The village was established by New Zealand's pioneering missionaries, who called it Gloucester Town,[6] but the name did not endure.

[7] In 1814, Samuel Marsden acquired land at Kerikeri from Hongi Hika for the use of the Church Missionary Society for a payment of forty-eight axes.

That would have aptly described the freshwater river tumbling into the salt water over the falls which were then higher (being blasted early in the 1900s to accommodate a bridge).

Hongi Hika, a famous or infamous chief depending on whether one fought with or against him, is reputed to have fathered the child of a captured slave at Kororipo Pā.

As this was unacceptable to the tribe, the baby was placed in the water to drown but persistently rose to the surface, hence the "bubbling up".

That is impossible because although Nicholas visited and referred to Tecaddiecaddie in 1815 it was not until 1822 that missionaries Francis Hall and James Kemp became the first Europeans to see them.

[14] In the early 1980s, an anonymous backpacker wrote those words in the Visitors' Book at the Kerikeri Youth Hostel.

It was brought to the attention of the then editor of the local newspaper, the Kerikeri Chronicle, who gave it publicity, and it quickly became adopted as a quasi-official slogan.

Historically it is known Ngāi Tawake defended the pā as their outlet to the sea in the 1770s and it was the launch place Hongi Hika used in the 1820s for raids on other tribes.

It was built by the Church Missionary Society for the Rev John Butler (New Zealand's first clergyman) who became the first occupant in 1822, but only for a short while.

[24] St James', the wooden church on the hill above the Stone Store, is the third built in the area, and second on this picturesque site overlooking the basin.

The church bell came from HMNZS Black Prince, a light cruiser which had served with the Royal New Zealand Navy.

The keystone above the door bearing the date 1833 is thought to have been carved by the stonemason William Parrott who cut the Sydney sandstone in situ, but construction of the building was not actually completed until mid-1836.

Stone was used because the missionaries needed a vermin-free, fireproof area for their supplies and provisions, and for improved security from inquisitive Māori.

There was a plan to build a mill where the bridge exists now, and to protect the flour produced from locally grown wheat in the store.

Over the years, the Stone Store suffered the cumulative effects of adjacent traffic movements and the ravages of normal wear and tear.

Costly remedial work was required and in the 21st century a bypass was constructed and opened on 23 June 2008, to divert traffic and protect the building for posterity.

The reasons for removal of the original bridge are controversial, and there was a groundswell of protest from a number of local residents.

Rewa's Village was built in the 1970s to fundraise for legal services to stop a housing subdivision in the Kerikeri basin area.

It is served by Air New Zealand flights from Auckland and has a steadily increasing patronage, handling a record 110,000 passengers in financial 2017/2018.