Midworlder's Fotothing

Observations from One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie), Auckland. NZ

Some of you may have heard of One Tree Hill through the U2 song. I'll use that song as a background to the place
Information courtesy of Songfacts - I have corrected the obvious errors.
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=916

U2 wrote this about Greg Carroll, a Maori from New Zealand who became an assistant and close friend of Bono after he met the band in 1985 while they were in his country. He was killed a year later when he was hit by a car while running an errand for Bono on Bono's motorcycle. The album The Joshua Tree, as well as this song, are dedicated to Greg Carroll.

One Tree Hill is one of the tallest volcanic cones in Auckland where Greg Carroll took Bono his first night in New Zealand. It is a tourist attraction in Auckland, with a monument at the summit dedicated to John Logan Campbell, one of Auckland's founding fathers who gifted One Tree Hill Domain & Cornwall Park in central Auckland to the people
The lyrics in the song describe the traditional Maori ceremony for Greg Carroll that was given at One Tree Hill.
In 1994, the One Tree Hill tree was the victim of a chainsaw attack by a Maori activist which almost ringbarked it. A further attack in 1999 all but finished the job and the life expectancy of the tree was estimated to be only three years, it was removed in 2000. The City Council are growing several replacements, one to be chosen I think on the 10th anniversary of the removal.

The place is special to Aucklander's and therefore so is the song.
You can get an idea from this You Tube Video I found

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sspVCKq-sm4

The Obelisk
The obelisk on the summit of One Tree Hill was built to the specification of Sir John Logan Campbell and provided for in his will, but was not unveiled formally until 1948. It is a memorial to the "Great Maori Race" to use Campbell's term. Campbell had a close association with Maori when he first arrived in New Zealand. Around the time of his death a common view was that Maori would become extinct, because of low fertility. Improved health in the 20th century has ended that fear.
Obelisks are a form originating in ancient Egypt and its choice is a somewhat odd one for a Pacific memorial, but reflects Campbell's many visits to the classical world and his interest in its history. We know of a visit to the ancient temple at Karnak in Egypt, of which he wrote "I stood and gazed and admired and gazed again at this beautiful object. I love an obelisk over any other Egyptian antiquity..."
The obelisk has an aerial navigation warning light on its tip.