Takarunga / Mount Victoria is the highest volcano on

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

's North Shore, rising to 66 metres in elevation. Its age is currently unknown. Its lava flows now line much of Devonport's waterfront. Takarunga was the location of an important

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

used by Tāmaki Māori peoples. In the late 19th century, a gun fort was built on top of the hill, in order to defend the city of Auckland. As a designated tūpuna maunga, the mountain has been governed by the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, along with thirteen other cones throughout Auckland, since 2014.

Geography

The hill provides panoramic views of Auckland's

Waitematā Harbour The Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. The harbour forms the northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is matched on the southern side of the city ...

and the inner Hauraki Gulf. Over the years the peak and upper slopes have housed a

signal station A signal station is a form of Navigational aid, Aids to Navigation that is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization, IHO simply as "A signal station is a place on shore from which signals are made to ships at sea". While this broad de ...

for shipping, artillery emplacements, farmland, and various concrete army bunkers, some from as early as the 1870s. One bunker now serves as the venue for the Devonport Folk Music Club. The slopes of Takarunga / Mount Victoria are also home to Devonport Primary School, Takarunga Playcentre, a tennis court, a cemetery, a water reservoir which maintains supply to the area, and a scenic lookout. The old Signalman's House is now home to the Michael King Writers Centre which provides writers-in-residence programmes, hosting for visiting writers, residential workshops for experienced writers, and a series of workshops for young poets and emerging writers. The writer-in-residence programmes are supported by Creative New Zealand and the University of Auckland.

History

An important

once occupied its slopes; some of its earthworks can still be seen. In the 18th century, Takarunga was seasonally occupied by

Waiohua Te Waiohua or Te Wai-o-Hua is a Māori people, Māori iwi (tribe) confederation that thrived in the early 17th century. The rohe (tribal area) was primarily the central Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau area (the Auckland isthmus) and they had pā (for ...

paramount chief

Kiwi Tāmaki Kiwi Tāmaki (died ) was a Māori people, Māori warrior and paramount chief of the Waiohua confederation in Auckland region, Tāmaki Makaurau (modern-day Auckland isthmus). The third generation paramount chief of Waiohua, Kiwi Tāmaki consolid ...

, during the seasons for bird catching and preservation. The traditional name, Takarunga, literally means "The Hill Standing Above", and contrasts with Mount Cambria, a now-quarried hill known by the name Takararo, or "The Hill Standing Below". A scoria mound known as Duders Hill, on Takarunga / Mount Victoria's southern slopes was mostly quarried away. French navigator

Jules Dumont d'Urville Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville (; 23 May 1790 – 8 May 1842) was a French List of explorers, explorer and French Navy, naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica. As a botanist an ...

climbed the hill in 1827, and it was given the name Mount Victoria, referring to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, by early settlers.

In 1841 a signal station was constructed on the peak, to better facilitate traffic to the Port of Auckland, and in 1880 the hill became a public reserve. In 1885, a gun fort was constructed on the peak, which was in use until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Treaty settlement

In the 2014

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

settlement between the Crown 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 or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

and

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

(also known as the Tāmaki Collective), ownership of the 14 Tūpuna Maunga of ''Tāmaki Makaurau'' / Auckland, was vested to the collective, including the volcano officially named Takarunga / Mount Victoria. 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.

Gallery

File:MtVictoria.1.jpg, The north side of Takarunga / Mount Victoria, seen from Lake Road File:Mount Victoria from Mount Cambria Reserve.jpg, Mount Victoria seen from Mt Cumbria Reserve to the northeast File:The Bunker, Mt Victoria, Auckland.jpg, The Bunker, home of the Devonport Folk Club File:Disappearing gun on Mount Victoria.jpg, alt=BL 8 inch Mk VII Disappearing gun at the summit of Takarunga / Mount Victoria., BL 8 inch Mk VII Disappearing gun at the summit of Takarunga / Mount Victoria File:Mt Victoria Mushrooms.jpg, 'Mushrooms' on top of the hill, which are in fact vents for a water pumping station

References

*''Volcanoes of Auckland: A Field Guide''. Hayward, B.W.; Auckland University Press, 2019, 335 pp. .

External links