Chainsaw

After Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed in 1840, Governor William Hobson chose what is now known as Auckland to be the new capital in 1841. At this time, it was said that a tree grew at the summit of Maungakiekie One Tree Hill, which accounts identified as a pōhutukawa. This tree was cut down by a Pākehā settler in 1852 – the reason for his action remains unclear. The summit was then planted with native trees and radiata pine by Dr John Logan Campbell, regarded by many as the ‘father of Auckland’. The native trees failed to take root and only two pine survived, one of which was felled in 1960, again under unknown circumstances.

On 28 October 1994, activist Mike Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) took to the remaining tree with a chainsaw borrowed from his friend Hori Parata, who had only just had it repaired, and who had no inkling about its intended use. Smith, who was part of a group of activists seeking a symbolic act to respond to the government’s proposed ‘fiscal envelope’ approach to Treaty settlements, chose the date because it was the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1835. The site was also of huge significance to local Māori: prior to the pōhutukawa, a tōtara planted to commemorate the birth of a rangatira’s son and known as Te Tōtara i Āhua had stood on the summit of Maungakiekie. The story of the tōtara was relayed to Smith by fellow activist Tuaiwa (Eva) Rickard.

In 2000 the damaged pine, which had been kept alive by arborists, was attacked for the final time, reportedly by Smith’s relatives. This time around, the tree was not able to survive the attack and it was subsequently removed by the council.

This chainsaw was listed for sale on TradeMe in 2007 but the auction was eventually removed from the site after complaints from users.