Taylors Hill

Gazing upon Taylors Hill, one might see only a gentle rise against the Auckland skyline. But beneath the grassy slopes lies a fiery heart, a story etched in earth and time. Taylors Hill, also known as Te Taurere or officially Taurere / Taylor Hill, whispers tales of volcanic fury, Māori ingenuity and colonial transformation. Around 33,000 years ago, the earth convulsed, birthing Taylors Hill in a dramatic display of fire and ash. This wasn’t just a simple eruption. It began with a wet, explosive outburst, carving out a large explosion crater and a partial tuff ring. Then, the eruption shifted to a dry fountaining spectacle, piling up scoria to form the cone we see today, surrounded by smaller scoria mounds. Imagine the scene, a fiery fountain against the prehistoric sky, reshaping the landscape forever. Long before European settlers arrived, Māori people recognized the strategic value of this volcanic perch. They established a pā, a fortified village, on Taylors Hill. The remnants of their presence are still visible today: kūmara pits where they stored sweet potatoes and terraces carved into the slopes. They quarried greywacke, a type of stone, from the area to fashion toki, or stone adzes, essential tools for their daily lives. Taylors Hill was more than just a defensive position; it was a thriving community, connected to the wider landscape. Waiorohe, now known as Karaka Bay, served as a mooring site for the Tainui waka, a large Māori canoe. From this bay, important figures like Horoiwi, Te Keteanataua, and Taihaua began their explorations and settlements of the surrounding area. The karaka trees that still grace the bay are descendants of the sacred karaka grove of Taurere Pā, a tangible link to the past. For centuries, the area around Taylors Hill marked the eastern boundary of Waiohua lands. But around 1750, conflict erupted. Ngāti Whātua attacked the pā, forcing the Waiohua people to retreat south. Ngāti Whātua later gifted the land to Ngāti Pāoa in the late 1700s. The landscape continued to change under European settlement. In 1845, William Taylor purchased the land, giving the hill its European name. Quarrying activities in the 19th and 20th centuries significantly altered the volcano’s profile, removing much of the scoria mounds and even part of the main cone. Fortunately, in the 1920s, the remaining portion of Taylors Hill was designated a public reserve, preserving a fragment of this rich history for us to explore and appreciate. So, next time you gaze upon Taylors Hill, remember that you’re not just looking at a grassy knoll. You’re looking at a volcano, a pā site, a testament to Māori history, a symbol of Auckland’s changing landscape. You’re looking at a story 33,000 years in the making.