situated five kilometres to the south, and renamed it Russell in honour of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord John Russell. Captain Hobson soon decided that the move to the Okiato site was a mistake, and Auckland was selected as the new capital not long after. Kororāreka was part of the Port of Russell, and after Russell (Okiato) became virtually deserted, Kororāreka gradually came to be known as Russell as well. In January 1844, Governor Robert FitzRoy officially designated Kororāreka as part of the township of Russell. Today, the name Russell applies only to Kororāreka, while the former capital is known either by its original name of Okiato or as Old Russell. Catholic mission In 1841–42, Jean Baptiste Pompallier established a Roman Catholic mission in Russell, which contained a printing press for the production of Māori-language religious texts. His building, known as Pompallier Mission, remains in the care of Heritage New Zealand. On 18 November 1844, while at anchor in the Bay of Islands, Mary Davis Wallis describes Kororarika as a town "which appears small, consisting of a few houses along the shore, and cottages scattered here and there on the slope of the hills behind. Nothing is to be seen back of the town but lofty hills not particularly verdant." Flagstaff dispute At the beginning of the Flagstaff War in 1845 (touched off by the repeated felling and re-erection of the symbol of British sovereignty on Flagstaff Hill above the town), the town was sacked by Hōne Heke, after diversionary raids drew away the British defenders. The flagstaff was felled for the fourth time at the commencement of the Battle of Kororāreka, and the inhabitants fled aboard British ships, which then shelled and destroyed most of the houses. Hōne Heke directed his warriors not to interfere with Christ Church and the Pompallier Mission. Marae The local Kororāreka Marae is a traditional meeting ground of Te Kapotai, a hapū of Ngāpuhi. Demographics Russell covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Russell had a population of 762 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 60 people (8.5%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 24 people (−3.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 339 households, comprising 372 males and 390 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 58.8 years