One Tree Hill to be ‘None Tree Hill’ no longer

A decision today by the Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority means a tree will again stand at the summit of Auckland’s iconic Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill.

The Monterey Pine that had stood on the summit for more than 120 years was removed in 2000 after it was decided that two earlier attempts to cut down the tree had rendered it a safety hazard.

Those attacks on the pine – the first in 1994, the second in 1999 – were motivated by the view it was inappropriate for a non-native tree to stand at a place of such significance to Māori.

The pine was itself a replacement for a tree – probably a pōhutukawa, although possibly a tōtara – that had given the volcanic peak its English name and was cut down by a Pakeha settler in 1852.

The planting of the new tree will take place mid-winter next year during Matariki celebrations and will initially consist of a small grove of three young tōtara and six young pohutukawa along with a shelter-band of native shrubs. Over the course of several years, a process selection will be overseen by arborists that ultimately results in a single pohutukawa or tōtara on the summit. (See artist’s impression of this process below.)

According to Paul Majurey, the authority’s chairman, the planting decision “could not have been made without the support of Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau, the 13 iwi/hapū who achieved the landmark Tāmaki Collective Treaty settlement that resulted in the return of ownership of the tūpuna maunga to mana whenua.”

Mr Majurey also acknowledged mayor Len Brown for championing the return of a tree to the summit and noted that “establishment of the co-governance arrangement between mana whenua and Auckland Council has already resulted in much better care of these treasured places.”

Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill is one of the 14 tūpuna maunga (ancestral mountains) returned to Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau under the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Act 2014.

The tūpuna maunga are administered by the Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority, comprised of equal representatives from Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau and Auckland Council, together with one (non-voting) Crown representative.

Year one: The grove of three tōtara and six pohutukawa, with kiekie, at the time of planting.

Year one: The grove of three tōtara and six pohutukawa with the protective shelter-belt of native shrubs, at the time of planting. The kiekie is planted but not visible.

Year five: The grove of three tōtara and six pohutukawa with kiekie. The shelter planting is no longer required.

Year 20: Single tree with kiekie. Although a pohutukawa is illustrated, the single tree could be either a tōtara or a pohutukawa.

Year 20: As a above, a pohutukawa has been illustrated but the single tree could be either a tōtara or a pohutukawa.

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