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Story: Tāmaki tribes

Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill), Tāmaki-makau-rau

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Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill), Tāmaki-makau-rau

Because so many tribes have lived in the area, there are at least six different explanations for the origin of Auckland’s Māori name, Tāmaki. One view is that the name derives from the 18th-century Te Wai-o-Hua chief Kiwi Tāmaki, whose was at Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill), pictured here.

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Auckland Council Libraries − Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau

Reference: 1-W9

by Henry Winkelmann

Permission of Auckland City Libraries Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Rāwiri Taonui, Tāmaki tribes – Tribal history and places, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1018/maungakiekie-one-tree-hill-tamaki-makau-rau (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Rāwiri Taonui, published 4 March 2009, updated 22 March 2017.