Historic Mangere Mountain
Bringing the past alive
Mangere Mountain Education Centre
Volcano and landmarker walk brochures
Mangere Mountain is one of the least modified of the big cone pa sites which once dominated the Auckland - or Tamaki Makaurau - skyline. The 50 volcanic cones in the area were sought-after Maori settlement sites. Their warmer, friable volcanic soils were more suitable in New Zealand's temperate climate for growing tropical crops like kumara, taro and gourds and they offered a clear view of potential attackers.
The local iwi, Waiohua, based around Makaurau Marae, are the direct descendants of the people who built all the big fortified settlements on the Auckland isthmus before the arrival of the Ngati Whatua from the Kaipara ( to the north of Auckland), in the late eighteenth century.
Aerial view of Mangere Mountain
On Mangere Mountain, just minutes from Auckland International Airport, you can see the remains of what was once an extremely large eighteenth century Maori fortified settlement, or pa. Low stone walls radiate out from the base of the mountain, the remnants of the major Maori land boundaries that once divided the landscape into large pie-shaped pieces.
These boundaries marked out gardens, houses and other living areas. There are scores of house and garden terraces, walled garden mounds, stone boundary walls and kumara storage pits around the crater.
Painting of historic pa site on Mangere
Mountain by Chris Gaskin
A series of cast iron and basalt sculptures placed around the mountain show what life was like there, including what foods were eaten and how they were cultivated, caught and stored. A one hour 'land marker' walk follows the sculptures (see the self-guided walk brochures below).
Four large paintings by local artist Chris Gaskin, which are sited near the education centre at the base of Mangere Mountain, also depict life there, from the time of the last eruption 40,000 years ago, through 500 years of continuous Maori settlement, to the pastoral farms of European settlers.
Mangere Mountain is an important archaeological site and educational resource for local schools and visitors. An education centre off Coronation Road, at the base of Mangere Mountain, has been established by the Mangere Mountain Accord partners, Manukau City Council, Department of Conservation, Te Wai-o-Hua Trust and the Auckland Regional Council. The centre, which opened in November 2003, is managed by the Mangere Mountain Education Trust.
You can pick up the Mangere Mountain volcano and landmarker self-guided walk brochures from the Manukau City Council, Auckland Regional Council and
| Auckland
Visitor Centre |
| Phone: |
+64 9 379 6476 |
| Address: |
137 Quay Street
Princes Wharf
Downtown
Auckland 1010
|
| Email: |
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Full office details
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Or you can check out our web versions:
Cover of Mangere
Mountain Volcano brochure
Volcano - Mangere Mountain / te Maunga o Mangere brochure
Introduction (page 1)
Volcanic features (page 2)
Cover of Landmarker Walk
brochure
Landmarker Walk brochure
Introduction (page 1)
Landmarker walk (page 2)
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