Rangihoua Heritage Park and Marsden Cross

The Rangihoua Heritage Park is the home of the Marsden Cross memorial - commemorating the first Christmas Day celebration in New Zealand in 1814. The service was led by Samuel Marsden and was attended by the first mission group in Aotearoa New Zealand as well as allegedly Maori under the leadership of Chief Ruatara. Rangihoua Heritage Park was officially opened in December 2014, 200 years after that historic service.

In this video series looking at the Aotearoa New Zealand History , we aim to present the places as they are . We understand that it is not possible to tell the many complex stories of a location with one video, rather we want to make these places available to be visited virtually.

This is one of the sites of the New Zealand Land Wars Waikato driving tour. For more information about this site, we have collected some resources which can be used to understand more context:

• https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/northland/places/kerikeri-area/rangihoua-heritage-park/?tab-id=50578

• https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/northland/places/kerikeri-area/things-to-do/marsden-cross-track/

• https://thelandingnz.com/2018/03/05/landings-history-fascinating-explore/