A Virtual Field Trip to Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill

Social Studies Online

Learning Outcome:
Students will:
Describe the impact of the arrival of different groups of people on Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill and its surrounding area.

Let's think

• What would this place have been like before the arrival of any people?
• How did the arrival of the first people impact on the volcanic cone and the area around it?
• How did the subsequent movement of Maori into the Tamaki Makaurau area impact on the inhabitants (the Waiohua) of Maungakieikie and on the way they used the volcano?
• How did the arrival of Europeans/Pakeha in Auckland impact on Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill?

Let's investigate
What can this volcanic cone tell us about how the arrival different groups of people and their subsequent settlement on and around it impacted on it? Check out the archaeological evidence.

First stop
Start at the summit of Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill. Look around at what is left of the Auckland Volcanic Field. To the south-east is Mangere Mountain which was also occupied by Waiohua people. To the north-east is Remuera.

At the beginning of the last century visitors to the summit of Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill would have seen this when they faced south-east. Facing north-east. Looking south-west in 1926 this is what you would have seen. Hundreds of years earlier still, during Waiohua's occupation of the area, the land around the volcanic cone probably looked very similar to the scene in the Stonefields poster produced by the ARC.

Second stop
The summit itself has experienced numerous changes. Most recently, the removal of The Tree has been the most obvious. The summit tree was removed in 2000 when it became dangerous. One Tree Hill before 1912 when Sir John Logan Campbell was buried on the summit.

Third stop
Head down from the summit via the summit road. On your left is the East Crater. Terraced garden plots can be seen on the slopes of the East Crater. The floor of the East Crater was a garden. Kumara and other crops were grown in the rich fertile soil. Garden mounds of shell, rocks and soil retained heat and created mini hot houses in which plants had an extra few weeks of warmth in which to mature before harvesting. The East Crater in 1905.

Fourth stop
On the right of the summit road going down are the remnants of the outer defences of the pa. Maungakiekie pa had an easily defended gateway to the west of the summit road. This was the entrance to the pa. In 1905 the view was somewhat different.

Fifth stop
Evidence of Maori habitation is most obvious in the area between the West and Central Craters. Terraces are clearly visible. It is likely that each terrace, or group of terraces, was occupied by a family or whanau. All the earth moving to create terraces and defences was done by hand using wooden and stone tools. Soil was dug out using a wooden digging stick or ko, placed in baskets and then tipped further down the hill until a flat platform was created. The occupied pa may have looked something like this.

Sixth stop
Evidence of Fortifications is also obvious. The hollow or gap in the middle foreground is part of the ditch that made up part of the outer defences of the pa. A wall or palisade would have confronted attackers as they tried to charge out of the ditch and up the raised wall or bank on the left of the photograph. Some neat little diagrams of defences at Rangiriri provide some idea of what the defences on Maungakiekie might have looked like. Even if they made it through the ditches, scarps, banks and palisades of the entrance and outer defences, the attackers would still have a long way to go before they could tackle the tihi on the summit. The next obstacle was a raised area surrounded by palisades. Palisades on the banks created a wooden wall that attackers had to climb. Fighting stages behind the palisades allowed defenders to fight for their pa.

Seventh stop
The summit of the volcano, the tihi with the sacred totara tree, (now occupied by the monument and Sir John Logan Campbell's grave) was the ultimate goal for any attacker. The final defences consisted of another series of ditches (left foreground) and palisaded banks (left middle ground). Defences were part of the living areas too. There were four defended summits on Maungakiekie, each protected by ditches and banks. Palisades on the banks created a wooden wall that attackers had to climb. Fighting stages behind the palisades allowed defenders to fight for their pa. People lived on these flat areas. There is still evidence of storage pits used for storing kumara and other foods during winter.

Eighth stop
The west crater is an example of a breached crater The slopes of this horseshoe shaped crater are terraced. It is likely that each terrace, or group of terraces, was occupied by a family or whanau. Later, the west crater formed part of the golf course that once covered a large part of One Tree Hill and Cornwall Park.

Ninth stop
Cornwall Park and the One Tree Hill Domain are operated as a farm. Cornwall Park was a farm when John Logan Campbell and William Brown bought the land in 1853. The farm runs Perendale and Texel Cross sheep and Simmental cattle.

Tenth stop
In 1901 Sir John Logan Campbell gifted his One Tree Hill estate to the people of New Zealand. Campbell had great visions for the Park and employed John Devinci Louch to prepare plans for the layout of the proposed Park.

Eleventh stop
Tree planting on a grand scale was part of Campbell's grand plan. Tree planting in Cornwall Park started over 100 years ago. There is a Native Tree Arboretum near the Kiosk and Acacia Cottage. There are avenues of trees - Pohutukawa Drive and Twin Oak Drive for example. Groves of trees, like this eucalytus grove are dotted around the Park and a native tree arboretum is laid out near Huia Lodge.

Twelfth stop
Historic buildings and plaques that abound in the Park are further evidence of the impact of people on the place. Huia Lodge, the Kiosk and Acacia Cottage reflect the impact of the early Pakeha settlers like Campbell. In World War II the 39th General U.S. Army Hospital to house soldiers recovering from the war in the Pacific was built on Park land. The temporary hospital lasted for over thirty years and many Aucklanders were born there during the Baby Boom. All that remains now is this plaque.

Thirteenth stop
As more and more people move into Auckland city, pressure for housing has resulted in more apartments and fewer house with backyards. So people flock to open spaces like Cornwall Park to picnic, walk, play in the playground or just blob out with an ice cream.