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History
Mountain Landing stands on some of the most historically significant land in New Zealand. Numerous early Maori settlements were located here and the region played a key role in early colonial history. There are a number of sites of particular cultural and heritage importance on the property, and the land where they lie is held in a charitable trust to ensure their preservation.
Maori history
Maori have lived on the Purerua Pensinsula for more than 600 years. Rangihoua and Wairoa Bays were home to Maori settlements for centuries before the first contact with European settlers in the early 1800s.
The prime coastal location made trade with passing whaling ships a key economic activity for local Maori. For more than two decades this area was the principal point of European contact in New Zealand. In 1807 the busy Maori village of Te Puna, today the Village Green at Mountain Landing, was described as the ‘Capital of the Country’.
There is still a Maori settlement at Wharengaere Bay to the west of Mountain Landing today. Mountain Landing has been developed with the blessing and contribution of the local iwi (Maori tribes).
Colonial history
The first missionary leader, Samuel Marsden, landed at Oihi, just a short walk from Mountain Landing, in December 1814. His arrival marked the beginning of European settlement in New Zealand.
On Christmas Day 1814 Marsden preached the first Christian sermon at Oihi, and a memorial marks the spot today. This was also the site of the first mission station in New Zealand. Some years later the Mission House was moved to Te Puna at Mountain Landing, where the land was better for cultivation.
The first European settlers on the land were Thomas and Elizabeth Hansen. They had 11 children, of whom Hannah King Hansen was the eldest. She is believed to be the first European child to be born and survive to live in New Zealand. A large Norfolk pine, standing on the ridge overlooking The Boathouse, was planted by her father in 1817 to mark her birth.
Walter C. Mountain
Hannah King Hansen’s grandson, Walter Clapham Mountain, farmed the land here in the 19th century. He was a charismatic and colourful figure who was not only a shrewd businessman but a heavyweight boxing champion and successful rum-smuggler too.
Walter’s businesses included the local Purerua Peninsula store and a factory canning mullet and bully beef. He also expanded the family farm to become one of the largest in the Bay of Islands. He later turned to gum digging, mining the rich kauri gum deposits on the land, which proved far more profitable than farming.
He had 16 children, the youngest of whom, Walter Jr, lived in the area until 2008. Walter’s descendants continued to farm at Mountain Landing until 2005.
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History of Mountain Landing brochure
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