Māngungu Mission
Māngungu – Site of the Largest Treaty Signing in Aotearoa
Te Tiriti o Waitangi at Māngungu
Every year on 12 February, the hapū of Te Ngahengahe and Ngāti Toro (of Ngāpuhi), together with Pouhere Taonga – Heritage New Zealand, gather to mark a powerful moment in our country’s history.
On this day in 1840, more than 3,000 Māori came to Māngungu to witness the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – the Treaty of Waitangi. Here, 64 rangatira (chiefs) signed the agreement that laid the foundation for how Māori and the Crown would work and live together. This was the largest single signing of the Treaty. For comparison, only 40 chiefs signed at Waitangi on 6 February.
The Māngungu Mission House
The Māngungu Mission House is the oldest Methodist building still standing in Aotearoa New Zealand. It was built between 1838–1839 by Rev. John Hobbs for Rev. Nathaniel Turner, following the destruction of the first Wesleyan Mission at Kaeo in 1827.
This second mission was protected by the rangatira Eruera Maihi Patuone. The Hobbs family lived in the house. In 1855, it was moved by raft to Onehunga when the family relocated to Auckland.
Returning Māngungu to Hokianga
In 1972, the Māngungu Mission House was returned to Hokianga from Onehunga. Though not a Methodist herself, historian and HHS founder Jean Irvine played a key role in bringing it back. She worked alongside Laurel Cleave of Horeke and Noni Walsh of Auckland to see it returned and restored, renewing the story of the early Wesleyan mission.
A Place of Many Layers
By the 1870s, the original Wesleyan church had fallen into disrepair. Its heart kauri timber was salvaged and used to build cottages in Kohukohu. A new church, St John’s Community Church, was later moved from Kohukohu and now stands at Māngungu.
Below the mission house lies an urupā (cemetery). Many Māori who whakapapa to Māngungu are buried there, along with early bi-cultural settler families such as the Clendons, Websters, Russells, and Martins.
Māngungu Today
Today, you can visit Māngungu and explore the site. It includes:
● The Māngungu Mission House
● Two other historic buildings
● A memorial stone marking the Treaty event
● The urupā and views over the harbour
Check the Pouhere Taonga – Heritage New Zealand website for opening hours and visitor details.
Glossary of Key Terms
Aotearoa - New Zealand
Hapū - Sub-tribe or family group, part of an iwi
Iwi - Tribe or nation
Pouhere Taonga - Heritage New Zealand – a national organisation protecting historic places
Rangatira - Chief or leader
St John’s Community Church - The church now standing at Māngungu
Te Tiriti o Waitangi - The Treaty of Waitangi – signed in 1840 between Māori and the Crown
Urupā - Burial ground or cemetery
Whakapapa - Genealogy or ancestral connections