Blaze at cafe next to New Zealand's oldest building 'suspicious', FENZ says
A suspicious fire damaged a cafe near New Zealand's oldest building, Kemp House, but firefighters successfully prevented the blaze from spreading to the historic site. Police are currently investigating the incident, which occurred in a storage shed at the Kerikeri Basin.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the vulnerability of historic heritage sites and the importance of community vigilance in disaster prevention.
A café situated just metres from New Zealand's oldest surviving building has been damaged in an overnight blaze, but volunteer firefighters managed to stop the flames spreading to 204-year-old Kemp House at Kerikeri Basin.
Police are investigating the blaze, which started in a storage shed next to Honey House Café around 11.30pm on Friday.
The shed was destroyed while one wall of the café was burned and its water pipes and electric cables were badly damaged.
The two-storey Honey House has the café on the ground level and offices for Heritage New Zealand upstairs.
The business is next to Kemp House, which was built between 1821 and 1822 by missionaries, and was an important focus for early relationships between Māori and Pākehā.
Another heritage building, the Stone Store, which was built not much later - from 1832 to 1836 - is also next door to the cafe.
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