One Tree Hill summit project
Introduction
| New tree planting proposal
| Resource consent application process
| A short history of the pine |
Frequently asked questions
A short history of the pine
Pre-european history
One Tree Hill, or Maungakiekie, housed a thriving community for approximately 900 years. It was the scene of successive conquests and occupations and
much of the maunga (hill) became developed and fortified over time by the various tribes which lived there.
An ancient totara, said to have been planted in the early 1600s, once graced the summit of One Tree Hill. The significance of the planting relates to the
legend of a woman of noble heritage giving birth to a male child. The totara is said to have thrived, and became known as 'Te Totara I ahua' (the Totara that
stands alone).
A period of conflict between warring tribes during the later 18th and early 19th centuries depopulated the Auckland isthmus, and in the early 1820s
Maungakiekie was abandoned.
The land, the Totara and replacement attempts
Sir John Logan Campbell named the maunga One Tree Hill in 1840. The early period of development of Auckland (between 1845 and 1870) saw many
dealings in land between various individuals and the colonial authorities of the time, involving Governor Sir George Grey. In 1845, Maungakiekie and the
surrounding land were purchased from local Maori by a property speculator named Thomas Henry. The land was designated a public domain in 1886 under the One
Tree Hill Reserve Act.
In 1852, the great totara was tragically destroyed. Popular belief is that the tree was vandalised by a party of European workmen as a form of protest.
Successive attempts were made to re-establish a tree on the summit. Sir John Logan Campbell planted a group of five Pinus radiata to shelter native
trees during the 1870s but only the pines survived.
The pines and the obelisk
Sir John Logan Campbell requested in his will that a monument be built to commemorate the Maori people who were thought to be a dying race. The obelisk
was completed in 1947. Unfortunately, the obelisk and the pine tree are seen by many people as symbols of European dominance and oppression. In August 1962,
the maunga literally became One Tree Hill again. The second to last pine was vandalised and had to be felled.
Other acts of vandalism include a reported attempt during the 1970s to blow up the existing tree using explosives. In 1988, Cyclone Bola further damaged
the tree, and some limbs had to be removed.
1994 chainsaw attack
In October 1994, the police arrested an activist at the summit following an attempt to fell the tree. The attacker made numerous small cuts which ranged
between 10cm and 42cm deep. Although only 28 percent of the trunk circumference was left undamaged, there was still enough sound wood left for the tree to
survive. The decision was made to retain the tree, and political support and funding were obtained. A cabling system was erected to allow natural movement of
the tree, while stopping it from reaching breaking point in extreme wind conditions.
Other recent protests
The summit of One Tree Hill has been the site of numerous protests over the past two years or so.
In August 1998 there was a Native Forest Action protest. The tree was climbed and a banner erected.
The Resistance staged a protest in October 1998 and a kauri tree was planted on the summit.
A West Coast logging support protest was held in December 1998, and a beech tree was planted on the summit.
The second chainsaw attack
A family of activists carried out a protest by attempting to fell the One Tree Hill pine in September 1999. The damage included cuts up to 28cm deep in an
area not damaged by the 1994 chainsaw attack. Approximately 45 percent of the trunk cross section and 88 percent of the trunk circumference were severed and
the life expectancy of the tree was estimated to be only three years.
By October 2000, the pine had become unstable and was a danger to the public. After careful study of the condition of the tree, it was found to be no longer
viable and the decision was made to take it down. The felling operation was successfully carried out on October 26 amid much media attention.
