Purchas Hill

Last updated

Purchas Hill
Te Tauoma
Purchas Hill remnant.jpg
Quarried remnant of Purchas Hill, with Maungarei / Mount Wellington in the background
Highest point
Coordinates 36°53′14″S174°50′51″E / 36.887138°S 174.847476°E / -36.887138; 174.847476 Coordinates: 36°53′14″S174°50′51″E / 36.887138°S 174.847476°E / -36.887138; 174.847476
Geography
New Zealand relief map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Purchas Hill
Purchas Hill's location within New Zealand.
Location Stonefields, Auckland, New Zealand
Geology
Volcanic arc/belt Auckland volcanic field

Purchas Hill (also Te Tauoma) is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field.

Contents

Purchas Hill was a twin-cratered scoria cone around 50 metres high, located north of Maungarei / Mount Wellington, before it was predominately quarried away. The scoria cone sat in the middle of its large explosion crater with a surrounding tuff ring. It erupted about 10,000 years ago, shortly before the eruption of its larger neighbour, Mount Wellington. [1]

History

A map of the Auckland volcanic field by Hochstetter from 1859, showcasing Purchas Hill amongst other volcanoes. AucklandMapHochstetter1859.JPG
A map of the Auckland volcanic field by Hochstetter from 1859, showcasing Purchas Hill amongst other volcanoes.

In the mid 1800s, geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter named the mountain after the Reverend Dr Arthur Guyon Purchas (1821-1906), in gratitude for his help with geological work on the field. [1]

A photo looking down Purchas Hill Drive in Stonefields, Auckland. Purchas Hill Drive.png
A photo looking down Purchas Hill Drive in Stonefields, Auckland.

The scant remnants of Purchas Hill lie on what is largely a wasteland in the suburb of Stonefields in Auckland. [2]

The road Purchas Hill Drive is located where Purchas Hill used to be.

Related Research Articles

Panmure Basin bay in Auckland Region, New Zealand

The Panmure Basin, also sometimes known as the Panmure Lagoon, is a tidal estuary within a volcanic crater or maar in New Zealand's Auckland volcanic field. It is located to the south of Panmure town centre.

Matukutureia mountain in New Zealand

Matukutūreia is one of the volcanic cones in the Auckland volcanic field. It has a peak 73 metres above sea level, and was the site of a pā. The scoria cone was originally crescent-shaped and featured Māori terraces and kumara pits, before extensive quarrying reduced it to a pyramid-shaped mound big enough to support the summit water tank for Papatoetoe. A small part of the summit and the eastern side of the cone were left unquarried, plus a large area of lava flows to the south of the cone remains intact. These remaining parts have recently been transferred to Department of Conservation Management, primarily because of the high heritage values of the Matukuturua Stonefields gardens.

Crater Hill

Crater Hill is one of the volcanoes of the Auckland volcanic field. It consists of an explosion crater about 600m wide, partly filled with water.

Mount Cambria mountain in New Zealand

Mount Cambria is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field. Located in the suburb of Devonport north-east of Mt Victoria, its 30-metre scoria cone was quarried away. The site is now Cambria Reserve. It was named Heaphy Hill after Charles Heaphy by Ferdinand von Hochstetter in 1859, but this name is not used.

Waitomokia extinct volcano in New Zealand

Waitomokia is a volcano in the Auckland volcanic field.

Maungataketake

Maungataketake is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field in New Zealand. It had a 76 m high scoria cone, beside a 100 m wide crater, before they were quarried away. It was the site of a pā. Layers of volcanic tuff and ash from Maungataketake overlay the fallen trunks of the nearby Ihumatao fossil forest.

Mount Richmond volcano of the Auckland volcanic field

Ōtāhuhu / Mount Richmond is one of the volcanoes of the Auckland volcanic field. A group of scoria mounds up to 50 m high, it has two 50 m wide craters. It was the site of a pā, and retains some Māori earthworks from that time such as kumara pits and terracing. The nearby suburb of Otahuhu is named after the volcano.

Pukeiti (Auckland)

Pukeiti is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field. The spatter cone is the smallest volcano in Auckland, reaching 30 metres (98 ft) above sea level, and has a shallow crater over 30 metres (98 ft) wide. The crater rim was quarried on the south and east side. Extensive lava poured out from this vent to form a lava flow field to the north and east. It is now part of the Otuataua Stonefields reserve.

Ihumātao is a Māori village, situated three kilometres from Auckland International Airport in Mangere.

Te Pou Hawaiki is a volcano in the Auckland volcanic field in New Zealand. It was a small, low scoria cone south-east of Mount Eden that was quarried away.

Duders Hill was a 20 metre high scoria mound located on the Devonport coast, on the lower south-east slopes of Takarunga / Mount Victoria, in the Auckland volcanic field. It was mostly quarried away in the early 20th century. It is thought to have been a section of Mount Victoria's upper scoria cone which was rafted downslope with lava flows.

Mount Saint John (New Zealand) mountain in New Zealand

Mount Saint John is a volcanic scoria cone in Epsom, in the Auckland volcanic field of New Zealand. It has a peak 126 metres above sea level and a crater around 150 m wide. It was the site of a pā, and has retained Māori earthworks from that era such as kumara pits and terracing. The age of Mount St John is currently unknown but is older than 28,500 years old as the scoria cone is mantled in ash from Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta volcano.

Taylors Hill volcano in Auckland, New Zealand

Taylors Hill, is a volcano in the Auckland volcanic field. It erupted about 30,000 years ago.

Little Rangitoto Volcano in Auckland

Little Rangitoto is a volcano in the Auckland volcanic field in Remuera, New Zealand.

Robertson Hill

Robertson Hill is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field in New Zealand.

Hampton Park, New Zealand

Hampton Park is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field. A small scoria cone reaching 35 metres above sea level, with a shallow crater around 50 metres wide, which has been modified by quarrying. The scoria cone sits in the centre of a much larger explosion crater, the eastern arc of the surrounding tuff ring is still present. Stone from the volcano was used to build dry-stone walls and the nearby St John's Church built on the tuff ring crest.

Otara Hill is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field. Its scoria cone reached 89 m above sea level before it was quarried away. The hill was the site of a pā named “Te Puke Ō Tara” meaning ‘hill belonging to Tara’, who was a Ngāi Tai Rangatira of the area.

McLennan Hills is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field. It was a group of cratered scoria mounds up to 45 m high, before it was quarried away. A 1940 aerial photo shows a crater around 100 m wide, one around 50 m wide, and 2 or 3 smaller craters. The photo also shows terracing on the hills' slopes consistent with it being the site of a pā. The former quarry site was used for greenhouses before being redeveloped for housing.

Maungarei volcano in the Auckland Volcanic Field near Auckland, New Zealand

Maungarei / Mount Wellington is a 135-metre volcanic peak located in the Auckland volcanic field of Auckland, New Zealand. It is the youngest onshore volcano of the Auckland volcanic field, having been formed by an eruption around 10,000 years ago. It is the largest of Auckland's scoria cones and has a near-circular base with a flattish rim and three small fire-fountaining craters. It is situated in the Mount Wellington suburb of East Auckland.

Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta

Te Tātua-a-Riukiuta is a volcano in Three Kings, New Zealand that erupted 28,500 years ago. The volcano had three prominent peaks and a number of smaller peaks until most of them were quarried away, leaving a sole remaining large peak.

References

  1. 1 2 I. Lawlor (2009). Endnotes, An assessment of heritage resources located within the proposed Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve Visitor Centre development ‘footprint’, and measures to avoid, remedy and mitigate effects, Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve Heritage Assessment Report.
  2. Cyanteal (15 February 2015). "39. Te Tauoma/Purchas Hill". Auckland Volcanoes. Retrieved 8 October 2019.