Elevation 87 m | ||
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Location North Island, New Zealand Volcanic arc/belt Auckland volcanic field Similar Mount Hobson, Maungawhau, Mangere Mountain, Maungarei, Victoria Peak | ||
Takarunga / Mount Victoria is the highest volcano on Auckland's North Shore, rising to 87 m. Its age is currently unknown. Its lava flows now line much of Devonport's waterfront. An important pa once occupied its slopes, and some of the pa's earthworks can still be seen. A scoria mound known as Duders Hill, on Takarunga / Mount Victoria's southern slopes was mostly quarried away. The name Mount Victoria comes from Queen Victoria and the name Takarunga means "the hill standing above". Jules Dumont d'Urville climbed the hill in 1827.
Map of Mount Victoria, Devonport, Auckland 0624, New Zealand
The hill provides panoramic views of Auckland's Waitemata Harbour and the inner Hauraki Gulf. Over the years the peak and upper slopes have housed a signal station for shipping, artillery emplacements, farmland, and various concrete army bunkers, some from as early as the 1870s. One bunker now serves as the venue for the Devonport Folk Music Club.
The slopes of Takarunga / Mount Victoria are also home to Devonport Primary School, Takarunga Playcentre, a tennis court, a cemetery, a water reservoir which maintains supply to the area, and a scenic lookout. The old Signalman's House is now home to the Michael King Writers Centre which provides writers-in-residence programmes, hosting for visiting writers, residential workshops for experienced writers, and a series of workshops for young poets and emerging writers. The writer-in-residence programmes are supported by Creative New Zealand and the University of Auckland.
In the 2014 Treaty of Waitangi settlement with the Tamaki Makaurau Collective of 13 Auckland iwi, the volcano was officially named Takarunga / Mount Victoria and ownership was vested to the collective. It is now co-governed by the collective and Auckland Council in common benefit of the iwi "and all other people of Auckland".