Missionary Henry Williams and his wife Marianne settled in Paihia in 1823 and built the first church in New Zealand there the same year. William Williams and his wife Jane joined the Pahia mission in 1826. Bishop William Grant Broughton (the first and only Bishop of Australia) visited the Paihia mission in 1838 and performed several firsts in New Zealand including the first Confirmation and Ordination ceremonies.
In December 1832 the first mention of cricket being played in New Zealand was recorded by Henry Williams. In 1835 a game of cricket was witnessed here by Charles Darwin, in December 1835 while the Beagle spent 10 days in the Bay of Islands.
In 1835 William Colenso set up the first printing press in New Zealand at Paihia.
St. Paul's Anglican Church, completed in 1925, is the fifth church build on the site. It is constructed of stone quarried from Pukaru, near Kawakawa and timber from near Waikare
