In the early 19th century, when European ships first began visiting the area, the
Ngāpuhi chief
Te Pahi had a
pā at Rangihoua. After his death in 1810 he was succeeded as chief by
Ruatara. It was the friendship of Te Pahi and Ruatara with
Samuel Marsden that led Marsden to decide that Rangihoua would be the site of the first Christian mission in New Zealand. Prior to the establishment of the mission Ruatara had been the first to grow wheat in New Zealand, at Rangihoua in 1812. the houses of the mission at Oihi had deteriorated considerably and the mission was moved to Te Puna, further to the west in Rangihoua Bay. The mission finally closed in the 1850s. On 21 December 2014 the Rangihoua Heritage Park was opened to commemorate the bicentennial of the establishment of the mission. == References ==