Pompallier House

Pompallier House is a nineteenth-century building located in Russell, New Zealand which once served as the headquarters to the French Catholic mission to the Western Pacific.

It is named after Jean Baptiste Pompallier, the first vicar apostolic to visit New Zealand, who founded a number of missions in the North Island.

[2] In 1836, Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier, along with the newly formed French order the Society of Mary (or Marists) received papal approval and were given the mission of Western Oceania.

In 1838, Pompallier, along with three of these brothers arrived in Hokianga, on the West Coast of New Zealand, to begin their work in the country.

Joined by other members of the order, they moved to the Bay of Islands to set up their headquarters in Kororareka (now Russell).

[3] Unable to bear the cost of purchasing much timber, the missionaries used the rammed earth construction common in Lyon, their original home.