One Tree Hill Radiata Pine

Listen to my story

The scene is set approximately four hundred years ago at Maungakiekie (today better known as One Tree Hill). A totara tree was planted and thrived alone at the top of the summit for the next two hundred and fifty years. Te Totara I ahua became a legend in his own right and in 1840, inspired Sir John Logan Campbell to name the mountain One Tree Hill.  In 1845, One Tree Hill and its surrounding land were purchased from the local Maori by a property speculator, Thomas Henry. Rumour has it, Te Totara I ahua was cut down in its prime by a band of European workmen as a form of protest. Many tears were shed for the original Totara tree and attempts to plant successive native trees were doomed to failure. In 1870, Sir John Logan Campbell planted five pine trees to provide shelter for the native trees but they hardy pines were the only ones to survive.

The pine trees were seen by many as the symbols of European dominance and oppression. As a result, they became the targets for further political protests. In 1962, the second to last pine tree was felled and One Tree Hill lived up to its name once more.

The sole remaining tree proved to be made of stronger stuff and survived an attempted bombing in the 1970’s and the ravages of Cyclone Bola in 1988. It even survived a completely unprovoked chainsaw attack in 1994 that left only 28% of the trunk’s circumference without damage. Auckland Citizens rallied around the iconic tree and raised money for a supportive cabling system. This kept it going for the next few years and the pine tree bore witness to the planting of a kauri tree and a beech tree in peaceful protest.

Alas this was not the end of of the One Tree Hill Radiata pine tree's tale. It was forced to endure one final chainsaw attack in September 1999 and the tree surgeons gave it a life expectancy of only three years. One year later, the tree was declared a Health & Safety hazard and the unpopular decision to fell the tree was made by the Auckland Regional Council. A large section of the Radiata pine's trunk was gifted  to the Auckland Museum where it could be preserved as an important historical icon. It was soon discovered that the tree had brought some of its insect friends along for the ride. The museum was unable to fumigate such a large section so a small cross section of the trunk was retained. It appears that Radiata pine tree's very appearance remains controversial to this day and it lives its life incognito. A significant piece of Auckland’s history whose exact location has never been revealed…”