The Stone Store in Kerikeri, New Zealand, is the country’s oldest standing stone building. Built between 1832 and 1836 as part of the Church Missionary Society station, it replaced an earlier wooden storehouse. The purpose of the store was to facilitate trade between te Waimate mission’s produce, European goods, and the Māori community. However, by the mid-1830s, the mission stations struggled commercially, rendering the store unprofitable.
Repurposed multiple times over the years, the Stone Store served briefly as a mission library in the 1840s, a magazine, and barracks during the Flagstaff War. Eventually, it became a hub for Kauri gum trading and housed a boys’ school. In 1874, it came under the ownership of the Kemp family, later transitioning into a general store and attracting tourists. Acquired by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust in 1975, extensive conservation work took place in the 1990s. Today, alongside the adjacent Mission House, it stands as a small museum, preserving its rich historical heritage.
