On the 11, 18 and 19th of May the year 8 cohort were lucky enough to get a guided tour of Te pane o mataoho, or Mangere Mountain. This trip was a double whammy of science and social studies, science because the mountain is an extinct volcano, and social studies because of the rich Maori culture that thrived in that area about two hundred and fifty years ago.
The year 8 classes were taken on a round tour of the mountain, we saw rua’s (big pits for storing food), both craters and the trig station. Originally there were three craters but the third was quarried away to build the roads of Auckland. The first and second craters are still there though, and the second is one of two bowl craters in Auckland, with the other being at mount Eden. Once we had been sufficiently amazed by both craters, we began the ascent to the trig station via four-wheel drive track. Whilst walking, we saw terraces on which the houses had been built, there were a lot!
Eventually we stumbled up to the trig, when we finally got our breath back, it was instantly taken away again by the views! We could see the Sky Tower the Harbour bridge, and even Rangitoto Island !
Thanks heaps to our guides at the Mangere Mountain Education Centre, and also to all of the teachers who made this trip possible.
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8CLE went to Mangere Mountains which gave me a better understanding of Pre-European Aotearoa including an outdoor experience of how the Maori lived. Consequently, I highly recommend that you go to Mangere Mountain Education Centre to get a deeper understanding of the Maori lifestyle.
Firstly, early Maori people had a natural way of protecting themselves from invading iwi’s. For example, they carved on a giant boulder with an axe and marked out maps of trenches and flipped it upside down to fool intruders.
Secondly, Maori people kept their food safe from predators by digging a hole in the ground and built an apex roof above it, this was called Pūtaka.
Lastly, Maori people had rectangular houses called wharepuni (sleeping houses) which was constructed with timber, rushes, tree fems with a thatched roof and the dirt ground. They also had storage units (Pūtaka) and, cooking houses (kāuta) including meeting houses (wharanui) all inside the pā.
All of these reasons gave me a deeper understanding of how the early Maori people lived in Pre – European Aotearoa.
In conclusion Mangere Mountain Education Centre is an amazing place to go if you want to be informed about their lifestyle.
