Mount Victoria Free

Walking to the top of Takarunga/Mt Victoria is one of the primary activities for most visitors to Devonport. The view from the summit offers one of the best panoramas of Auckland City. On a clear day, you can see across the Auckland Isthmus, enjoying sweeping views of the inner harbour and the Hauraki Gulf. It is also a popular spot to watch the sunset.

Takarunga, meaning 'hill standing above,' alludes to its elevation over the adjacent Takararo/Mt. Cambria. Sadly, Takararo was completely levelled by quarrying and now serves as the flat park known as Cambria Reserve.

Tūpuna Maunga

Takarunga is one of Auckland's fourteen tūpuna maunga (ancestral mountains). The immense cultural significance of these treasured places is often not fully realised by visitors.
The maunga (mountains) are at the heart of Auckland's identity and represent a celebration of our Māori identity as the city's point of difference in the world.

Takarunga held significance as an important Māori pā site (fortified village) for many years, evident in the visible terracing and kūmara pits.

Recent History

European settlers named the hill Mount Victoria in honour of Queen Victoria. Another early European name, Flagstaff Hill, originated from a signal station for the Port of Auckland installed on the summit in 1841.

Takarunga served military purposes until after the Second World War, featuring a disappearing gun from 1885 used to defend against the perceived threat of Russian expansion in the South Pacific, which never materialized.

At the summit of the Maunga, there is also a buried reservoir marked by colourful 'mushroom' vents.