Logging the Town Belt, Wellington 18 April 2005 01

Te Ahumairangi Hill (formerly known as Tinakori Hill) is a hill running for over 100 hectares through the Town Belt of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

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 ...

. It was renamed Te Ahumairangi Hill as part of the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o te Ika) Claims Settlement Act 2009. The suburb of Wadestown lies to the north, with Wilton, and Northland to the west and south-west. Te Ahumairangi lies within Thorndon which continues to its south-east.

History

Originally, the whole ridgeline was called Te Ahumairangi. During early European settlement, a road was built along the base of the ridge, and according to tradition, the Māori labourers had to work through their meal breaks. 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 ...

, ''tina'' is a loan word of "dinner" and ''kahore'' means "none". The complaint became the name of both the road and the hill, and was Anglicised to Tinakore and eventually Tinakori. The hill was an important site for radio transmission, with 45 aerials along its length at one time, and a receiving station at the peak. The latter was demolished in 1975. There is now a microwave repeater which handles South Island television signals and cellphone coverage. Storms in 2004 felled hundreds of trees and required the removal of 10.5 hectares of pines from the steep lower slopes the following year. 10,000 new trees have since been planted. Further storms felled more trees in June 2013 and parts of the Northern Walkway across the hill were closed. A new lookout and car park were opened in November 2010.

Threatened species

The critically endangered

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs ...

species, '' Potamopyrgus oppidanus'', is found only on Te Ahumairangi hill. A recent survey of the species indicates it is declining in population. It has been suggested that the building of illegal

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

tracks through its habitat is having a detrimental effect on its survival.Rare snail found ONLY on one New Zealand hill
RNZ, 10 July 2019 ''

Tradescantia fluminensis ''Tradescantia fluminensis'' is a species of spiderwort native to South America. It is one of several plants known by the common name wandering Jew, but now also commonly called wandering trad. It is also known as small-leaf spiderwort, river s ...

'' is also contributing to this decline as the weed is smothering snail habitat.

References

Wellington City Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika {{Wellington-geo-stub