NZ Visual Diary - entry 243

Devonport shoreline and Takarunga (Mt Victoria)

Auckland is home to more than 50 extinct volcanoes. For the first three years of our time in New Zealand, Randolph and I lived in the shadow of one of those volcanoes Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill). The operative descriptor here is ‘extinct.’ Given our proximity to Maungakiekie, I took great comfort from asserting in conversation its status as an extinct volcano.

The North Shore suburb of Devonport also sits at the base of an extinct volcano known as Takarunga (Māori) or Mt Victoria. It is the tallest volcano on Auckland’s North Shore. Settlement by Tāmaki Māori on the slopes of Takarunga dates back to the 14th century. It was an important pa (Māori term for fortified settlement) in what is now known as the Auckland region.

Within the past two centuries, the summit of Mt Victoria was once again conceived as a fortified site. In 1885 a gun fort was constructed on the summit and remained in use as an military observation post through World War II.

My photograph was taken as I approached Devonport while riding on a ferry that shuttles residents and visitors alike by 12 minute water passage between Auckland and the Devonport Ferry Wharf.