List of historic places in the Chatham Islands

The German Mission House, a Category 1 Historic Place in Waitangi West, Chatham

The Chatham Islands (/ˈtʃætəm/ CHAT-əm) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about 800 km (430 nmi) east of New Zealand's South Island, administered as part of New Zealand. The first inhabitants, the Moriori, suffered disease outbreaks from European contact beginning around c. 1800, as well as invasion, genocide, and enslavement in 1835 by the Māori of two iwi from Taranaki. Māori steadily returned to Taranaki over the 1860s, leasing land on the islands to Pākehā herders, who settled and constructed sheep stations on the islands. Registered historic buildings in the Chathams primarily comprise houses and cottages constructed in the late 19th century, following the construction of Hough Cottage (the earliest surviving building on the islands) c. 1860.

Heritage New Zealand classification of sites on the New Zealand Heritage List / Rārangi Kōrero, in accordance with the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, distinguishes between Category 1 ("places of special or outstanding historical or cultural significance") and Category 2 ("places of historic or cultural significance"). Sites important to Māori or Moriori communities are given special classifications, including Wāhi Tapu for sites of spiritual, traditional, or ritual importance. Ten locations in the Chatham Islands are listed on the New Zealand Heritage List. Nine are located on the main island of Chatham, while one, Whaler's Cottage, is on neighboring Pitt Island. Two additional sites — Hunts Forge on Pitt Island and Zimmerman House at Waitangi West on Chatham — were initially listed as Category 2 sites, but were later destroyed and removed from the list.

Extant sites

List of historic places in the Chatham Islands

Name	Classification	Location	Constructed	Registered	Type	List number	Notes	Image	Citation
Hough Cottage	Category 2	Waitangi, Chatham	c. 1860	1991	House	5387	A cottage built around 1860, thought to be oldest surviving building in the Chatham Islands.
German Mission House	Category 1	Waitangi West, Chatham	1866–1868	1991	House	5401	A cottage built from 1866 to 1868, constructed from local wood and stone. Constructed by Johannes Engst and Johann Baucke, Moravian missionaries to the Chathams who had first arrived in 1843, as well as Johann's son William Baucke.
Ponga Whare	Category 1	Wharekauri Station, Chatham	1867	1992	House	5399	A temporary residence constructed by Hauhau Māori convict laborers for station owner William Chudleigh. Built from timber and ponga logs, originally with a thatched roof, although it is now corrugated iron.
Whaler's Cottage	Category 2	Glory Bay, Pitt Island	1869	1991	House	5386	A largely unaltered timber cottage, built in the late 1860s by William Gordon Jacobs at the behest of Frederick Hunt. Briefly served as accommodations for visiting whaler crews on Pitt Island.
Meikle House	Category 2	Te One, Chatham	c. 1870	1991	House	5397	A house initially owned by D. H. Meikle, an American whaler and smuggler. Various additions have been added since its construction shortly after 1870.
Whangamarino Woolshed	Category 2	Waitangi Wharf-Owenga Rd., Chatham	1870	1991	Woolshed	5396	The Whangamarino Woolshed is one of the two oldest woolsheds on Chatham Island still in use. Built in 1870 by F. Cox and Alexander Shand from local timber.
Nairn House	Category 1	Waitangi, Chatham	1882–1886	1991	House	5400	A two-storey colonial house built by William Baucke for Walter Hood, a prominent local trader and farmer. Described as the "most notable and historic building" on the Chathams by Heritage New Zealand. Fashioned from kauri wood, with a corrugated iron roof. Served as accommodation for visiting dignitaries.
St Augustine's Church (Anglican)	Category 2	Te One, Chatham	1885	1991	Church	5389	An Anglican church in Te One. Its construction was sponsored by various locally prominent families, including the station-owners Chadleigh and Raynor. The interior of the church includes kauri paneling and lining.
Solomon Homestead	Category 1	Manukau, Chatham	1903–1916	1991	House	5395	A hipped-roof villa built with corrugated iron roofs and walls, as well as internal lining fashioned from kauri, scrim, and paper. Construction initiated by Rangitapua Horomona Pehe in 1903, and finished by Tommy Solomon and his second wife in 1916. Served as Solomon's home until his death. Currently in dilapidated condition.
Tommy Solomon Statue	Wāhi Tapu	Manukau, Chatham	1986	2009	Monument	9281	A statue of Tommy Solomon, the last full-blooded Moriori. Located at Manukau, a Moriori reserve and Solomon's resting place. It was commissioned in 1984 by the Solomon families, and dedicated in December 1986 by Prime Minister David Lange.

Former sites

These sites were formerly listed on the New Zealand Heritage List, but are no longer extant.

Former historic places in the Chatham Island

Name	Classification	Location	Constructed	Type	List number	Notes	Citation
Hunts Forge	Category 2	Flower Pot-Glory Rd., Pitt Island	1859	Forge	5388	Constructed by Frederick Hunt in 1859 using materials sourced from a shipwreck. Burnt down at some point between 2000 and 2004.
Zimmerman House	Category 2	Waitangi West, Chatham	N/A	House	N/A	Demolished at some point between 1999 and 2010.

References

Bibliography

• Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act (s. 65). New Zealand Parliament. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
• Dangerfield, Alison (30 October 2010). "The House that Engst Built". Architectural History Aotearoa. 7: 13–19. doi:10.26686/aha.v7i.6786. Archived from the original on 10 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
• Chatham Islands Conservation Management Strategy (PDF) (Report). Department of Conservation. August 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2024.