We had the guided tour and learnt so much about the history of Pompallier and the printery as the guide was very knowledgeable.

After the tour we visited the museum within the building and was intrigued by the information and artifacts on display.

A tour around the gardens is a must see with many fruit trees.

Written 4 January 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kirsty H

Thank you for your review, we really appreciate it!

Written 4 January 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Karen F

Whangarei, New Zealand234 contributions

Great insight into the past

Oct 2020

What a great session it was being shown the printing trade by Cornelia. She knew her stuff and tried to talk at appropriate levels for her audience. very interesting to share a part of history. I am grateful that the value was seen in the purchase of this historic building so we can enjoy a snippet of past life in Russell. A good tour, lasting about 45 minutes.

Written 7 October 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kirsty H

Thanks for your review Karen, we really appreciate when our guests take the time to let others know how much they enjoyed their time with us.

Written 21 October 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Avocadonut

Christchurch, New Zealand14 contributions

No croissants at 10:30

Jan 2021 • Family

A cafe that advertises all day croissants and coffee as the main trade runs out of croissants 1.5 hours after opening. Poor show. Beautiful surroundings and view...but again, no croissants seems unredeemable when we'd been seeing adverts all around Russell for them. Sure it's a busy season...but no surprises there. Cannot recommend unfortunately.

Written 1 January 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kirsty H

Thanks for taking the time to review our French Coffee House here at Pompallier Mission. We continually bake fresh batches of our croissants and pastries all day, so we have a fresh supply throughout the morning and afternoon. If there were none at the moment you arrived, there would have been a fresh batch out shortly after - if you had enquired at the counter any of our lovely staff members could have let you know. I'm sorry you left disappointed, but rest assured that we do have plentiful croissants available throughout the day, every day.

Written 4 January 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

santo t

Auckland, New Zealand7,465 contributions

Very historical place and Museum now

Jun 2020

Only approx. 300m from Russell wharf , easy to be visited, located the Pompallier Mission House. Built in 1842, this Pompallier Mission originally housed a printery where Church texts were translated from Latin to te reo Māori, then printed and bound. The Mission’s original printing press, fully restored to working order, provides just one of many opportunities to experience hands-on the curious printer. At the rear building part visitors can also see the tannery equipment. This old historical building is surrounded with beautiful garden and bushes, a really good place to have a nice stroll. At the front part, the entry area with ticket office, a nice café is ready with yummy food and coffee with the beautiful views to the water front. Entry with ticket, but it is a good experience to know the history of this mission as well as the site some nearly 200 years ago.

Written 19 March 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kirsty H

What a wonderful review - thank you so much!

Written 27 July 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

AndyNZ71

Rotorua, New Zealand6 contributions

Outstanding!

Jul 2020

Not one to write reviews but felt I had to for this. Simply brilliant. Didn't have high expectations but Julie our guide was outstanding! Have worked in the tourism industry for 30 years and aren't easily impressed, but Julie was fantastic! 1 Hour tour for 2 adults and 2 kids for $30, excellent value for money, insightful, engaging, informative, hands on. I lived in the Bay of Islands for a few years and visited for many many more before that, can't believe I've never done it before. Just brilliant!

Written 7 July 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kirsty H

Thank you so much for your awesome review! It's always so nice to hear that our guests have enjoyed themselves - especially as you were lucky enough to get a private tour! So glad you finally got to visit and we hope we'll see you again in the future! Thanks again!

Written 7 July 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Foodie4food

Auckland, New Zealand242 contributions

Very informative and interesting

Jan 2021 • Couples

We did this in a wet windy day instead of boating and totally enjoyed the experience ! Do book in for the guided tour though which can be done via the gift shop on site .
Not so easy for those with babies as the second part of the short tour is up stairs.
A nice touch is for families to actually print a momento on one of the printing presses upstairs to take home . Great touch and the explanation of where many of of English phrases and terms come is educational ie “ first impressions “ is the the first copy of the print etc .
Guide shares a short history of BOI and Russell which segways into the Mission and the work of the priests and the process of printing and binding the prayer books , from tanning the leather to the finished binding ! Quite extraordinary.
Loved the experience and finished off with great coffee and perfect light pastries on the French cafe patio .
Highly recommend
And do give me a thumbs up if this was helpful

Written 12 January 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kirsty H

Thank you for leaving such a detailed review, we're so glad you enjoyed your time with us so much!

Written 9 July 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Roger That

Hamilton & Waikato Region, New Zealand97 contributions

Great experience

Sept 2020 • Family

There is an entry fee to Pompallier house which includes a guided tour of the printery and great commentary. You’re taken through each stage of printing and also the tannery. After the tour you can explore the gardens and for children there is a bird treasure hunt that takes you to the top of the hill for a great view.

Written 1 October 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kirsty H

Thank you for your review! How awesome that you came during school holidays and your kids got to enjoy the bird walk up the hillside - we'll be running more things like this in future school holidays!

Written 21 October 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Pip H

10 contributions

You don't want to miss this

Jul 2020 • Couples

Unfortunately we were too late for a tour or to see inside the printery, but did experience the gardens. Oh my goodness you do not want to miss them. They were the highlight of our visit to Russell. Great view from the top too. Definitely make time for this, it's a real gem you don't want to miss. The lady in the gift shop was so lovely. Only wished we had made this the first thing to do on our itinerary, the French cafe on site looked like an amazing place too. Hint don't go at 4pm like we did.

Written 14 July 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kirsty H

Thank you so much for your lovely review - so sorry you didn't get to do our guided tour but glad that you enjoyed the gardens! We'll look forward to seeing you back one day a little earlier to experience the inside of the building - and some French Pastries afterwards too!

Written 10 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Olivia

Silverdale, New Zealand4 contributions

Fantastic tour!

Jan 2020 • Couples

My partner and I went on the Pompallier Mission and Printery tour today and it far exceeded our expectations! From the stunning gardens to the amazing history of the building this tour did not disappoint. We learnt about how to make leather along with how the French Catholic missionaries printed their religious books in Te Reo Māori. The tour guide was fantastically knowledgable and the gift shop is full of little gems. Anyone going over to Russell, Bay of Islands, must check this place out!

Written 13 January 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kirsty H

Thank you so much for such a lovely review! We're delighted when we manage to surprise people with the history and information we keep safe here at Pompallier Mission.

Written 10 February 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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