Te Waimate Mission House, built in 1832, is the only survivor of three mission houses founded in 1830 on behalf of the Church Missionary Society by the Reverend Samuel Marsden with the agreement of local Nga Puhi.
An eighteenth century style English farm was established, with a chapel, school room, water mill and workshops also built.
Te Waimate Mission House was erected as a single-storey dwelling of Georgian design, with an attic floor, verandah and prominent shingled roof.