Waitomokia, an extinct volcano on Manukau Harbour, South of Onehunga (circa 1860)

Waitomokia (also Moerangi, Gabriel Hill or Mount Gabriel) is a

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

in 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 ...

. Waitomokia's wide tuff crater contained three small

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) ''G ...

cones up to high, one with a crater, which were quarried in the 1950s.

Geology

The volcano erupted an estimated 20,300 years ago, based on volcanic ash samples found at Pūkaki Lagoon. The volcano consisted of an elliptical explosion crater, with three small cones surrounded by a 15-25 metre

tuff ring Phreatomagmatic eruptions are volcanic eruptions resulting from interaction between magma and water. They differ from exclusively magmatic eruptions and phreatic eruptions. Unlike phreatic eruptions, the products of phreatomagmatic eruptions cont ...

. The cones, each approximately 30 metres in height, were produced by explosive eruptions from three vents in the centre of the crater. The two eastern cones were conical, while the south-western peak was a

spatter 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 s ...

with an 18-metre deep crater. After the initial eruptions, the crater formed a freshwater swamp.

Human history

The crater lake and swamp were given the name Waitomokia ("Water Seeping into the Ground") by

Tāmaki Māori Tāmaki Māori are Māori ''iwi'' and ''hapū'' (tribes and sub-tribes) who have a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau (the Auckland Region), and whose rohe was traditionally within the region. Among Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau (the M ...

, while three cones were called Moerangi. The volcano, alongside Māngere Lagoon,

Crater Hill Crater Hill is one of the volcanoes of the Auckland volcanic field, in New Zealand. It consists of an explosion crater about wide, partly filled with water. The hill, alongside Māngere Lagoon, Waitomokia, Kohuora, Pukaki Lagoon and Robertson H ...

Kohuora Kohuora, located in the suburb of Papatoetoe, is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an explosion crater around 600 m wide, 30 m deep and with an irregular V-shape indicating it was formed ...

Pukaki Lagoon Pukaki Lagoon, located in the suburb of Māngere, New Zealand, is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field. The lagoon, alongside Māngere Lagoon, Waitomokia, Crater Hill, Kohuora and Robertson Hill, is one of the volcanic features col ...

and Robertson Hill, is one of the volcanic features collectively referred to as Nga Tapuwae a Mataoho ("The Sacred Footprints of Mataoho"), referring to the deity who was involved in their creation. The two conical cones were the location of a pā (hillfort), and the sides were terraced with kūmara rua (

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

storage pits). When European settlers arrived in the

Māngere Māngere () or Mangere is one of the largest suburbs in Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau City Centre and 15 kilometres south of ...

area, they named the volcano Mount Gabriel, after an early settler. The scoria cones were quarried in the 1950s in order to construct the Manukau Sewage Purification Works (now Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant) adjacent to the volcano. In the latter half of the 20th century, the land was used for kiwifruit packhouses,

floriculture Floriculture, or flower farming, is a branch of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry. The development of new varieties by plant breeding is ...

and horticulture. In 2005, the land became the location of

Villa Maria Estates Villa Maria Estate is one of New Zealand's largest wine companies. Their vineyards are located throughout New Zealand, with production bases in Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough and Auckland.David Hayward The University of Auckland: The Large ...

, a vineyard that had previously been headquartered to the north-east along Kirkbride Road. The crater is occasionally used for public concerts in the summer, and has been a venue for concerts by

Bic Runga Briolette Kah Bic Runga (born 13 January 1976), recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the Recording Industry Association of New Ze ...

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowde ...

, the Topp Twins, Jack Johnson and the National.

References

*''City of Volcanoes: A geology of Auckland'' - Searle, Ernest J.; revised by Mayhill, R.D.; Longman Paul, 1981. First published 1964. . *''Volcanoes of Auckland: A Field Guide''. Hayward, B.W.; Auckland University Press, 2019, 335 pp. .

External links

1899 photo of Waitomokia showing its three cones

Aerial photos of Waitomokia
{{Auckland volcanic field Auckland volcanic field Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board Area Music venues in New Zealand Volcanoes of the Auckland Region Hills of the Auckland Region