What's special about Mangere Mountain
Remains of a thriving early Polynesian settlement
You can see the remains of what was once an extremely large 18th century Maori pa (fortified settlement). Low stone walls radiate out from the base of the mountains, the remnants of the Maori land boundaries that once divided the landscape into large pie-shaped pieces, marking out gardens, houses and other living areas. There are scores of house and garden terraces, walled garden mounds and stone boundary walls inside the crater and kumara storage pits.
Surviving descendants
The local hapu, Waiohua, centred 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 in the late 18th century.
City sitting on a volcanic field
Mangere is one of the 47 volcanic cones that dot the Auckland isthmus, expressions of the active volcanic field that lies underneath Auckland's urban sprawl. The cone's volcanic features are clearly visible.
All the cone mounds were sought-after Maori settlement sites, both because of their commanding views (helping protect villages from attack) and fertile volcanic soils. The warm, friable volcanic soils were well suited in New Zealand's temperate climate for growing tropical Polynesian crops like kumara, taro and gourds.
Planned education and interpretation centre
Te Maunga o te Mangere is a Crown-owned reserve administered by Manukau City Council. An education centre and associated education programme is being developed as a joint project involving DOC, Manukau City, Auckland Regional Council, Te Waiohua Trust and local schools and community groups.
A series of cast iron and basalt sculptures by Auckland sculptor Steve Woodward is part of a interpretative walk on the mountain.
Otuataua stonefields
The 100 ha Otuataua stonefields nearby are one of the few remnants of an original 8000ha of volcanic stonefields in the Auckland area, all intensively cultivated by early Maori settlers. The stones flung out in successive volcanic eruptions were used to demarcate garden plots and to warm the soil, extending the growing season for tropical crops like taro and kumara by one month.
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