Mount Smart

Beneath our feet lies a sleeping giant, Rarotonga / Mount Smart. It’s hard to believe, looking at the stadium now, that this was once a towering scoria cone, 87 meters high. Imagine the fiery spectacle 20,000 years ago as Rarotonga / Mount Smart erupted, spewing lava that flowed all the way to Manukau Harbour. This wasn’t just a geological event. It was a pivotal moment in the history of the land, shaping the very landscape we stand on today. The Māori people, the tangata whenua, named this volcano Rarotonga, meaning “the lower south”, a name carried across the ocean from their ancestral homeland of Hawaiki. It’s said that Rakataura, a tohunga of the Tainui waka, first settled here, making Rarotonga / Mount Smart a cradle of Māori history in Aotearoa. The mountain also bears another Māori name, Te Ipu kura a Maki, “the red bowl of Maki,” a name that evokes the rich, earthy tones of the scoria that once defined this place. European settlers later renamed it Mount Smart, after Lieutenant Henry Dalton Smart of the mounted police. For over a century, quarrying activity reshaped Mount Smart, chipping away at the volcano to create the stadium we see today. The lower slopes, now covered in pōhutukawa trees planted in the 1940s, offer a glimpse into the mountain’s past life. In 2014, the mountain was officially recognized as Rarotonga / Mount Smart, acknowledging both its Māori and European heritage. Ownership was returned to the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau collective, ensuring the future of this important landmark is guided by its original custodians. While the volcano sleeps, the stadium roars to life, hosting rugby, league, and even concerts. It’s a fascinating blend of the ancient and modern, a place where the fiery heart of a volcano now beats to the rhythm of sports and entertainment.