From Maungawhau to Pukekawa - June 2024

8th of June, 2024

Titled “Walk into a deeper history”, this pilgrimage traced the path from Maungawhau/Mt Eden to the Domain/Pukekawa, and finally to Mechanics Bay.

The path leading down Maungawhau, towards the Domain.

The significance of this pilgrimage lay in the little known history of the sites, many of which gave us insight into the motivations and dynamics behind the British Imperial Troops invasion of the Waikato, and setting the scene for some of our saddest history.

Our meeting point on Maungawhau

With this in mind, we traversed some important sites on Maungawhau, and then travelled to the former home of the first Māori King, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero in the Domain. Our group then engaged with some exhibition content and artefacts in the War Memorial Museum.

One of the artefacts seen in the War Memorial Museum. 

Our journey ended with some time spent in the simple beauty of what was the first Māori church in Auckland, St Barnabas, as it still stands today, before returning to Rangipuha to sit together and reflect together over a cup of tea, or a glass of wine.

“In a city that has forgotten and erased much of its history, there are still places where traces of the past can be found. Deep histories, both natural and human, have been woven together over hundreds of years in places across Tamaki Makaurau/Auckland, forming potent sites of national significance.”

- Shifting Grounds - Deep Histories of Tamaki Makaurau / Auckland by Lucy Mackintosh