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{{Short description|Mountain range and regional park in New Zealand}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox park
| name = Hunua Ranges
| photo = Image:Mangatangi-Reservoir-Hunua-Ranges.JPG
| photo_width = 
| photo_caption = Mangatangi Reservoir in the Hunua Ranges
| location = [[North Island]], [[New Zealand]]
| coords = {{coord|-37.07|175.18|region:NZ-AUK_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| area = Ranges: {{convert|250|sqkm}}<br>Regional park: {{convert|178|sqkm}}
| map  = New Zealand Auckland
| created = 
| operator = [[Auckland Council]]
| visitation_num = 
| status = 
| open = Daylight saving: 6 am–9 pm<br>Non-daylight saving: 6 am–7 pm<br>Pedestrian access: 24 hours
}}
The '''Hunua Ranges''' is a [[mountain range]] and regional park to the southeast of [[Auckland|Auckland city]], in the [[Auckland Region|Auckland]] and [[Waikato]] regions of New Zealand's [[North Island]]. The ranges cover some {{convert|250|sqkm}} and rise to 688 metres (2255&nbsp;ft) at Kohukohunui.<ref name=teara>"[http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/H/HunuaRanges/HunuaRanges/en Hunua Ranges]", ''An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand'', edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 26 September 2006. Accessed 15 March 2007.</ref>

[[Auckland Council]] owns and manages {{convert|178|sqkm}} of the ranges, including part located in the Waikato region, as a regional park open to the public.<ref name=councilprofile>{{cite web |title=Council profile |url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks-recreation/Pages/park-details.aspx?Location=213 |website=aucklandcouncil.govt.nz |publisher=[[Auckland Council]]}}</ref>

==Geography==

The ranges are located approximately 50 kilometres (30&nbsp;mi) southeast of the main Auckland urban area, above the western shore of the [[Firth of Thames]].<ref name=bounded>"The Hunua Ranges [...] are bounded on the east by the Firth of Thames, the north by the Tamaki Strait, the west by the [[Wairoa River, Auckland|Wairoa River]], and the south by the lower reaches of the Mangatangi River." {{cite journal|last=Barton |first=I. L. |date=March 1972 |title=On the Vegetation of the Hunua Ranges, Auckland |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany |volume=10 |pages=8–26 |url=http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjb/1972/2.pdf |accessdate=2007-03-15 |doi=10.1080/0028825x.1972.10430207 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926220535/http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjb/1972/2.pdf |archivedate=2007-09-26 }}
</ref> They are sparsely populated, and mostly lie within the boundaries of the Waharau and Hunua Ranges Regional Parks. The settlement of [[Hunua]] lies at the foot of the Hunua Ranges.<ref name="regionalcouncil">[http://regionalparks.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/hunuaranges Hunua] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20080103024612/http://www.arc.govt.nz/parks/our-parks/parks-in-the-region/waharau/ Waharau] Regional Parks, Auckland Regional Council.</ref>

The ranges are covered by the largest area of native bush in Auckland,<ref name="lthornber">{{cite news |last1=Thornber |first1=Laura |title=Suburb spotlight: Why you should visit Clevedon, Auckand [''sic''] |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/nz/auckland/300204032/suburb-spotlight-why-you-should-visit-clevedon-auckand |agency=Stuff Travel |publisher=[[stuff.co.nz]] |date=12 February 2021}}</ref> with streams, waterfalls, and hills overlooking the [[Auckland Region]] and [[Hauraki Gulf]].<ref name=councilprofile />

Auckland gets much of its water from [[Reservoir (water)|reservoirs]] sources from rivers and streams, including the Hunua Falls on the Wairoa River.<ref name=regionalcouncil/>

The Mangatawhiri Ridge is one of the last remaining breeding grounds of the [[North Island kōkako]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Monk |first=Valerie |title=A visitor's guide to Auckland regional parks |publisher=New Holland Publishers |year=2015}}</ref>

=== Kohukohunui ===

Kohukohunui ({{convert|688|m|ft}}) is the highest point in the Hunua Ranges.<ref name="wilderness">{{cite web |title=Kohukohunui Peak, Waharau Regional Park |url=https://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/trip/kohukohunui-peak-waharau-regional-park/ |website=wildernessmag.co.nz |publisher=Wilderness Magazine}}</ref> The New Zealand [[Ministry for Culture and Heritage]] gives a translation of "great mist" for ''Kohukohunui''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/maori-language-week/1000-maori-place-names|title=1000 Māori place names|publisher=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage|date=6 August 2019}}</ref>

==History==

===Pre-European settlement===

[[Tāmaki Māori]] have traditionally used the ranges for a wide range of resources. The traditional name is {{lang|mi|Ngāherehere ō Kohukohunui}} ("The Expansive Forest of Kohukohunui"), named after Kohukohunui, the highest peak of the ranges.<ref name="NGP">{{cite book |contributor=Green, Nathew |contribution=From Hawaīki to Howick – A Ngāi Tai History |author=La Roche, Alan |date=2011 |title=Grey's Folly: A History of Howick, Pakuranga, Bucklands-Eastern Beaches, East Tamaki, Whitford, Beachlands and Maraetai |location=Auckland |publisher=Tui Vale Productions |isbn=978-0-473-18547-3 |oclc=1135039710 |language=en |pages=16–33}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://gazetteer.linz.govt.nz/place/58085 |title=Te Ngāherehere-o-Kohukohunui Forest |publisher=[[Land Information New Zealand|Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand]] |access-date=10 July 2023}}</ref> {{lang|mi|Te Hūnua}} was a name used to describe the wider country between the [[Wairoa River (Auckland)|Wairoa River]] valley and [[Papakura]].<ref name="NGP"/> Māori made some use of the ranges and early European visitors found areas of clearing that had been used as gardens. [[Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki]] are tangata whenua for the ranges, and many archaeological sites are known within the ranges.<ref name=teara />

In November 1769, [[Captain Cook]] visited the [[Hauraki Gulf]] area. Cook gifted pigs and potatoes to senior members of Te Uri ō Pou from [[Ōrere Point|Ōrere]], who then planted these along the Wairoa River, as one of the first crops of potatoes grown in New Zealand. The pigs were released into the Hunua Ranges, where they were hunted by Ngāi Tai.<ref name="Cultural Heritage">{{Cite report| url=http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/districtplanmanukau/changes/10Cultural.pdf | title = Ōtau: a Ngāi Tai Cultural Heritage Assessment of Clevedon Village, Wairoa Valley. |first1=Nat |last1=Green |year=2010  |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |access-date=21 October 2022}}</ref><ref name="NGP"/>

The main part of the ranges was subject to confiscation after the [[New Zealand Wars]].<ref name=teara /> Early European use of the ranges was for timber extraction and for farming but low [[soil fertility]] limited success. There has been some mining of Manganese in the past. Gold prospecting for quartz reefs has never found payable reefs.<ref name=teara />

===20th century===

From the 1920s onwards the land was progressively bought by Auckland City Council utilising funds from its water supply operation.<ref name=barton1978>Barton, Ian L. 1978 ''"Auckland's south eastern bulwark : a history of the Hunua Ranges"''. Privately published.</ref> Development of the water supplies commenced in 1946, with the first of the four dams, Cossey's, completed with a capacity of 11.3 million cubic meters in 1956.<ref name="EvolvingAuckland2.1">{{Cite book| editor-first=John| editor-last=La Roche |title=Evolving Auckland: The City's Engineering Heritage |year=2011 |publisher=Wily Publications  |chapter=Auckland's Water Supply |first1=John |last1=La Roche |author-link1=John La Roche |pages=27–50 |isbn=9781927167038}}</ref> Three [[embankment dam]]s were constructed in the area: Upper Mangatāwhiri (1965), Wairoa (1975) and Mangatangi (1977).<ref name="EvolvingAuckland2.1"/> Combined, the dams have a capacity of  77.1 million cubic meters, and supply approximately 68% of Auckland's potable water, through the Ardmore Water Treatment Plant.<ref name="watercare">[http://www.watercare.co.nz/about-watercare/our-services/hunua-and-waitakere-dams-water/Pages/default.aspx] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210185519/https://www.watercare.co.nz/about-watercare/our-services/hunua-and-waitakere-dams-water/Pages/default.aspx|date=2013-02-10}}, Watercare Services Ltd. Retrieved 22 February 2013</ref>

A decision was made to reforest the ranges in the early 1960s, after the area had gradually reverted into farmland.{{sfn|Barton|2001|pp=85–86}} The bulk water supply operation and the land passed to the newly formed [[Auckland Regional Authority]] in 1964. The Authority completed the water supply development and continued the exotic afforestation on some of the north and western catchment land, started by the City Council, and its Water Department administered the land.<ref name=barton1978 /> The ranges were planted with a mix of exotic forest and native species, predominantly [[Dacrydium cupressinum|rimu]]. The forestry service nursery was one of the first organisations in New Zealand to propagate native trees through grafting techniques, and were the first to successfully graft [[Agathis australis|kauri]] trees. The forestry service was shut down in the late 1980s, as the Auckland Regional Authority was replaced with the [[Auckland Regional Council]].{{sfn|Barton|2001|pp=85–86}}

The water operation was corporatised as [[Watercare Services]] in 1992, but the land itself remained with the Auckland Regional Council. Watercare took ownership of the water related assets and took a long term lease from the Auckland Regional Council of the reservoir areas and the operational areas. The exotic forestry land was also leased to another party. The catchment land became regional park land.{{sfn|Barton|2001|pp=94–95}}

===21st century===

In November 2010, the southernmost part of the Hunua Ranges were transferred to [[Waikato]] region.<ref>[http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/ward_franklin.pdf Franklin Ward map], Auckland Council. Retrieved 10 November 2010.</ref> This determines the local government administrative boundaries, but the ownership of the former Auckland Regional Council park land went to the Auckland Council and that of the water assets is unchanged with Watercare Services.<ref name=watercare />

Extensive flooding in the Hunua Ranges in March 2017 cut off roads.<ref name="2017flooding-stuff">{{cite news |title=Expect the unexpected as weather wreaks havoc across the top of the North Island |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/90174663/flooding-slips-and-more-heavy-rain-slam-top-of-the-country |publisher=[[stuff.co.nz]] |date=8 March 2017}}</ref> People staying on the ranges had to be evacuated.<ref name="militaryhelp">{{cite news |title=Military to help school campsite evacuation in Hunua Ranges |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/military-to-help-school-campsite-evacuation-in-hunua-ranges/YWAW5CBRTDPKTG5ZO4C4Z5RKJM/ |agency=[[New Zealand Herald]] |publisher=[[New Zealand Media and Entertainment]] |date=8 March 2017}}</ref>

In May 2018, parts of the park were closed to stop the spread of [[Kauri dieback]].<ref name="kauristanding">{{cite news |title=Keeping kauri standing in the Hunua Ranges |url=https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2018/5/keeping-kauri-standing-in-the-hunua-ranges/ |agency=Our Auckland |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |date=4 May 2018}}</ref><ref name=kauridieback>{{cite web |title=Protect our kauri trees |url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/environment/plants-animals/protect-trees-disease/protect-our-kauri-trees/Pages/default.aspx  |website=aucklandcouncil.govt.nz |publisher=[[Auckland Council]]}}</ref> Some of the tracks reopened in late 2020.<ref name="morereopen">{{cite news |last1=Tokalau |first1=Torika |title=Kauri dieback: More Auckland regional park tracks to open by end of year |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/122375760/kauri-dieback-more-auckland-regional-park-tracks-to-open-by-end-of-year |publisher=[[stuff.co.nz]] |date=9 August 2020}}</ref>

In September and October 2018, the entire park was closed during a [[1080 usage in New Zealand|1080 pest control programme]].<ref name="2018pestcontrol">{{cite news |title=Hunua parks are all open |url=https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2018/9/hunua-pre-feed-begins/ |agency=Our Auckland |publisher=[[Auckland Council]] |date=23 October 2018}}</ref> The programme was subject to an unsuccessful legal challenge.<ref name="sherwoodtrust">{{cite news |last1=Neilson |first1=Michael |title=Council liquidating Friends of Sherwood Trust over legal challenge |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/hunua-1080-drop-auckland-council-liquidating-friends-of-sherwood-trust-over-legal-challenge/GOIQDUQ3DSSB7YKTSX7O63Q3YE/ |agency=[[New Zealand Herald]] |publisher=[[New Zealand Media and Entertainment]] |date=20 March 2021}}</ref>

==Recreation==

Activities in the regional park include walking, mountain-biking, bird-watching and drone-flying (by permission).<ref name=councilprofile />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|title=Hunua: the Place and Its People: a View from 2000 |first=Ian |last=Barton |year=2001 |isbn=0-473-07474-5 |publisher=W. J. Deed Printing}}

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[[Category:Mountains of the Auckland Region]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Waikato]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Regional parks of the Auckland Region]]
[[Category:Regional parks of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Franklin Local Board Area]]
[[Category:Firth of Thames]]