The Elms mission station

The Elms mission house at Tauranga. The building was completed in 1847 on land bought for the Church Missionary Society by missionary Alfred Brown in 1839.

On the evening of 28 April 1864, the night before the assault on Gate Pā, nine officers whose units were to lead the attack gathered for dinner at The Elms. Only one of these men, Assistant Surgeon William Manley of the Royal Artillery, was to survive the chaotic events of the following day. Manley was awarded a Victoria Cross for tending to the wounded with little regard to his own well-being.