ONE TREE HILL !

Well, One Tree Hill is very famous here in Auckland and you'll see it on postcards all over..
It's called Maungakiekie in Māori, meaning 'mountain of the kiekie vine' and it is the largest volcanic peak in Auckland, about 30,000 years old!
It is an important memorial place for both Māori and other New Zealanders.
The summit provides panoramic views, you can see both harbours and if you time it right, you can watch both a rising and a falling tide at the same time.



In pre-colonial times, One Tree Hill was occupied by Maori tribes, who settled the area. One Tree Hill is one of the largest suriviving pa (fortified stronghold) sites in New Zealand, capable of housing 4000 defenders.
When Auckland was founded, as a colonial town, a tree stood near the summit which gave the hill its English name.
This was cut down by a white settler in 1852, for firewood.



John Logan Campbell, was one of the founding fathers of Auckland and when he died, his remains were buried at the summit of One Tree Hill.
In his will, Campbell left provision for the construction of an obelisk at the summit, to honour his admiration for the Maori people. This was unveiled in 1948.
In the meantime, two pine trees had been planted in the 1870s to replace the 'one tree' and until 2000, they stood next to the obelisk on the top.
However, in the early 1960s a group of overseas Boy Scouts cut down one of the two trees!




The remaining tree was later attacked twice with chainsaws by Māori protesters.
In 1994, Maori activist Mike Smith attacked the One Tree Hill pine, with a chainsaw, in an attempt to draw attention to Maori grievances. To Smith, the tree was a symbol of colonial oppression.
The ailing pine was again attacked with a chainsaw by a group of Maori protesters in 1999.
The tree was unable to recover from the attack and later had to be removed.
It had been part of Auckland's skyline for more than 120 years.
The summit stands empty at the moment, except for the obelisk.



A new nickname, "No(ne) Tree Hill", has become popular and locals have provisionally renamed the landmark Gone Tree Hill, None Tree Hill, One Treestump Hill, Once Was Tree Hill, etc.