, built in 1835 and New Zealand's oldest church. 's press in
Paihia, across the Bay of Islands.
Māori settlement Before the arrival of the Europeans, the area now known as Russell was inhabited by
Māori because of its pleasant climate and the abundance of food, fish and fertile soil. The settlement was known as Kororāreka, and was located on the coast. The name translates to 'delicious
blue penguin', after an ailing chief who had eaten a penguin broth remarked or 'the kororā is delicious'. Early European explorers
James Cook and
Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne remarked, by their arrival in the 18th century, that the area was quite prosperous.
Early European settlement When European and American ships began visiting New Zealand in the early 1800s, the indigenous Māori quickly recognised there were great advantages in trading with these strangers, whom they called . The Bay of Islands offered a safe anchorage and had a large Māori population. To attract ships, Māori began to supply food, timber and prostitution. In exchange, the Māori population traded for firearms, alcohol and other goods of European manufacture. Kororāreka developed as a result of this trade but soon earned a reputation as a community full of prostitution and without laws. It became known as the "Hell Hole of the Pacific"; European law had no influence and Māori law was seldom enforced within the town's area. Fighting on the beach at Kororāreka in March 1830, between northern and southern subtribes () within the
Ngāpuhi iwi, became known as the
Girls' War. On 30 January 1840 at
Christ Church, Governor
William Hobson read his proclamations (which were the beginnings of the
Treaty of Waitangi) in the presence of a number of settlers and the Māori chief
Moka Te Kainga-mataa. A document confirming what had happened was signed at this time by around forty witnesses, including Moka, the only Māori signatory. The following week, the treaty proceedings moved across to the western side of the bay to
Waitangi. By this time, Kororāreka was an important mercantile centre and served as a vital resupply port for
whaling and
sealing operations. When the
Colony of New Zealand was founded in that year, Hobson was reluctant to choose Kororāreka as his
capital, due to its bad reputation. Instead, he purchased land at
Okiato, situated five kilometres to the south, and renamed it Russell in honour of the Secretary of State for the Colonies,
Lord John Russell. Hobson soon decided that the move to the Okiato site was a mistake, and
Auckland was selected as the new capital not long after. Kororāreka was part of the Port of Russell, and after Russell (now
Okiato) became virtually deserted, Kororāreka gradually came to be known as Russell as well. In January 1844, Governor Robert FitzRoy officially designated Kororāreka as part of the township of Russell. Today, the name Russell applies only to Kororāreka, while the former capital is known either by its original name of Okiato or as Old Russell.
Catholic mission In 1841–42,
Jean Baptiste Pompallier established a
Roman Catholic mission in Russell, which contained a
printing press for the production of Māori-language religious texts. His building, known as
Pompallier Mission, remains in the care of
Heritage New Zealand. On 18 November 1844, while at anchor in the Bay of Islands, Mary Davis Wallis described "Kororarika" as a town "which appears small, consisting of a few houses along the shore, and cottages scattered here and there on the slope of the hills behind. Nothing is to be seen back of the town but lofty hills not particularly verdant."
Flagstaff War The
Flagstaff War was touched off in 1845 by the repeated felling and re-erection of the Union Jack on
Flagstaff Hill above the town. The town was sacked by
Hōne Heke, after diversionary raids drew away the British defenders. The flagstaff was felled for the fourth time at the commencement of the
Battle of Kororāreka, and the inhabitants fled aboard British ships, which then shelled and destroyed most of the houses. Hōne Heke directed his warriors not to interfere with
Christ Church and the
Pompallier Mission.
Twenty-first century In January 2023, the
New Zealand Geographic Board endorsed a proposal that the name of the town be officially changed to Kororāreka. However, in May 2025
Minister for Land Information Chris Penk declined the proposal. ==Demographics==