MÃÂngere Mountain, also known by the names Te Pane-o-Mataaho and Te Ara Pueru, is a volcanic cone in MÃÂngere, Auckland. Located within MÃÂngere Domain, it is one of the largest volcanic cones in the Auckland volcanic field, with a peak above sea level. It was the site of a major pÃÂ (MÃÂori fortified settlement) and many of the pÃÂ's earthworks are still visible. It has extensive panoramic views of Auckland from its location in the southeastern portion of the city's urban area.
The volcano features two large craters. It has a wide crater with a lava dome near its centre, a feature shared by no other volcano in Auckland. It first erupted approximately 70,000 years ago. The mountain is one of the largest and best preserved of Auckland's volcanic cones. Most of the suburb of MÃÂngere Bridge was formed from the lava flows that came from the mountain's eruptions. Approximately 50,000 years ago, an eruption created hot fluid pÃÂhoehoe lava flows, that travelled up to from MÃÂngere Mountain into the Manukau Harbour, which can still be seen along Kiwi Esplanade.
Near the mountain to the southwest is MÃÂngere Lagoon, which predates the formation of MÃÂngere Mountain.
Te Pane-o-Mataaho is one of the earliest names for the mountain, referring to Mataaho, an early TÃÂmaki MÃÂori volcano god. TÃÂmaki MÃÂori peoples settled the eastern coastline of the Manukau Harbour as early as the 14th century. By the 15th century, the slopes of MÃÂngere Mountain became extensive gardens for crops including kà «mara (sweet potatoes), and the gardens on the southern slopes were known Taotaoroa.
In the early 18th century, the mountain had become a major pàfor the Waiohua, a confederacy of TÃÂmaki MÃÂori iwi. The mountain complex may have been home to thousands of people, with the mountain acting as a central place for rua (food storage pits). Paramount chief Kiwi TÃÂmaki would stay at MÃÂngere seasonally, when it was the time of year to hunt sharks in the Manukau Harbour. In the early 1740s, Kiwi TÃÂmaki was slain in battle by the Te Taoà « hapà « of NgÃÂti WhÃÂtua. After the battle, most Waiohua fled the region, although many of the remaining Waiohua warriors regrouped at Te Pane o Mataaho. The warriors strew pipi shells around the base of the mountain to warn against attacks, but Te Taoà « warriors covered the pipi shells with dogskin cloaks to muffle the sound, and raided the pàat dawn. An alternate name for the mountain, Te Ara Pueru ("the dogskin cloak path"), references this event.
After the events of this war, NgÃÂti WhÃÂtua à ÂrÃÂkei, a hapà « created by the members of Te Taoà « who remained near the TÃÂmaki isthmus, who intermarried with defeated members of Waiohua, settled the region. Originally the iwi were based on Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill, but after the death of paramount chief Tà «periri (circa 1795), the MÃÂngere Bridge area and Onehunga became permanent kÃÂinga (settlements) for NgÃÂti WhÃÂtua. In the 1820s and early 1830s, the threat of NgÃÂpuhi raiders from the north during the Musket Wars caused most of the TÃÂmaki Makaurau area to become deserted. During this period, a peace accord between NgÃÂpuhi and Waikato Tainui was reached through the marriage of Matire Toha, daughter of NgÃÂpuhi chief Rewa was married to Kati Takiwaru, the younger brother of Tainui chief Pà Âtatau Te Wherowhero, and they settled together on the slopes of MÃÂngere Mountain. NgÃÂti WhÃÂtua returned to the MÃÂngere-Onehunga area by the mid-1830s, re-establishing a pàon MÃÂngere Mountain called Whakarongo.
In the late 1840s, Governor George Grey asked PÃ Âtatau Te Wherowhero (then known as a powerful chief and negotiator, but later the first MÃÂori King) to settle his people around MÃÂngere Mountain to defend the township of Auckland, in an arrangement similar to the European Fencible Corps settlements on the outskirts of the Auckland township. PÃ Âtatau Te Wherowhero and his NgÃÂti Mahuta relatives settled near to the land where his brother Kati Takiwaru lived, an area of around the base of MÃÂngere Mountain. In the late 1850s, scoria from the mountain was used to construct the St James Anglican Church. During the invasion of the Waikato, the NgÃÂti Mahuta village land was seized under the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863, and the area around the mountain primarily became farmland for European settlers. In the 1890s, some land was returned to NgÃÂti Mahuta, and a cottage was built for King TÃÂwhiao near the mountain, housing family members of the king visiting Auckland or being educated at Auckland schools.
In 1890, the New Zealand Government set aside MÃÂngere Mountain as a public reserve, for mixed recreation, quarrying and as a water supply. In 1932, a water reservoir was constructed atop MÃÂngere Mountain, The northern sections of the mountain were quarried between 1924 and 1963, which afterwards were redeveloped into lawn bowls and tennis courts. In the same year, the eastern section of the quarry became home for the Onehunga-Mangere United football club.
In 1995, the MÃÂngere Mountain Education Centre was established on the mountain through the work of Te ÃÂkitai Waiohua kuia Mahia Wilson. The centre acts as a living museum, and members of Waiohua iwi impart traditional knowledge of storytelling, tool-making, traditional gardening and weaving to visitors. The house built for TÃÂwhiao was relocated to the centre in 2017.
In 2014, the Tà «puna Maunga Authority was established as a Treaty of Waitangi settlement, which passed ownership of MÃÂngere Mountain to the collective. Major restoration work on the mountain began in 2019, when non-native trees were felled. From 2021, a large scale native bush planting and track upgrade project was undertaken on MÃÂngere Mountain, including the construction of a specialised habitat for native skink species, and a new community playground. The recreation space was opened in December 2022, which included a kë-o-rahi field.