Matukutà «reia / McLaughlin's Mountain is one of the volcanic cones in the Auckland volcanic field. It has a peak above sea level, and was the site of a pÃÂ.
Created around 50,000 years ago, it had a crescent-shaped scoria cone, before extensive quarrying reduced it to a pyramid-shaped mound. Part of the eastern side of the cone remains intact, along with a large area of lava flows to the south. These remnants now form the Matukurua Stonefields reserve.
Matukutà «ruru was the site of a terraced pàoccupied by the ancestors of Te ÃÂkitai Waiohua. After European occupation it became a farm, then beginning in the 1960s most of Matukutà «ruru was quarried away. An industrial subdivision has been built over the former quarry site.
Matukutà «reia and nearby Matukutà «ruru are collectively known as Matukurua (also ngàMatukurua) 'The two bitterns'.
The two Te Waiohua pàwere attacked in the mid 18th century by Te Taoà «.
Matukutà «ruru is 'The bittern standing at ease'. Named after the chief who fell asleep at the end of an eel fishing expedition, he was defeated and captured by the enemy.
In contrast, Matukutà «reia is 'The vigilant bittern'. Named after the chief who by his vigilance saved his pàand people.
The European name, McLaughlin's Mountain, refers to the McLaughlin family. The family's ancestors originated from Ireland. In 1845 Thomas McLaughlin bought a of land, including Matukutà «reia and the southern reaches of the Puhinui Stream. The family farmed the land into the 20th century.
Matukutà «ruru was created in a sequence of eruptions around 50,000 years ago, expressed technically as 48,000 ñ 3000 years
Fountaining eruptions created a large spatter cone. Lava flows from the southern side carried away some of the cone, making it cresent-shaped. Rafted scoria gave this side a rough, irregular surface. The last eruptions produced partly welded basalt which capped the cone.
Late in the sequence large steam explosions created a crater to the southwest. Some of the last lava flows partly filled this crater, giving it an irregular shape. After filling with sediment this is now a seasonally flooded swamp.
Matukutà «reia is part of a line of three volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field.
Matukutà «ruru lies to the northeast, created in a series of eruptions around 20,000 years after Matukutà «reia. It had a scoria cone reaching approximately higher than the surrounding land. The lava flows covered around 18 hectares and reached the base of Matukutà «reia's scoria cone.
Ash Hill is to the northeast of Matukutà «ruru. It seems to have erupted slightly earlier than Matukutà «ruru and is recognised as a separate volcano. A low tuff cone with an explosion crater about wide, it peaked at approximately higher than the surrounding land. In recent years it was flattened and is now covered by industrial development.
Next to Matukutà «reia, but not on the same line, are the three Puhinui Craters. They are a cluster of three small maar craters all of roughly diameter. They were first recognised as volcanic craters in 2011.
Their ages are unknown but most likely all erupted at the same time. They could be associated with the Matukutà «reia eruption but this is not known to be the case.
In contrast to the area around Matukutà «ruru, which was extensively built over and quarried, a large part of the area surrounding Matukutà «reia remains relatively intact.
The archaeological remains include pits, stone alignments and other stone features, cooking and food preparation areas represented by fire-cracked rock and midden, and obsidian flakes. Radiocarbon dates suggest intense occupation of the garden areas for at least 100 years during the 16th and 17th centuries. Kumara and taro were grown in the garden areas, with nëkau probably planted and managed as another food resource.
Shell midden was dominated by cockle, along with other easily accessible species. Fish weirs and other midden sites have been found along the Puhinui Stream.
In pre-European MÃÂori times, the Auckland Volcanic Field became one of the most densely populated areas of New Zealand. The volcanic cone of Matukutà «reia was terraced and built upon, becoming a pàâ a formidable defensive structure. The fertile volcanic soils surrounding the cone were easy to cultivate with wooden tools and were extensively used to grow food such as kà «mara and taro. Stone walls were built dividing garden plots, but unlike many other volcanic cone pàthere is no discernible pattern radiating out from the cone. The Manukau Harbour and Puhinui Creek provided food, fresh water, and transport.
Evidence of MÃÂori occupation of the area dates back to the 13th century.
Te Waiohua occupied the area until around 1740 when Te Taoà « waged war on Te Waiohua and killed their chief Kiwi TÃÂmaki, defeating them. They fled to the Waikato. In the 1780s the descendants of Kiwi TÃÂmaki, Te ÃÂkitai Waiohua, returned and re-established the settlement at Wiri.
The introduction of the musket created a period of great instability in the region. By 1821, with the threat of NgÃÂpuhi war parties from northland armed with muskets, all volcanic cone pÃÂ of TÃÂmaki Makaurau were virtually abandoned as defensive fortresses. When the first European missionaries passed through the area in 1834 they reported little evidence of occupation by mÃÂori.
In the 1830s William Fairburn, a missionary with the Church Missionary Society, claimed to have purchased most of South Auckland (83,000 acres, stretching from Papatoetoe to Papakura) from MÃÂori. After the treaty signing in 1840, the purchase was examined by the newly formed Colony of New Zealand. Fairburn was allowed to keep â  of the land, with the Crown keeping the 'surplus lands'.
Matukutà «reia was part of a block granted by the Government to the trader James Reddy Clendon in 1840 â known as the Clendon Grant.
In 1845 Thomas McLaughlin, a wealthy merchant from Peru, bought a tract of land in the northern part of the Clendon Grant, including Matukutà «reia and the southern reaches of the Puhinui Stream.
In the 1850s a small quarry was established to supply metal for the construction of Great South Road.
Thomas's son, William McLaughlin, later built a house on the north-eastern flank of the mountain. The homestead was known as 'Puhi Nui'. From 1965 the family rented the homestead out. On 12 February 1982 the building was removed to Howick Historical Village, where it has since been restored.
In 1929 a water tank was built on the scoria cone. A brick pumphouse supplied it with water from a bore at the base. It was used to supply water to Papatoetoe Borough until the 1960s.
In 2011 the water tank and pumphouse were removed, as part of the creation of the Matukurua Stonefields reserve.
Large scale quarrying began in the 1960s. The cone was almost entirely removed, except for a small pyramid-shaped section under the water tank. After the scoria of the cone ran out quarrying activities moved on to the lava flows. Part of the neighbouring stonefields to the south were excluded from quarrying activities.
In 2011 the water tank and pump house were removed, as part of the agreement when the land was transferred to the Department of Conservation.
An industrial subdivision has recently been built over most of the former quarry site.
In 2008 the 43-hectare Matukurua Stonefields historic reserve was created to protect the remnants of the cone and adjacent stonefields garden area.
The reserve is the result of an exchange between the government and Winstone Aggregates, a division of Fletcher Concrete and Infrastructure Ltd. The government exchanged two former quarries (Wiri North and South, which were once the lava flows and scoria cone of Matukutà «ruru) for the remnants of the volcanic cone and remaining intact stonefields gardens of Matukutà «reia.