'Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamura' 
'When you understand the past, you know your future'

The Elms Te Papa, Tauranga Moana - a joint history

Visiting The Elms and its heritage garden is a must for locals and visitors alike.  Ask the Guides about its joint history with The Battle of Gate Pā and The Mission Cemetery (a short stroll from The Elms), as it relates to the set table below.  The Elms Mission House & Library is one of Tauranga's historic treasures right at the heart of Tauranga's Historic Precinct. It also has a strongly connected history to Tauranga Moana's iwi and the site on which today stands, St George's Anglican Church of Gate Pā.  Itself a memorial church.    

The Elms is available for weddings and other events.  Contact The Elms here. 
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The House & Chapel

Photograph Acknowledgement: heritage.org

The House, Library & Garden 2018
The Elms, Tauranga is a beautiful tranquil place.

Photograph acknowledgement: C R Brown

Photograph acknowledgement: C R Brown

The Mission Cemetery, Otamataha Pā - a short walk from The Elms, Te Papa within the historic precinct of Tauranga Moana.  

All except one of the the Rev. Brown's guests who ate at The Elms table above, the night before The Battle of Gate Pā, were killed. Many forever rest in peace in The Mission Cemetery, beside the very people they fought!  Such is the powerful history between The Elms, The Battles of Gate Pā & Te Ranga and St George's Anglican Church of Gate Pā 

Mission cemetery, as it was in 1864

Mission cemetery, as it is in 2019 

Resting in Peace together in the Mission Cemetery alongside their fellow soldiers

​Henare Taratoa presented their terms of engagement on behalf of Rāwiri Puhirake prior to The Battle of Gate Pā.  This code of conduct stated that the wounded would be treated fairly as per the image below. Some believe that it was Taratoa himself who took water to Booth. This incident appeared in the Auckland Weekly News in 1895.  It is believed that it is Rawiri lying beside Lt. Col. Booth in the lithograph below. 

Henare Wiremu Taratoa (1830-1864): A devout christian who presented The Code of Conduct (on behalf of the Ngāi Te Rangi leader, Rāwiri Puhirake) before the Battle of Gate Pā, Henare rests in peace in The Mission Cemetery, Te Papa, Tauranga Moana.

Lt. Col. Booth rests in peace with those killed at The Battle of Gate Pā and Te Ranga, at The Mission Cemetery, Te Papa, Tauranga Moana

Water was delivered to those in need, in accordance with the rules of engagement drawn up by Hēnare Taratoa on behalf of the Ngāi Te Rangi leader, Rāwiri Puhirake who also rests in peace at The Mission Cemetery