Legal administration of Maungauika / North Head transfers to the TÅ«puna Maunga Authority from the Department of Conservation (DoC) this Friday, 18 January 2019.

The transfer is welcomed by the Authority as a completion of the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Act 2014 which saw ownership of fourteen Tūpuna Maunga, including Maungauika, returned to the 13 iwi / hapū of Tāmaki. However, administration of Maungauika remained with DoC as an interim step.

Paul Majurey, Chair of the Tūpuna Maunga Authority says the transfer is also an important step in integrating the management of all maunga in Tāmaki Makaurau.

"In 2016 we adopted the Tūpuna Maunga Integrated Management Plan to care for and protect the maunga of Tāmaki Makaurau in a cohesive way. DoC have helpfully been aligning their management of Maungauika to the values in the plan. The transfer now allows a focused effort on restoring Maungauika consistent with the other maunga. It enables these special places to be treated as a collective whole and forever valued, restored, protected and managed as the taonga tuku iho (treasures handed down the generations) that they are."

DoC administration continued beyond the 2014 Redress Act until now to enable a planned transfer to the Tūpuna Maunga Authority. The other thirteen maunga were administered by Auckland Council and at the passing of the Act they transferred immediately to the Tūpuna Maunga Authority as part of the co-governance regime between the Tāmaki Collective of iwi / hapū and Council.

"We know that Maungauika will be a focal point for a large number of visitors around the America’s Cup event in March 2021, so we will be looking towards management initiatives to ensure visitor safety and enjoyment of the maunga during this high profile event," says Majurey.

The tihi (summit) at Maungauika is already a pedestrian space, there being no vehicle access to the tihi. Car parking is located half way up Maungauika.

More information about the TÅ«puna Maunga Authority and an online copy of the TÅ«puna Maunga Integrated Management Plan can be found at www.maunga.nz.