Mt Richmond / Ōtāhuhu
All of the beautiful trees (above) will be destroyed if Tūpuna Maunga Authority’s plans for the beautiful Mt Richmond / Ōtāhuhu go ahead. In all, the Authority plans to fell 445 trees - 75% of this 21 ha maunga’s entire tree cover.
In 2019 the Authority had a grove of 100 old olives felled on the steep slopes shown in the photo below. An arborist told a member of the public that he didn’t know of any larger grove of old olives in Auckland. The morepork / ruru living in those olives left and never returned. Today the site is a desolate, eroding space in sharp contrast to the lush green beauty of other parts of Mt Richmond / Ōtāhuhu.
Introducing Respect Mt Richmond / Otahuhu
A non-notified resource consent to fell these trees is in the late stages of the approvals process. A locally-based community group has formed to protect this maunga’s trees from destruction. For more information:
Web: respectmtrichmond.org.nz
Email: respectmtrichmond@gmail.com
Facebook: Respect Mt Richmond Otahuhu
A BRIEF HISTORY
Because of the strategic location overlooking the portage (narrowest point ) between the Waitemata and Manukau Harbours, Mt Richmond was a prized fortified Māori Pā site from about 1350AD. At the height of occupation there were 500 - 600 people living on the Pā. With the withdrawal of most Māori from the Auckland area in the mid-1700s, when European missionaries explored the areas south of the new settlement of Auckland, Mt Richmond was largely deserted.
By 1840 the Crown had negotiated ownership of the area surrounding Mt Richmond, and it became part of the earliest style of governance used in New Zealand, the Hundred of Otahuhu, in 1848.
As a result of ongoing tensions between Māori and European settlers, and fears of raids by tribes from the Waikato, Governor George Grey requested additional military support for Auckland from England. This was supplied between 1847 and 1852 by what came to be known as Fencible Soldiers - retired English soldiers who were promised a house and an acre of land for their service. Fencible settlements were established at Howick, Panmure and Onehunga to guard against attack by sea, and at Ōtāhuhu to prevent land based attacks. With commanding views over areas to the south Mt Richmond was an important lookout point for the soldiers. In the early days of European settlement the mountain was known as Mt Halswell.
The Fencible Soldiers never saw active service, but Ōtāhuhu became one of the earliest and largest settlements outside Auckland Central. With the rapidly developing farming community around Mt Richmond, the mountain was declared a reserve by the new governing authority, the Ōtāhuhu Highway Board in 1875. The care of the mountain was placed with the Mt Richmond Domain Board in 1877.
A number of 'beautifying groups' were active in the area during the 1890s and were responsible for much of the parkland style planting on Mt Richmond. A major fundraising effort by the Domain Board saw large numbers of significant trees planted until 1913.
When Ōtāhuhu became a borough in 1912, administration of Mt Richmond passed to the Ōtāhuhu Borough Council. This remained in place until the area became part of Tāmaki City Council and with amalgamation in 2010, part of Auckland City.
In 2014 control of Mt Richmond was transferred to the Tūpuna Maunga Authority under the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Act treaty settlement.
SIGNIFICANT ALTERATIONS TO MAUNGA
Like many other maunga, Mt Richmond has been subjected to quarrying activity over a long period of time. During the time of the Fencible soldiers in the 1850s rock was quarried to create roads to the other Fencible settlements. The largest quarry was on the northern slopes below the crater and the most recent quarry activity was on the corner of Portage and Gt South Rds.
In 1912 Ōtāhuhu had reached the point where tank and well water was no longer able to cope with demand. A water diviner found a permanent water source at the base of the mountain and an architecturally stunning water tower was constructed on the lower of the mountain's two peaks. This tower was demolished in 1962 and replaced with the current, less appealing, water storage facility.
A ring round was developed around the base of the mountain with access from both Gt South Rd and Mt Wellington Highway. A number of playing fields have been established on the lower slopes of the mountain along with clubrooms and associated parking areas for various sporting groups.
INFORMATION ABOUT TREES ON MT RICHMOND
Total number of trees over 3 m : 593
Exotic trees: 444
Exotic trees to be removed: 443 (75% of total tree canopy)
Native trees: 150
Number of trees that will remain: 151
Exotic trees with more than 20 specimens on the maunga:
Olive 101 (note that the Authority has already felled around 100 olive trees, with the 101 to be felled in future)
Poplar 39
Oak 30
Elm 27
Pine 27
London Plane 26
Morton Bay Fig 26
Hawthorn 24
Camellia 24
Native trees with more than 20 specimens on the maunga:
1) Pohutukawa 57
2) Puriri 36
3) Karaka 25
There is much evidence of well established, self-seeded native seedlings growing beneath the canopy of various exotic trees.
INFORMATION ABOUT THIS MAUNGA'S REPLANTING PROGRAMME
Replanting Plant Number: 36,000
A plant expert has assessed the TMA Replanting List and advises that the vast majority of native plants are ferns, grasses, flaxes and low growing shrubs. Less than 30% of the proposed new plantings can be considered trees that will achieve a height in excess of 5 m at maturity (which could take 50 - 80 years).
The replanting numbers must be considered alongside the areas in which replanting is proposed. While trees are to be removed from all over the maunga, the areas of replanting are concentrated in only four relatively small locations:
1) The current sports fields in front of the Car Club rooms: 15,000 plants.
2) The bank behind the Car Club rooms: 15,000 plants.
3) The old quarry area on the northern slopes (where olive trees have previously been removed): 4000 plants.
4) The area of old quarry activity around the small cave: 2000 plants.
With only 150 mature native trees remaining on the maunga and most of the new plantings concentrated on its lower and hidden areas, the mountain will be vastly different in appearance to the current situation, with the higher areas being almost bare.
Recorded failure rates (i.e. the plants did not survive) of new plantings on other maunga during 2019/2020 are in the 80% - 90% range due to inhospitable conditions and poor after planting care.
Current status: As of 3 May 2021, a non-notified resource consent application had been prepared and is awaiting Auckland Council’s final approval.
SIGNIFICANT TREES ON MAUNGA
Many of the trees on Mt Richmond were planted by the early settlers of Ōtāhuhu, with large numbers being planted by Beautifying Societies in the late 1800s and early 1900s. As a result Mt Richmond has the greatest variety of exotic trees of all the maunga of Auckland. Of particular significance are multiple examples of a variety of huge mature trees, including:
Height ( metres - up to ) Spread ( metres - up to )
- Moreton Bay Fig 25 30
- Oak 22 20
- Pine 24 18
- Elm 20 12
- London Plane 30 25
- Cypress 22 15
- Chestnut 20 20
- Poplar 35 25
- Norfolk Pine 25 6
- Eucalyptus 20 10
- Cottonwood 28 15
(To put the size in context the standard height of a ceiling in a NZ home is 2.4 metres. Therefore a 24 metre high tree is 10 times as tall as the ceiling height in most people's lounge)
CONTACT DETAILS FOR THE RESPECT MT RICHMOND / ŌTAHUHU TREE PROTECTION GROUP
A community group formed, to protect this maunga’s trees from destruction. For more information:
Email: respectmtrichmond@gmail.com
Facebook: Respect Mt Richmond Otahuhu