Sir John Logan Campbell

Located in the city of Auckland, towards the top of New Zealand's North Island, One Tree Hill was named after a lone tree that once grew on its summit (during the 1800's). The hill was named in 1840 by John Logan Campbell, a Scottish businessman and Doctor of Medicine who settled in Auckland in 1939, at the age of 21.

Campbell played an important role in Auckland's early development. He became known as the "Father of Auckland", such was the significance of his contribution to the city. He was elected Mayor of Auckland in 1901, and became a Knight of the British Empire in 1902.

Maori Settlement

One Tree Hill is actually a volcanic cone, the largest of several that are dotted around the city of Auckland. These cones were natural sites for pa, or fortified settlements, for the native Maori.

New Zealand was settled by the Maori around a thousand years ago. The first Europeans arrived with Captain James Cook on his sailing ship, The Endeavour, in 1769. From that moment, Maori and Pakeha (European) would forever live together in Aotearoa; Land of the Long White Cloud. Their early relationship was mutually beneficial and there was little Maori resistance to European settlement. However, by the 1870s, the Europeans had asserted their dominance and the Maori had become a minority in their own country.

Maungakiekie

Soon after the establishment of Auckland, the summit of One Tree Hill was used as a lookout and signalling station to protect the infant town from hostile attack. On one occasion, some European workers were sent to the summit to keep watch. Due to a misunderstanding, some food failed to arrive for them, and they angrily cut down the sacred totara.

John Campbell later planted a fresh grove of puriris to replace it, and added some pinus insignis for their protection. Ironically, the puriris failed to survive, but two of the pines did. They flourished for several years, but they were replaced by a single Monterey pine in 1875.