The Whiteley Mission House was built in 1854 as a school for Maori girls in New Plymouth.

The first Wesleyan missionary arrived in New Zealand in 1822. The Wesleyan mission suffered a number of setbacks and it was not until 1838 that it was in a position to send two Maori teachers, Wiremu Nera Te Awa-I-Taia and Hahaia, to Taranaki to begin missionary activity. Three years later Charles Creed arrived to a warm welcome to establish a mission station on 100 acres [40.47 hectares] of land acquired for the purpose. Creed initially worked from a 'flea-infested hut' built next to a burial ground. Complaints over the conditions resulted in the erection of a new cob hut in 1842 on South Road [St Aubyn Street]. Yet conflict over Creed's right to occupy this land, together with a scandal involving a Maori woman, damaged the progress Creed had made in bringing the Wesleyan faith to Maori. In 1844 he was replaced by missionary Henry Hanson Turton.

Under Turton the mission flourished, despite a controversial decision by land commissioner William Spain to ratify the mission's ownership of the land in 1845. When Turton was granted funds under the Education Ordinance of 1847, he erected a boarding school on a hill near his mission house. Designed to equip Maori with a European education and provide training in farming, the school was named the Grey Institute in recognition of Governor Sir George Grey's [1812-1898] support of the project. Initial success of the school encouraged Turton to erect a similar institution for Maori girls in 1854.

The girls' school was clad in board and battens and originally had a roof of timber shingles. The two steep gables and arched windows in the front façade made the building distinctive. Like the boys' school, the building was made of rimu and included elements of the Anglo-Gothic style. It was built next to Turton's cob mission house and included a dining and sitting room, a wash house and a dormitory large enough for 25 pupils. The 20 pupils attending the school in 1855 were primarily taught Pakeha domestic skills by Turton's second wife Mary Ellen Walshall, and helped reduce costs by preparing food and clothing for both schools.

Less than a year later, inter-hapu disputes over land sales forced the girls' school to close. Shortly afterwards Turton was dismissed and the Mission lands leased to a settler. Conflict over land and sovereignty in Taranaki continued to disrupt mission work. Although the boys' school resumed in 1857 under Reverend John Whiteley's care, the girls' school remained closed. It was not to be reopened as a girls' school for almost 84 years.

In 1860 the government declared war on 'rebel' Maori and the former girls' school building was temporarily leased by the government to house Maori allies. Schooling for boys and girls was resumed in the Grey Institute building in 1865. The former girls' school was converted into a dwelling house for Whiteley when an earthquake destroyed the old cob cottage three years later. When Whiteley, who had openly declared his support for the government, was shot by Maori in 1868, the school was closed permanently and the mission station abandoned.

War left deep rifts between Maori and Pakeha and afterwards, less than five per cent of Maori remained loyal followers of the Wesleyan faith. For the remainder of the nineteenth century the Whiteley Mission House was used as a private dwelling by tenants, interspersed with brief periods when Maori missionaries took up residence. Lack of funds prompted the Wesleyan Church to sell the Grey Institute building in 1878. In 1902, the majority of the original 100 acres was subdivided and leases to land were auctioned, raising controversy over the right of the Church to sell land many felt had been reserved for the benefit of Maori. Then in 1940, long after the original purpose of the building had been forgotten, the renovated Mission House was reopened as 'Rangiatea College' a school of domestic science and hygiene for Maori girls. Supported by rentals from mission land, the House served as a hostel while classes were held in a hall built close by. Initially seen as a temporary measure, the College remained at the Mission House until 1959, when new, purpose-built premises were erected at Spotswood. A proposal to use the House as a hostel for Maori trade apprentices was declined due to lack of interest and since 1960 the building has been occupied by caretakers and run as a community centre.

The Whiteley Mission House is of national significance for the insight it gives into the relationship between Wesleyan church missionaries and Maori before, during, and after the New Zealand Wars over land and sovereignty in the Taranaki area. The building is of considerable cultural significance for its association with key figures in the Wesleyan church. The building has historical significance for the insight it gives into the philosophies that shaped the first public Maori girls' schools in the area. The provision of boarding facilities indicates the missionaries' desire to immerse Maori in Pakeha culture, while the school curriculum highlights contemporary ideas about the role of females in Pakeha society. The building is architecturally noteworthy. Built in Anglo-Gothic style, the school reflects Turton's desire to promote English culture and civilisation to his Maori students. The building is similar to the now demolished Grey Institute and thus provides valuable insight into the architecture of that building. The distinctive appearance of the building also gives it some landscape significance and it remains a physical reminder of the Wesleyan presence in the area.