ONE TREE HILL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23773, 28 September 1940, Page 14

ONE TREE HILL

OLD MAORI HISTORY JHE SACRED TOTARA LOST TRIBAL MASCOT Issues raised in recent letters from Hkkaj.l) readers concerning the name of Maungakiekie and the trees on its summit are clarified by reference to an article which Mr. George Graham, a recognised authority on local Maori history, contributed to one ol the Government's Centennial publications a couple of years ago. Mr. Graham shows that in prcKnropoan times Maungakiekie was "One Tree Hill" to the Maoris in the sense that it was the location of a famous tree, "IV Totara-i-ahna." This, however, did not stand upon the summit. hut somewhere on the western slopes. Chief's Birthday Tree In the 30th century or thereabouts the Maungakiekie pa was the metropolis of the isthmus of Tamaki, and the lower slopes of the hill were •covered with largo kumaru gardens, which supported a large population. About the year 30-10 a son was horn to the paramount chief, Tupahau, and his wife, Hine-te-ao. The child, named Korokino, was dedicated with solemn ceremony to Tane, god of the forests and of growth, and to Tu, god of war. In the course of the ritual a totara .sprig or sapling was planted, and when it had become established the tree was carefully tended and protected by the imposition of a tapu during the years that followed. In course of time it became a tribal mascot and an emblem of the welfare of the hereditary chiefs and their people, and many ceremonies wore performed at its foot. Cut Down by Settler To Totara-i-ahua, " the Sacred Totara," saw many notable events in the next two centuries, including the capture of the pa by Tuperiri, a Xgatiwhatua chief from Kaipara, who had defeated and killed the chief of Maungakiekie, Kiwi Tamaki, in battle on the ridge of Titirangi. '.lbis was about the. year J 7-10. Early in the 19th century Hongi Ilea, the Ngapuhi chief, who had armed his tribe with muskets, swept down from the north and laid waste the whole land of Tamaki, so that when Governor Hobson decided in 1810 to establish his capital the only inhabitants were small remnants living at Orakei, Panmure ami Onehunga, the rest of the isthmus being deserted. In these adverse times the tree had stood solitary amid the fern and scrub that overgrew the deserted pa. Apparently the remaining Maoris made no attempt to protect it, for when the land was sold to the Crown some settler cut it down, no doubt merely because he was in need ot fence posts. Trees on the Summit Whether Maungakiekie was named One Tree Hill on account of this tree, or of some English association, is hard to determine. An old photograph taken in 1883 from the summit of Mount Eden shows that a pine tree, or close clump of them, had been I planted on the summit, apparently 10 years or more before that date. There were formerly five trees, standing in a circle, and the two of these that survive are nearly 50ft. in height. Some 30 years ago an attempt was made by the Domain Hoard to_ establish a niitive tree on the summit, but it faileci to survive. The suggestionwas made in 1938 that as a great Maori gathering; was to be held at the unveiling of the. obelisk on the hilltop, the opportunity should be taken to plant a totara as near as possible to the site where Te Totara-i-ahua had been planted three centuries before. Since the gathering has been abandoned, at least until after the war, this project has lapsed for the time being.