North Head (; officially Maungauika and sometimes referred to as Maungauika / North Head)
is a volcano and
Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountain) forming a headland at the east end of the
Waitematā Harbour
Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and easter ...
in
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, in the suburb of
Devonport.
Known for its sweeping views over the harbour and the
Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,[Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the History of New Zealand, history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in ...](_blank)
claim settlement the volcanic cone was officially named Maungauika and the reserve unofficially renamed Maungauika / North Head Historic Reserve.
Etymology
Maungauika in the
Māori language means "The Mountain of Uika", referring to a
Tāmaki Māori ancestor thought to have lived here 800 years ago.
History
Māori usage
The original
scoria
Scoria is a pyroclastic, highly vesicular, dark-colored volcanic rock that was ejected from a volcano as a molten blob and cooled in the air to form discrete grains or clasts.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds. (2005) '' ...
cone has been substantially altered, first by marine erosion and later by the various generations of people who have occupied the headland. It was first used by
Māori, and the
Tainui
Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato.
There are ...
waka
Waka may refer to:
Culture and language
* Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand
** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe
** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe
** Waka taua, a Māori w ...
was reputed to have put ashore close by at what is now Torpedo Bay. The Tainui people named the spring 'Takapuna', which was later used for
the nearby beach. Some early photographs of the area show that they used to work gardens on the hill's lower slopes, though the
pā fortifications of other cones in the area seem absent. European visitors during the 1850s have also described a settlement at the foot of the hill with gardens and racks for the drying of fish.
Military use
North Head provided the settlement of Auckland with its first
pilot station
Pilot Station ( esu, Tuutalgaq) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 568 at the 2010 census, up from 550 in 2000.
Geography
Pilot Station is located at (61.936050, -162.883403), on the northern bank of t ...
for the guiding of ships into the harbour. In 1878, the area was then set aside as a public reserve – with the stipulation that if necessary, it could be re-appropriated for the
New Zealand Army to use for defence purposes. In 1885, this then became reality. When the
Russian scare was at its height, forts were built in various places around Auckland to deter the Russians.
The defences consisted of three gun batteries: North Battery facing over the
Rangitoto Channel
The Rangitoto Channel is one of several passes between the islands of the inner Hauraki Gulf, close to the mouth of the Waitematā Harbour to the east of Auckland in New Zealand. The channel is an important stretch of water as it is the only deep ...
, South Battery facing over the inner harbour, and Summit/Cautley Battery on the top of the hill. These first fortifications were hastily constructed, but later expanded and strengthened over 25 years by convict labor of up to 40 prisoners living in a barracks on the hilltop. The prisoners added extensive tunnel systems, underground store rooms, and various
observation post
An observation post (commonly abbreviated OP), temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers (such as in trench warfare), or to direct fire. In strict military terminology, an ...
s. The armaments of the fort included 64-pounder
Armstrong disappearing gun
A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate back ...
s,
searchlight
A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...
s, and a remote-detonated naval
minefield across the inner harbour to
Bastion Point. None of the armaments were ever used in anger. A four-gun memorial saluting battery of 18-pounder
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
field guns was used, among other occasions, to salute
Queen Elizabeth II on her visit in 1953.
[Information provided on various plaques around North Head (set up by the ]DOC
DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to:
In film and television
* ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series
* ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom
* "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode
* ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...
)
In the 1930s, part of the fort received modernisation. Then during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, it became the administrative centre of Auckland's coast defenses, with the regimental headquarters buildings still surviving today. The coastal defences were scrapped in 1950, though one of the disappearing guns remained behind – obsolete and too difficult for the scrap merchant who bought it to disassemble and remove.
[Disappearing Guns](_blank)
(from the Royal New Zealand Artillery Old Comrades Association) After the army had left, the area was turned into a reserve again, though the
New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...
kept an area around the summit for a training school.
Modern use
Since the Navy school left the summit area in 1996, the
Department of Conservation has administered the area as a reserve, which provides for beautiful walks along the waterline or onto the summit with good views of
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 ...
and
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 ...
due to the prominent height of the hill. Also popular are exploratory forays to the gun emplacements and into the tunnel system, which is open to the public to a substantial degree, though
torches are needed to explore it.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s there were reports of strange chemical smells and rumours of hidden caverns underneath the hill. Some tales even told of airplanes hidden in secret storerooms. As it was feared that old
ammunition was decaying in forgotten parts of the fortifications, a major investigation was started, involving
documentary research, geological tests and substantial exploratory digging was done around the hill. The research however, found little of new import.
Treaty settlement
In the 2014
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the History of New Zealand, history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in ...
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, partic ...
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 "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...
and
hapu (also known as the Tāmaki Collective), ownership of the 14
Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountains) of ''Tāmaki Makaurau'' / Auckland, was vested to the collective, including the volcano officially named Maungauika. 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 the Tūpuna Maunga under the direction of the TMA.
See also
*
Coastal fortifications of New Zealand
Coastal fortifications were constructed in New Zealand in two main waves: around 1885 as a response to fears of an attack by Russia, and in World War II due to fears of invasion by the Japanese.
The fortifications were built from British design ...
References
*''Volcanoes of Auckland: A Field Guide''. Hayward, B.W.; Auckland University Press, 2019, 335 pp. .
External links
{{Auckland volcanic field
Auckland volcanic field
Buildings and structures in Auckland
NZHPT Category I listings in the Auckland Region
Headlands of the Auckland Region
Military history of New Zealand
New Zealand Army
Royal New Zealand Navy
Tourist attractions in Auckland
North Shore, New Zealand
Forts in New Zealand
Coastal artillery
Lookouts in Auckland
Waitematā Harbour