Pigeon Mountain (, officially Ōhuiarangi / Pigeon Mountain) is a high

volcanic cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and ...

and Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountain) at Half Moon Bay, near Howick and

Bucklands Beach Bucklands Beach is a suburb east of Auckland's CBD in New Zealand. The suburb is in the Howick ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland Council. Demographics Bucklands Beach covers and had an estimated population of ...

, in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. It 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 diverse a ...

Geography and history

The volcano erupted around 24,000 years ago, forming a large crater and tuff ring about 500 meters wide. The prominent tuff ring is still clearly visible extending in an arc south of Sunderlands Road. Two much smaller craters were formed to the north west of the main cone. The smaller lies buried under Pigeon Mountain Road outside number 18, and the other forms Heights Park, a private reserve for the owners of 29–41 Pigeon Mountain Road and 14–36 Prince Regent Drive and 33–39 Tyrian Close. Ōhuiarangi is a

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 ...

name meaning 'the desire of Rangi'. Early

European settlers European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

saw many

kererū The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae'') or New Zealand pigeon is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin described the bird in 1789 as a large, conspicuous pigeon up to in length and in weight, with a white br ...

, native wood pigeons, feeding on the pigeonwood trees there, hence the name Pigeon Mountain. The mountain is a former pā site, and some of the terracing still remains. The mountain was extensively quarried from 1913 to the 1970s, with the entire north half of the volcano removed. It was first quarried for roading metal by

Fencibles The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...

from the 1847 Fencibles settlement at Howick. In the 1920s the Shaw brothers worked with Harold Kearney, Dud Langdon and Jim Taylor using a pair of draught horses to pull a dray loaded with metal. In 1848 John Campbell and James Smyth, both from the fencible ship Sir Robert Sale, had the contract to spread metal on the road from Howick to Panmure, for which they were paid 5/- per day. At that time the mountain was named Pigeon Tree Hill. The 5 acre farm immediately to the south was owned by the 1847 Irish Fitzpatrick family of Patrick and Ann who came in the ''Minerva'' fencible ship. They lived in a raupo hut at Howick for two years. They had had 12 children, 9 of whom survived. The children all attended Pakuranga school, a short distance across the paddocks to the south east. Fitzpatrick later bought other land around Pigeon Mountain at Hutchinson Road and Bucklands Beach Road, expanding his farm to 20 acres. A photo taken of the Pakuranga Cricket club, which played at Pigeon Mountain, shows 6 of the 16 players were from the Fitzpatrick family. His original fencibles cottage was still in use in the 1960s by two of his grandsons who were the caretakers of the Pigeon Mountain sports ground in their youth. On their death the cottage was placed at the Howick Historical village. A number of Fencibles' widows also received land south of Pigeon Mountain which was very swampy. Margaret Coyle received 4 acres of land where

Pakuranga College Pakuranga College is a co-educational secondary school in east Auckland, New Zealand. The college is named after the suburb it is located in, Pakuranga. The school emblem is the pegasus and the motto "Caelum Certe Patet". The current principal ...

is today. In 1929 a fresh water spring was uncovered and water was piped to Howick and district at a cost of 9340 pounds. Artefacts as well as skulls were found at the site in the 1960s by students from Pakuranga College. The north face is partly fenced off and is an almost vertical drop of . In the southwest corner there is a playing field built on a free-draining scoria base. On the quarried northwestern side is a kindergarten and Scout hall.

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, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

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, an ...

and hapu (also known as the Tāmaki Collective), ownership of the 14 Tūpuna Maunga of Auckland, was vested to the collective, including Ōhuiarangi / Pigeon Mountain. 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.

Native vegetation restoration

As part of a plan to restore the hill, including native vegetation and native wildlife habitats, around 112 exotic trees, including pests, have been removed and 33,000 new native trees and shrubs are being planted. The work aims to and enhance sightlines to the summit and preserving historic features.

References

*''Volcanoes of Auckland: A Field Guide''. Hayward, B.W.; Auckland University Press, 2019, 335 pp. . {{Howick Local Board Area Auckland volcanic field Parks in Auckland Mountains of the Auckland Region Howick Local Board Area