Takarunga / Mount Victoria is the highest volcano on Auckland's North Shore, rising to 66 metres in elevation.

In the late 19th century, a gun fort was built on top of the hill, in order to defend the city of Auckland.

Over the years the peak and upper slopes have housed a signal station for shipping,[1] artillery emplacements, farmland, and various concrete army bunkers, some from as early as the 1870s.

[9] In 1841 a signal station was constructed on the peak, to better facilitate traffic to the Port of Auckland, and in 1880 the hill became a public reserve.

The legislation specified that the land be held in trust "for the common benefit of Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau and the other people of Auckland".