Maungawhau / Mount Eden is a

scoria cone A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep, conical landform of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic ash, clinkers, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions or l ...

and '' Tūpuna Maunga'' (ancestral mountain) in

Mount Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Z ...

, Auckland, New Zealand. The cone is part of the

Auckland volcanic field The Auckland volcanic field is an area of monogenetic volcanoes covered by much of the metropolitan area of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, located in the North Island. The approximately 53 volcanoes in the field have produced a divers ...

, the tallest located on the isthmus.

Geography

The cone is a dormant

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

and its summit, at above sea level, is the highest natural point on the

Auckland isthmus The Auckland isthmus, also known as the Tāmaki isthmus, is a narrow stretch of land on the North Island of New Zealand in the Auckland Region, and the location of the central suburbs of the city of Auckland and the central business district. ...

. The majestic bowl-like crater is deep. The volcano erupted from three craters 28,000 years ago, with the last eruptions from the southern crater filling the northern craters.

Etymology

''Maungawhau'' is a Māori-language name meaning 'mountain of the whau tree'. The name "Mount Eden" was chosen by Governor

William Hobson Captain William Hobson (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Royal Navy, who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi. Hobson was dispatched f ...

, to honour

George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, (25 August 1784 – 1 January 1849) was an English people, English Whig (British political faction), Whig politician and colonial administrator. He was thrice First Lord of the Admiralty and also served a ...

, who was his superior naval officer. The crater is named ''Te Upu Kai a Mataaho'' ('the bowl of Mataaho');

Mataaho Mataaho (also known as Mataaoho and Mataoho) is a Māori deity. Variously considered a god of earthquakes and eruptions, the guardian of the earth's secrets, the god of volcanic forces, or a giant, Mataaho is associated with many of the volcan ...

was a deity said to live in the crater and to be the guardian of the secrets hidden in the earth.

History

The

has been settled by

Tāmaki Māori Tāmaki Māori are Māori ''iwi'' and ''hapū'' (tribes and sub-tribes) who have a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau (the Auckland Region), and whose rohe was traditionally within the region. Among Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau (the M� ...

since around the 13th or 14th centuries. Maungawhau was the principal

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

settled by Huakaiwaka, the eponymous ancestor of

Waiohua Te Waiohua or Te Wai-o-Hua is a Māori people, Māori iwi (tribe) confederation that thrived in the early 17th century. The rohe (tribal area) was primarily the central Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau area (the Auckland isthmus) and they had pā (for ...

, and remained an important area for Waiohua from the 17th century to around the year 1740. Maungawhau was extensively terraced, and defensive ditches were created around four areas of the maunga. When Huakaiwaka's grandson

Kiwi Tāmaki Kiwi Tāmaki (died ) was a Māori people, Māori warrior and paramount chief of the Waiohua confederation in Auckland region, Tāmaki Makaurau (modern-day Auckland isthmus). The third generation paramount chief of Waiohua, Kiwi Tāmaki consolid ...

, he moved Waiohua's seat of power from Maungawhau to

Maungakiekie Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill is a volcanic peak and Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountain) in Auckland, New Zealand. It is an important place culturally and archeologically for both Māori and . The suburb around the base of the hill is also c ...

. In the mid-18th century, Maungawhau became a part of the

rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ' to describe the territory or boundaries of tribes (, although some divide their into several . Background In 1793, chief Tuki Te Terenui Whare Pirau who had been brought to Norfolk Island drew ...

Ngāti Whātua Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...

. In 1840, Ngāti Whātua gifted of land on the

to European settlers, in order to establish the new capital of Auckland. Maungawhau / Mount Eden was the southern point of this area. As late as the 1850s, four distinct terraces could be seen on the cone, which were obscured by vegetation or by quarrying. Mount Eden was managed by the Mount Eden Highway Board. In 1869 a road existed that provided access to the summit. Initially there was a right to depasture stock on Mount Eden, although by 1870 the highway board instituted fees for this right. The Mount Eden Domain Board was established in 1879 and was responsible for managing the mountain. An underground water reservoir has been located on the northern side of Maungawhau / Mount Eden since the 1880s. The original reservoir was replaced in 1912, and a second, complementary, reservoir added in 1929. This reservoir resulted in the collapse of a 12-meter section of the reservoir wall, sending 800,000 gallons of water and rock, down the mountain causing significant damage to properties and blocking Mt Eden Road. The trig station at the summit was used as a reference point for drawing up Auckland's suburbs. The platform was built with help from Prince Alfred's elephant. The elephant was rewarded with lollies, buns and beer. In the early 20th Century, stone was quarried by Mount Eden Prison inmates from Maungawhau / Mount Eden for use in road projects. From the 1950s the peak was used by the

New Zealand Post Office The New Zealand Post Office (NZPO) was a government department of New Zealand until 1987. It was previously (from 1881 to 1959) named the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department (NZ P&T). As a government department, the New Zealand Post Office ...

for VHF radio communications in two buildings, several hundred metres apart, each with their own antenna farm. One building housed transmitting equipment, while the other housed receiving equipment. In the 1960s the site was staffed during the five-day working week due to the large number of valves that wore out under the stress of high power and needed frequent servicing. Typical use of the facility was for businesses e.g. taxi or delivery firms needing mobile communications to vehicles. Mount Eden Taken From Northcote

In 1973, the crater of Maungawhau / Mount Eden was the venue for 'Mt Eden Crater Performance'', a performance piece by artist Bruce Barber, which involved a blind art master and drummers. During the mid-1980s, artist Philip Dadson organised annual

winter solstice The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's geographical pole, poles reaches its maximum axial tilt, tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern Hemisphere, Northern and So ...

celebrations in the crater. Maungawhau / Mount Eden attracts many tourists, as it is the highest natural point in Auckland, and provides good views in all directions over the city. Due to the spiritual and cultural significance of the ' to Māori, and for pedestrian safety, the summit road was permanently closed to most vehicles in 2011, with the exception of people with limited mobility.

Treaty settlement

In the 2014

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

settlement between the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

and the ''Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau'' collective of 13 Auckland

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

and

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

(also known as the Tāmaki Collective), ownership of the 14 ''Tūpuna Maunga'' of Auckland, was vested to the collective, including the volcano officially named Maungawhau / Mount Eden. The legislation specified that the land be held in trust "for the common benefit of Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau and the other people of Auckland". The ''Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority'' or Tūpuna Maunga Authority (TMA) is the co-governance organisation established to administer the 14 ''Tūpuna Maunga''. Auckland Council manages Mount Eden under the direction of the TMA. In 2019, the 1926 Spanish Mission-style tearoom was converted into ''Whau Cafe'' and the ''Te Ipu Kōrero o Maungawhau / Mount Eden Visitor Experience Centre''. The centre showcases the geological and Māori cultural history of the maunga. In 2020, boardwalks were opened around the crater rim, to protect the ''pā tūāpapa'' (terraces) and ''rua kūmara'' (kūmara storage pits) on the summit's upper slopes. Views from the boardwalk into the deep crater and over Auckland city are spectacular.

Gallery

References

External links

Pronunciation

Friends of Maungawhau website

held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{DEFAULTSORT:Maungawhau Mount Eden Auckland volcanic field Parks in Auckland Tourist attractions in Auckland Lookouts in Auckland Mountains of the Auckland Region Urban forests in New Zealand Albert-Eden Local Board Area