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Pompallier Mission and Printery, Russell

4.6
#2 of 35 in Things to do in Russell
Historic Site · Tourist Spot
New Zealand's oldest Roman Catholic building, Pompallier Mission and Printery also represents the country's oldest rammed-earth structure. The pioneering Catholic missionaries constructed the building in the 19th century, using the rammed-earth style of their hometown Lyon. Step inside to learn about the processes of tanning, printing, and binding that the missionaries used to produce over 30,000 books and tracts, some published in Maori. After the guided tour you can explore the award-winning heritage garden, offering sweeping beach-side views across the bay. To visit Pompallier Mission and Printery on your holiday in Russell, and find out what else Russell has to offer, use our Russell.
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Pompallier Mission and Printery reviews

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TripAdvisor traveler rating
TripAdvisor traveler rating 4.5
612 reviews
Google
4.5
TripAdvisor
  • By P3988FLmaryr
    We had a fabulous tour of the gardens and the printery. Our guide was knowledgeable and funny (obviously enjoyed what she is doing). Despite the fact that I had visited a number of times before I...  more »
  • By beshill
    We were swept along on this guided tour by Julie whose passion for her subject made for some wonderful storytelling and bought history to life. Today was a cold bleak windy day but the whole...  more »
  • By Culling44
    This was a very educational tour with an excellent guide who spoke with knowledge and passion. Seeing the tanning process and the printing and book binding process was a great experience. I would...  more »
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Google
  • By Alex Tjahjana
    A lovely heritage building, with nice gift shop, and nice café. Their coffee is good, and their croissant is great. The coffee is reasonably priced, though $6 for a croissant with a small pot of cherry jam is a bit dear. Unfortunately, to go beyond the gift shop, you'll have to pay. Hence, we would have to for go looking at their beautiful garden.
  • By Danish Roy
    Heritage French building has a cafe and a gift shop. Guided tours only, staff was very informative. Has a good walk up point on a hill with a sea view.
  • By Amanda Morgan
    Very disappointed to find an entry fee to enter the site even the garden, and not cheap either. For a NZer thought our historic sites would be more accessible to average NZ family. Chose not to go in as entry fee out of our budget.
  • By Liz Smith
    Cool place. Especially loved the cartoon Catholica and other quirky gifts available in the shop.Russel is generally a lovely place to visit. Great cafe too.
  • By Mary Sawers
    Amazing guided tour, I leant so much about the early history of this area. Thank you so much, definitely well worth doing👌
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