Russell Pompallier House

Pompallier House is a nineteenth-century building located in Russell. This building once served as the headquarters to the French Catholic Mission to the Western Pacific. It is named after Jean Baptiste Pompallier, the first Vicar apostolic to visit New Zealand, who founded a number of missions in the North Island. Pompallier House is owned and managed by Heritage New Zealand who open it to the public. It is New Zealand's oldest Roman Catholic building, oldest rammed earth building, and oldest  industrial building.