Maungawhau-Mt Eden

History

Maungawhau/Mount Eden is the highest of the volcanoes in Auckland city at 196 metres.

It is a prominent feature of the Auckland landscape and a good vantage point from which to view the city and the other cones.

The Maori name for the mountain, "Maungawhau", means "Mountain of the Whau tree". Whau (entelea arborescens) is a small tree which occurs in coastal forests. During the period of Maori inhabitation, the lower slopes of Maungawhau were used as gardens and living terraces. Early Maori and European activity has already drastically altered the form of Maungawhau, and what remains is a precious tangible record of Maori history. One significant feature is the large, well preserved crater, some 50 metres deep, contained within the summit cone.

The Mount Eden Domain is protected from damage, as an archaeological site, by the Historic Places Act 1980.

Maungawhau has been grazed for at least 120 years and a council lease currently allows a herd of 15-20 young cattle to graze on the mountain.

At the base of the mountain, on the northeast side, there is a substantial area of native bush. A remnant of this bush still exists on the lava flow in the Almorah Road, Epsom area. Today this bush is composed of

karaka corynocarpus)
kohekohe (dysoxylum)
mahoe (melicytus)
ngaio (myoporum)
pigeonwood (hedycarya)
puriri (vitex)
titoki (alectryon)
mangaeo (litsea)
karamu (coprosma)
rangiora (brachyglottis)
whau (entelea).

It is likely that some of these species may have been planted by the Maori inhabitants of Maungawhau. Both karaka and puriri trees are often found in association with village sites. Conifers are not found on this lava flow, but may have been present on the adjoining soils of Newmarket, if its Maori name "Okoare" (place where the young kauri grows) is a reflection of the vegetation present.

Reviewed May 2008