One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie)

Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill is a 182-metre volcanic cone in the heart of Auckland — the largest pre-European pā (fortified Māori settlement) in the country, whose hillside terraces and food pits once supported thousands of people and whose summit was one of the most important ceremonial sites in the Auckland region. The 30-metre obelisk on top was erected in 1940 to honour Māori-Pākehā reconciliation, funded by the Scottish-born philanthropist John Logan Campbell (who lived at the base of the hill).

The hill is named for a rātā tree that once stood at the summit — the 1852 replacement Monterey pine was attacked twice (1994 and 2000) by Māori activists angered by the substitution of a non-native tree, and was eventually removed in 2000. After two decades of debate and consultation with local iwi, six native trees were planted on the summit in 2016. Cornwall Park surrounds the hill with paddocks of grazing sheep, cattle, and Belgian blue beef steers, preserving a pastoral landscape unique in a city of 1.7 million.