mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...
and regional park to the southeast of
Auckland city
Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland Re ...
, in the
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 I ...
and
Waikato
Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...
regions of New Zealand's
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...
. The ranges cover some and rise to 688 metres (2255 ft) at Kohukohunui.Hunua Ranges , ''An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand'', edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 26 September 2006. Accessed 15 March 2007.
Auckland Council
Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a ...
owns and manages of the ranges, including part located in the Waikato region, as a regional park open to the public.
Geography
The ranges are located approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) southeast of the main Auckland urban area, above the western shore of the Firth of Thames."The Hunua Ranges ..are bounded on the east by the Firth of Thames, the north by the Tamaki Strait, the west by the Wairoa River, and the south by the lower reaches of the Mangatangi River."
They are sparsely populated, and mostly lie within the boundaries of the Waharau and Hunua Ranges Regional Parks. The settlement of Hunua lies on the foot of the Hunua Ranges.Hunua an Waharau Regional Parks, Auckland Regional Council.
The ranges are covered in largest area of native bush in Auckland, with streams, waterfalls, and hills overlooking the
Auckland Region
Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containin ...
and
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,Reservoir (water), reservoirs sources from rivers and streams, including the Hunua Falls on the Wairoa River.Hunua an Waharau Regional Parks, Auckland Regional Council.
Kohukohunui
Kohukohunui () is the highest point in the Hunua Ranges.
The New Zealand
Ministry for Culture and Heritage
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government ...
gives a translation of "great mist" for ''Kohukohunui''.
History
Pre-European settlement
Māori made some use of the ranges and early European visitors found areas of clearing that had been used as gardens.
Ngāi Tai
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, ...
are tangata whenua. Some Māori archaeological sites are known. The main part of the ranges was subject to confiscation after the
New Zealand Wars
The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the M ...
.
Early European use of the ranges was for timber extraction and for farming but low
soil fertility
Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality.
limited success. There has been some mining of Manganese in the past. Gold prospecting for quartz reefs has never found payable reefs.
20th century
From the 1920s onwards the land was progressively bought by Auckland City Council utilising funds from its water supply operation.Barton, Ian L. 1978 ''"Auckland's south eastern bulwark : a history of the Hunua Ranges"''. Privately published. Development of the water supplies commenced in 1946, with the first of the four dams, Cossey's, completed with a capacity of 11.3 million cubic meters in 1956. Three
embankment dam
An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface an ...
s were constructed in the area: Upper Mangatawhiri (1965), Wairoa (1975) and Mangatangi (1977). Combined, the dams have a capacity of 77.1 million cubic meters, and supply approximately 68% of Auckland's potable water, through the Ardmore Water Treatment Plant. , Watercare Services Ltd. Retrieved 22 February 2013
The bulk water supply operation and the land passed to the newly formed Auckland Regional Authority in 1964. The Authority completed the water supply development and continued the exotic afforestation on some of the north and western catchment land, started by the City Council, and its Water Department administered the land.
The water operation was corporatised as
Watercare Services
Watercare Services (Watercare) is an infrastructure asset management council-controlled organisation (CCO) that manages the drinking water and wastewater services of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Watercare is registered with the New Zeala ...
in 1992, but the land itself remained with the Auckland Regional Council (as it was by then). Watercare took ownership of the water related assets and took a long term lease from the Auckland Regional Council of the reservoir areas and the operational areas. The exotic forestry land was also leased to another party. The catchment land became regional park land.Barton, Ian L. 2001 ''"Hunua, The place and its people: a view from 2000"''. Privately published.
21st century
In November 2010, the southernmost part of the Hunua Ranges were transferred to
Waikato
Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...
region.Franklin Ward map Auckland Council. Retrieved 10 November 2010. This determines the local government administrative boundaries, but the ownership of the former Auckland Regional Council park land went to the Auckland Council and that of the water assets is unchanged with Watercare Services.
Extensive flooding in the Hunua Ranges in March 2017 cut off roads. People staying on the ranges had to be evacuated.
In May 2018, parts of the park were closed to stop the spread of
Kauri dieback
Kauri dieback is a forest dieback disease of the native kauri trees (''Agathis australis'') of New Zealand that is suspected to be caused by the oomycete ''Phytophthora agathidicida.'' Symptoms can include root rot and associated rot in a coll ...
. Some of the tracks reopened in late 2020.
In September and October 2018, the entire park was closed during a 1080 pest control programme. The programme was subject to an unsuccessful legal challenge.
Recreation
Activities in the regional park include walking, mountain-biking, bird-watching and drone-flying.