About & Description

Department of Conservation Historic Reserve: Historic house, gardens, short walks

Kawau Island is home to the iconic Mansion House, which Sir George Grey, one of New Zealand's most influential and controversial political figures, made his home in the 1800s. Mansion House houses an impressive collective of antique furnishings and is open to the public daily. Surrounding the house and extending up the valley are exotic gardens established by Sir George Grey. The gardens make a perfect place to relax with a picnic. Kawau Island is also the site of one of New Zealand's earliest mining ventures. Remnants of the copper mining industry remain and can be explored using the network of tracks through the Kawau Island Historic Reserve. "It was worth the voyage to New Zealand to have a single day of Sir George and Kawau."