Mansion House, Kawau Island

Governor Sir George Grey's magnificent house, dating from 1862, has been restored and is open to the public. (a small fee applies) The island has walking tracks leading to beaches, Maori pa sites and old copper mines. Kawau Island is only a short ferry ride from Sandspit - about one hour’s drive north of Auckland.

Maori pirates are said to have once lived on Kawau Island, fast-moving canoe people who kept a sharp eye on the surrounding waterways. The Ngati Tai's pirating days were put to an end when Hongi Hika paddled south with his allies and muskets to avenge their dead.

It was many decades later, in 1862, when the then New Zealand Governor, Sir George Grey, bought Kawau Island in the Hauraki Gulf for the sum of 3700 pounds.

By 1867, the enterprising Governor had transformed the austere and elegant residence, once the home of a copper-mine manager, into a mansion, by adding twenty more rooms to the original ten. Native kauri logs, pit-sawn on the island, were sent to England to be turned into impressive pillars for the mansion’s interior. Kauri panelling still lines the old library.

This gracious and elegant Mansion House once entertained Prince Alfred, a son of Queen Victoria. Learned men travelled here from Europe to discuss art and philosophy and were amazed to find such a cultured retreat in a raw new colony.

Grey religiously preserved the bush on Kawau and nurtured seeds and cuttings that he obtained from noted botanists all over the world. He enthusiastically planted the many exotic trees he collected worldwide.

Governor Grey played an important part in New Zealand history, by acquiring and distributing plants and animals throughout the British colonies. Unfortunately, he didn't forsee the impact that the fauna he introduced would have on his island home. Hundreds of native plants were decimated by the deer, possum and wallaby. Even in the 1880s over 180 wallaby were shot in one day.

Only a few wallaby still free-roam on Kawau today, and there was competition for the North Island brown kiwi. Phoenix palms, fig and nut trees planted by Sir George Grey still grace Mansion House Bay - against a musical backdrop of over 52 bird species, amongst them the Australian Kookaburra.

Remnant plantings of the arum lily, once a source of income for some island families, can still be seen in winter bloom.

On learning of his death in 1898, the Maori people cried out in mourning. 'Horei Kerei Aue! Ka nui Matou aroha Ki ako' 'George Grey, Alas! Great was our love for thee'

His legacy was not only that of a Governor and Prime Minister of New Zealand, but also a friend to the Maori people, and he is well remembered for his help in restoring their faith in British justice.

Ferries for Kawau leave from Sandspit. In summer you can get a ferry from downtown Auckland.

Images Credit: Sir George Grey Special Collections Auckland Libraries