Thomas and Mary Poynton

They were instrumental in bringing Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier to New Zealand and were involved in the growth of Catholicism and Catholic missions in the Hokianga and later on in the North Shore of Auckland.

[4] In Rome the wheels had already been turning and in 1833 a decision had been made to appoint a Bishop to serve New Zealand and the surrounding Pacific Islands.

[5] Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier arrived on 10 January 1838 and stayed at the home of Thomas and Mary Poynton until his own house was established in Kororareka.

Later on Thomas and Mary Poynton owned a large amount of land in Takapuna and donated some of it to Bishop Pompallier in 1867.

[6] In 1899 a large plot of land was purchased by the Sisters of Mercy from Catherine Shea, the youngest of the Poynton children.