The Stone Store: Kerikeri icon Home Cottage contents Kerikeri history To see and do Tariffs Locating cottage Contact us Availability calendar Click any image to enlarge The Kerikeri Mission Station and Kemp-family house St. James Anglican Church

Brief Kerikeri History Kerikeri in the Bay Of Islands, is the first place in New Zealand where, on May 3rd 1820, at the hand of the Reverend John Butler, a European style plough turned the soil.  Kerikeri, - a Maori name which apparently at that time sounded more like Kidee Kidee, - translates roughly into English as "dig dig". In the latter part of the 1920's, people largely from British colonies in Asian countries arrived and began growing citrus commercially in a new land development settlement. Stone-Store Basin Click to enlarge More on the Stone-Store Basin Some of the older houses around Kerikeri still reflect the lifestyles of those early orchard settlers. This was from an era when there was no telephone, and no roads to speak of, but, according to the letters of some of the early growers, there was definitely no shortage of mud. Since then Kerikeri has continued to grow and appears set to become the main commercial centre of the Far North. Farming, fruit growing and tourism remain the economic backbone of the district, but new arrivals from around the world have created a booming building industry. The area has a long coastline, a yacht club and marina, plus dozens of clubs and societies. It is a characterful town with many interesting properties echoing it's orcharding history. The numerous boulder strewn streams, native bush and rural atmosphere round Kerikeri's outskirts all adding up to a lifestyler's nirvana. The picture above (top right image) is of the Stone Store Basin, at the head of the Kerikeri inlet, where the Kerikeri river meets the sea. The buildings in the picture, now part of New Zealand's national heritage, are from the left: - the Stone Store, the Anglican Church and the Kemp-family Homestead.