Butler House and Trading Station (Former)

31 Marchant Road, Hihi, MANGONUI

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Butler House and Trading Station (Former), at the mouth of Mangonui Harbour, has special significance as an early colonial trading post connected with Māori, Pākehā and overseas commercial networks. Established in circa 1847 by Captain William Butler (1814-1875), a former whaler, the trading station is particularly important for the strength of its links with the American-based South Pacific whaling fleet, which increasingly used Mangonui after the Northern War (1845-6). Whaling was an important global industry at this time due to the demand for whale oil as lighting. Retaining a wide variety of remains dating to an early period in the country’s post-1840 history, Butler House and Trading Station (Former) includes a well-preserved residence initially built in 1847 or earlier; extensive in-ground archaeological remains linked with use as a trading station; a burial ground; and notable early trees. As well as having special value for its potential to provide public education about early colonial commerce and domestic life, it forms a key part of a notable historical and cultural landscape at the mouth of the Mangonui Harbour that demonstrates shifts from pre-1840 Māori control of the landscape to the emergence of colonial Mangonui as the administrative centre of the Far North. Butler House and Trading Station (Former) is situated at the southern end of Waikeke peninsula, within the rohe of Ngati Kahu. Widely settled in pre-European times, lands bordering the Mangonui Harbour formed a significant food production area for Māori communities. From the early nineteenth century, these communities traded produce and goods directly with visiting whaling ships, which sought supplies on their way to and from nearby hunting grounds. In 1840, whaling captain William Butler set himself up as an intermediary in this process, establishing an initial trading post at Paewhenua Island in the south-eastern part of the Mangonui Harbour. In circa 1847, Butler moved his home and business to Waikeke, closer to deep-water anchorage at the inner entrance to the harbour. This coincided with an increase in port activity at Mangonui with large numbers of whaling vessels visiting the harbour over the next decade, and colonial infrastructure emerging on the opposite side of the entrance to regulate trade. Butler’s new complex was well established by 1852, when a station that included a bonded store and other facilities, as well as his home, formed a major focal point for buying and selling goods with Māori, settlers and whalers. As the business expanded through the decade, Butler extended his residence - Butler House - from a small two-up, two-down timber cottage of Georgian influence into a more rambling, ten room structure. As well as being as a place of reception and entertainment for visiting whaling captains and others, the dwelling was the focus of family life for Butler, his wife Eliza and an increasingly large number of children. Associated trees were planted and a family cemetery established by 1856. Butler’s commercial activities shifted to Mangonui, on the opposite side of the harbour entrance, after a European township was formally established there in the 1860s. Following his death and burial in the family cemetery in 1875, the property was rented to tenants. Occupants included Hubert Dacre, a former sportsman of note from Auckland, who subsequently purchased the property in 1921 and made limited alterations to the house. In 1970, the property was bought by Lindo and Laetitia Ferguson and their family who fully restored the residence, supported archaeological investigations, and established a whaling museum at the property.

Butler House and Trading Station (Former), Mangonui | Martin Jones | 21/09/2018 | Heritage New Zealand
Butler House and Trading Station (Former), Mangonui. 1847 or earlier portion of Butler House, with pre-1852 rear lean-to and harbour beyond – looking northeast | Martin Jones | 21/09/2018 | Heritage New Zealand
Butler House and Trading Station (Former), Mangonui. Pre-1858 rear addition to Butler House, looking northwest | Martin Jones | 21/09/2018 | Heritage New Zealand
Butler House and Trading Station (Former), Mangonui. Butler Drying Rack | Martin Jones | 21/09/2018 | Heritage New Zealand

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 1

Access

Able to Visit

List Number

447

Date Entered

11th November 1982

Date of Effect

4th April 2019

City/District Council

Far North District

Region

Northland Region

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes the land described as Allot 1 Sec 2 Vill of Mangonui (RT NA509/128), Allots 2, 4-8, and 10 Sec 2 Vill of Mangonui (RT NA509/127), and Allot 9 Sec 2 Vill of Mangonui (RT NA509/129), North Auckland Land District and the building and structures known as Butler House and Trading Station (Former) thereon including the main residence and the burial ground. It also includes trees including the pohutukawa, the magnolia, and the olive. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the List entry report for further information).

Legal description

Allot 1 Sec 2 Vill of Mangonui (RT NA509/128), Allots 2, 4-8, and 10 Sec 2 Vill of Mangonui (RT NA509/127), and Allot 9 Sec 2 Vill of Mangonui (RT NA509/129), North Auckland Land District

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