Stage set for celebration of Auckland’s ancestral mountains

Love Your Maunga: stage set for celebration of Auckland’s ancestral mountains

Mt Eden locals familiar with the past Love Your Mountain day are in for a treat next month with a renewed and refocused community event.

Four hours of live music, food and fun for the kids is set for the first ‘Love Your Maunga’ day at Tahaki Reserve, Maungawhau on Saturday 2 April from 11am to 3pm.

An impressive stage line-up includes Annie Crummer, Hipstamatics, Lavina Williams, and more, the Tahaki Reserve carpark will be turned into a marketplace full of fantastic local food and craft stalls, and a Kids Zone will include face painting and bouncy castles, with the brand new Maungawhau playground a short stroll down the hill.

Chair of the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, Paul Majurey, says that while the event is shaping up to be a fantastic day out, there’s special meaning to it this year.

“The Tūpuna Maunga Authority will be a new name to many people, so this is our chance to introduce ourselves and talk to people about the values now driving the restoration, protection and enhancement of these taonga.”

In 2014 Maungawhau, along with 13 other Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountains) in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland, were transferred back to Mana Whenua in a landmark Treaty settlement. The Tūpuna Maunga Authority now administers the 14 sites. The Authority is a co-governance body made up of 6 iwi representatives and 6 Auckland Council representatives, though it is independent from the council.

A central role of the Authority is to ensure that Mana Whenua world views and priorities, and the strong living connections and public access that all communities have with the Tūpuna Maunga, is woven into their long term care.

“Love Your Maunga is very much a community celebration of Maungawhau, and also the other Tūpuna Maunga of Tāmaki Makaurau. Mana Whenua and local communities draw a real sense of identity from the maunga, and it’s important that we acknowledge and keep talking about the importance of respecting these special places,” says Majurey.

“The name of the event says it all really. We want people to come away feeling that they really do love their maunga, and feel a real sense of ownership towards their care and protection.”

The Tūpuna Maunga Authority will have a stall at the Love Your Maunga event, showcasing the Tūpuna Maunga Integrated Management Plan which is currently open for public submissions. The Plan sets the foundations for how the Tūpuna Maunga are valued, protected, restored, enhanced and managed in the future.

The Tūpuna Maunga Authority thanks the Albert-Eden Local Board for their support of this event.

More information about the Tūpuna Maunga Authority can be found at aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/tupunamaunga.

ENDS

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