Kerikeri

Kerikeri is a popular tourist destination in the famous Bay of Islands on the North Island of New Zealand about three hours drive north of Auckland, and is often described as the Cradle Of The Nation. It is the site of the first permanent mission station in the country, and has some of the most historic buildings extant in the country today.

A rapidly-expanding centre of sub-tropical and allied horticulture, Kerikeri lies at the very western extremity of the Kerikeri Inlet, where fresh water of the Kerikeri River tumbles into the salty Pacific Ocean. With its lush vegetation, modern appearance and progressive community, it was judged Top Small Town of New Zealand in 2001 and is a far cry from the village established by New Zealand's pioneering missionaries.

They called it Gloucestertown, or Gloucester Town, but fortunately neither name endured. As Kerikeri is a Maori word it is correctly pronounced Keddi Keddi, or even Kiddee Kiddee, but general usage has it as Kerry Kerry.

Table of contents

1 Origins and naming

1.1 Tourist slogan

2 Historic sites

2.2 Mission House
2.3 St. James Church
2.4 Stone Store
2.5 Rewa's Village

3 Attractions

3.6 Art and Craft Trail
3.7 Backpackers
3.8 Beaches
3.9 Club
3.10 Dawn Chorus
3.11 Fairy pools
3.12 Fishing
3.13 Flying
3.14 Kororipo Pa
3.15 Rainbow Falls
3.16 Sailing
3.17 Steam Driven Sawmill
3.18 Swimming
3.19 Walks

Origins and naming

Where the name Kerikeri originated is not exactly known, and there have been many conflicting definitions given over the years.

It is likely Kerikeri derives its name from the river and in fact, after visiting the area in 1815, John Nicholson wrote "the river that discharged itself into the cove was called by the natives Tecaddiecaddie....". But where did the river get its name?

The definition of the word Kerikeri most widely circulated by pakeha -- the New Zealander of non-Maori descent -- is 'dig dig', or 'to keep digging', and it is known that Maori had extensive gardens in the area when Europeans arrived.

Another definition derives from 'Kerikeri te ana wai' which translates as the churning or boiling over of the waters . That would have aptly described the freshwater river tumbling into the salt water over the falls which were then higher (being blasted in the 1930s to accommodate a bridge).

However, some Maori say it derives from 'hukerikeri' which means bubbling up, and there is a sad reasoning behind this. Hongi Hika, a famous or infamous chief depending on whether one fought with or against him, is reputed to have fathered the child of a captured slave at Kororipo Pa. As this was unacceptable to the tribe, the baby was placed in the water to drown but persistently rose to the surface, hence the 'bubbling up'.

What are now called Wharepuke Falls, upriver from the Stone Store Basin, were called the Kerikeri Falls until the 1930s when given the name Wharepoke which referred to the large adjacent area of native bush/trees.

A French doctor, Messier Lesson, visited Kerikeri in 1824 and wrote that among stomach ailments suffered by Maori was "gravelle" (gravel) which they called Kiddee Kiddee. He said it was also the word for a cascade of water.

To cloud the issue there have been some persistent claims that the falls referred to by the missionaries as 'the kiddikiddi' were what we now call the Rainbow Falls. That is impossible because although Nicholson visited and referred to Tecaddiecaddie in 1815 it was not until 1822 that the Rainbow Falls were "discovered" by the missionaries Francis Hall and James Kemp.

Tourist slogan

Kerikeri people are often asked by tourists about the origin of the local Kerikeri slogan "It's So Nice They Named It Twice ". In the early 1980s, an anonymous backpacker visiting Kerikeri wrote those words in the Visitors' Book at the Kerikeri Youth Hostel where he or she had stayed the night.

It was brought to the attention of the then editor of the local newspaper, the Kerikeri Chronicle, who gave it publicity, and it quickly became adopted by the town as a quasi official slogan. It has been reproduced on countless brochures and publicity leaflets but has been less used in recent years. There are some moves to encourage more use.

Historic sites

Mission House

Originally called the Mission House, and then for more than 100 years Kemp House, this is the oldest wooden structure still standing in New Zealand. A much visited and photographed building, it is administered along with the Stone Storte by the Historic Places Trust.

It was built by the Church Missionary Society for the Rev John Butler (NZ's first clergyman) who became the first occupant in 1822, but only for a short while. There was a succession of occupants until 1832 when the mission blacksmith James Kemp and his wife Charlotte moved in with their family.

The Kemps acquired ownership of the house and surrounding acres in 1859 by trading land they owned at nearby Kororipo Point. From then on the Mission House became Kemp House and it remained in the Kemp family until 1976 when it was gifted to the Nation by Ernest Kemp, a great grandson of the missionary James Kemp and Charlotte Kemp.

St. James Church

St James, the wooden church on the hill above the Stone Store, is the third built in the area, and second on this picturesque site overlooking the basin.

The missionaries' first little combined chapel/school was built near the water and dedicated on April 19 1824. It was replaced in 1829 when a 38ft by 18ft lath and plaster structure was erected on the present site of St James. It came complete with a town clock which was later incorporated in the Stone Store.

The new and slightly larger St James, built of weatherboard and battens, was dedicated in 1878. It was another 85 years before the church was extended to its present day size to cater for a growing congregation (1963). In 1968 a damaging tornado hit Kerikeri with enough force to skew St James off line. Services had to be held elsewhere until a major repair/restoration was completed.

The church bell came from the Black Prince, a light cruiser which served the Royal New Zealand Navy with distinction until it was decommissioned in 1960

Stone Store

The Stone Store, a former storehouse, is the oldest stone building in New Zealand, construction having begun on 19 April 1832. The keystone above the door bearing the date 1833 is thought to have been carved by the stonemason William Parrott who cut the Sydney sandstone in situ, but construction of the building was not actually completed until mid-1836.

Stone was used because the missionaries needed a vermin-free, fireproof area for their supplies and provisions, and for improved security from inquisitive Maori. There was a plan to build a mill where the bridge exists now, and to protect the flour produced from locally grown wheat in the store. But the mill never eventuated, and the millstones brought out from England went inland to Waimate North instead.

Curiously enough, when work started on the building, Maori were already moving out of the district, and when it was finally completed there were very few Maori remaining at Kerikeri. Furthermore, there were rumblings within the missionary community and Kerikeri was becoming the backwater of missionary activity, eliminating the need to store goods and provisions there. It was considered a folly at the time, but one that blesses Kerikeri today.

Over the years, the Stone Store has suffered cumulative effects of adjacent traffic movements and the ravages of fair wear and tear. Costly remedial work was required and now we have entered the 21st century there are firm plans to divert traffic to protect the building for posterity. The building has been restored to its original state, but does not include the tower on the roof -- containing the clock removed from the chapel further up the hill -- which was removed as a safety measure a long time ago.

Rewa's Village

Rewa's Village was constructed opposite the Stone Store in 1969 as a community effort to faithfully recreate a replica kainga (fishing village) which existed when Europeans arrived in New Zealand. Kainga were sited close to fresh water and local fishing waters or gardens, and sometimes near fortified pa such as Kororipo which was just over the water.

Rewa's Village has all the features of a true kainga, including a marae area, chief's whare (house), kauta (cooking shelter), whata (bench where food was placed), tall whata, weapons store, pataka (raised food store seen top right in the illustration), enclosure for the tohunga (a wise person who advised the community on just about everything), rahui (a post marking tapu or out of bounds limits), whare made of bark, waka tiwai (fishing canoe), bird snare, hangi pit (ground oven), genuine historic canoes, family enclosure, rua (storage area ) for kumara (sweet potato) and a paepae haumati (the basic toilet system which was flushed twice daily by the tide) .

Attractions