One Tree Hill, New Zealand - Trees On The Hill

Trees On The Hill

When Auckland was founded as a colonial town a tree stood near the summit which gave the hill its English name. Two accounts identify it as a pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa). This tree was cut down by a white settler in 1852, in an act of vandalism in one account, or for firewood in another. It seems likely this was a different tree from the totara (Podocarpus totara) which, as a sacred tree, had given the hill one of its Maori names. A radiata pine was planted in the 1870s to replace the previous totara. John Logan Campbell repeatedly tried to grow native trees on the hill's summit, but the trees failed to survive - with only two pines, originally part of a shelter belt for the native trees, surviving for long. However, in 1960, one of the two was felled in another attack, possibly for firewood.

The remaining tree was later attacked twice with chainsaws by Māori activists to draw attention to injustices they believed the New Zealand government had inflicted upon Maori (as the tree was not a native New Zealand species, they considered it an appropriate target). The first vandalism happened on 28 October 1994, the anniversary of the 1835 Declaration of Independence. A second attack on 5 October 2000 left the tree unable to recover even though substantial efforts were made, and so it was removed on 26 October due to the risk of it collapsing. The chainsaw used in the first attack was later placed on sale on popular New Zealand auction site, TradeMe in 2007, but later withdrawn by the website after complaints and a poll of users. It was later listed on eBay.

Partly due to uncertainty as to what species of tree should be replanted (a new pine or a tree native to New Zealand), the summit stands empty at the moment, except for the obelisk. A new nickname, "None Tree Hill", soon became popular. Plans are ongoing to plant a grove of pohutukawa and totara trees at the summit, but concerns by local iwi over Treaty of Waitangi claims have so far prevented any actual planting, though Council is growing a number of seedlings in the hopes of reinstating a grove as soon as the treaty claims are settled. The Council has removed repeated illegal plantings, usually of pohutukawa, while waiting for the treaty claims to be settled.