Lake Pupuke (traditionally known in

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

as Pupukemoana) is a heart-shaped freshwater

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

occupying a volcanic crater (or maar) between the suburbs of

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...

and

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

on the North Shore of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The heart shape is a result of its formation by the linking of two circular craters – a larger one forming most of the lake and a smaller one forming the arm in the northeast. Separated from the sea by less than 200 m at one point, it has a circumference of about 4.5 km and reaches 57 m in depth. It is popular for recreational activities and the lakefront property around it.

Geology

Other similar craters in the Auckland volcanic field were either buried by later eruptions, or breached by erosion as rainwater collected and overflowed the edge of the crater. Lake Pupuke remains a lake because, unlike the other vents, its eruptions produced substantial lava flows; water can thus escape through cracks in the lava reaching under the crater wall, creating a series of freshwater springs along the beaches between Takapuna and Milford. The lava flow at the end of Takapuna Beach enveloped a

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...

forest, producing an internationally significant collection of tree moulds, which has been called "New Zealand’s only example of a fossil forest preserved in a lava flow" and which "ranks among the best examples in the world." Some moulds have escaped burial by the boat ramp and car park built on top of the lava, and can be viewed at low tide. A small scoria cone existed to the west of Lake Pupuke, which was quarried during European settlement.

History

In 1894, a

pump house Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure systems, ...

was built on the shore of the lake to supply fresh water to the local area. This was replaced in 1906 by a second pump house. As a result of increasing demand, the water level of the lake fell and water quality decreased. The use of the lake as a fresh water supply was discontinued in 1944 when new supplies were sourced from reservoirs in the

Waitākere Ranges The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. The area, traditionally kno ...

. The second pump house has become a Category II protected building under the

New Zealand Historic Places Trust Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

in 1983. The building is now home to

The PumpHouse Theatre The PumpHouse Theatre is an artist-led arts centre that presents theatre and other events in the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Historic pumphouse The pumphouse was originally built on the shore of Lake Pupuke as a pumping stations t ...

with three performance spaces including an outdoor

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

.History of The PumpHouse
(from the official website) ''

Vallisneria ''Vallisneria'' (named in honor of Antonio Vallisneri) is a genus of freshwater aquatic plant, commonly called eelgrass, tape grass or vallis. The genus is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Europe, and Nor ...

'' plants were introduced to the lake, and dominates much of the lake floor.

Māori mythology

myth surrounding the lake tells of a tupua couple, children of the fire gods. After quarreling and cursing

Mahuika Mahuika is a Māori fire deity. Generally, Mahuika is female and wife of the god Auahitūroa. Myths In some versions, she is the younger sister of Hine-nui-te-pō, goddess of death. It was from her that Māui (in some versions he is her grands ...

, the fire-goddess, their home on the mainland was destroyed by Matahoe, god of earthquakes and eruptions, on Mahuika's behalf. Lake Pupuke resulted from the destruction, while

Rangitoto Island Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. The wide island is a symmetrical shield volcano cone, reaching a height of . Rangitoto is the youngest and largest of the approximately 50 volcanoes of the Au ...

rose from the sea as their exile. The mists surrounding Rangitoto at certain times are considered the tears of the tupua couple for their former home.Rangitoto
(from the Auckland Regional Council website)

Human use

Close to the

city centre, the lake is popular not only with wild birds (such as

shag Shag, or Shagged, or Shagger, or Shagging, or Shags may refer to: Animals * Shag or cormorant, a bird family ** European shag, a specific species of the shag or cormorant family ** Great cormorant another species of the family People Pseudonym ...

s) but with picnickers, paddlers, kayakers, rowers, yachtsmen, divers, and windsurfers (lessons have been given on the lake). Free divers (no tanks) have practiced in the lake. College rowing crews use it. There have been boating races. and the Pupuke Boating Club operates there. Takapuna Boating Club hosts regattas. The Auckland Dragon Boat Association runs an annual regionals race event on the lake, with 200m, 500m and 2 km races. The lake is the venue for Dragon Boat, Canoe sprints, Canoe marathon, and Waka Ama sprint racing within the Canoe Competition at the World Masters Games 2017 held in Auckland. Lake Pupuke is suitable for swimming but is murky and contains thick vegetation, and there have been drownings. The lake has been tested for bacteria and generally meets safe swimming conditions. In 2007, recreational fishing has become more prominent since rainbow trout were released into the lake from a

fish hatchery A fish hatchery is a place for artificial breeding, hatching, and rearing through the early life stages of animals—finfish and shellfish in particular.Crespi V., Coche A. (2008) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Gloss ...

. However, since there are no actual streams entering or leaving the lake, trout will not be able to reproduce naturally, and new trout will have to be released periodically. Other fish in the lake include tench, perch, rudd, and carp. The crater wall has been quarried in several places, most intensely on the western side between Shea Terrace and Rangitira Avenue, where Smales Quarry continues to operate. A long thin lagoon called Quarry Lake has been formed there by flooding a former quarry area.Lake Pupuke Inspection Report No. KC7
(from the Lake Pupuke assessment,

North Shore City Council The North Shore is part of the large urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the north of the Waitematā Harbour. To the east, has the Hauraki Gulf, to the west, is West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland, to the south, has the Wait ...

, 20 June 2006. Accessed 2008-01-12.) Lakeside real estate is expensive. Empty lakefront land is rare; one (almost 1,200-square meter) undeveloped parcel cost $2.7 million in 2008. Lake Pupuke is identified as a "high risk" area in the event of a tsunami, and a high-tech phone alert system was developed for North Shore residents in case of an emergency.

References

External links

*
The PumpHouse
(from the official theatre and art gallery website)
Contour map of lake catchment
(from the

website)
Photographs of Lake Pupuke
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pupuke, Lake Auckland volcanic field Volcanic crater lakes Maars of New Zealand Lakes of the Auckland Region Volcanoes of the Auckland Region