Lost Together: One Tree Hill

This weekend we visited One Tree Hill and Cornwall Park. It's the largest volcano in Auckland (besides Rangitoto). It erupted thousands of years ago and there are some great views from the top. It's possible to drive right to the summit, but that's just lazy! We parked at the bottom and walked through the park along the trail up to the top. There's a nice cafe at the bottom, but it was full when we tried to stop in for a coffee.

The volcano is surrounded by Cornwall Park. It was originally the home of Sir John Campbell in the 1800s, but the land was donated to the city to be used as a park. At the summit of One Tree Hill is the grave of John Campbell, a statue of a Maori warrior and an obelisk.

Before Sir John Campbell, about 5000 Maori people lived on the cone and the surrounding area.

Shamelessly stolen from the internet:

The volcanic soil of the slopes of the mountain proved highly fertile and easy to defend from raiding parties from other tribes due to its steep sides and imposing palisades. The inhabitants terraced the hill extensively, Archaeological surveys have identified over 170 constructed terraces making it the largest prehistoric earth fortification worldwide. It is also the largest and most complex volcanic cone / earth fortress known in the Southern Hemisphere.

Oh no! Wipe out!!

A single pohutukawa tree stood at the top of the hill, hence the name, but it was cut down by an early European Settler. A pine tree was re-planted by Sir John Campbell, but this too was cut down by Maori activists in 2000. They used the non-native pine tree as a symbol for the injustices they believed the New Zealand government had inflicted upon the Maori people. The tree has not yet been replaced as there is heated debate over which species to plant (a pine or a native NZ species).