Date visited: 17 August 2021
Elevation: 12m
Volcanic history
Te Hopua a Rangi or Gloucester Park is an explosion crater (a maar) located in Onehunga. The 300m wide crater was originally used as a harbour and was known as Onehunga Basin and later Geddes Basin. It was given the name Gloucester Park when the Duke of Gloucester visited Aotearoa in 1935.
In the mid-’70s construction of the motorway began right through the middle of the crater, with the southern side becoming a sports field.
Our visit
This was meant to be a quick stop for box-checking on our way home from Mt. Smart, but we ended up spending quite a while wandering around trying to figure out where the Hopua crater stopped and started.
After we had walked the length of the half of the crater we were in and found nothing but fencing, it became apparent that the only pedestrian access beneath the motorway was under construction and there was no way through, so we got in the car and drove around to Onehunga Harbour Road where the historic Manukau Yacht and Motor Boat Clubhouse (MYMBC) is.
According to the Wikipedia entry for Te Hopua a Rangi, the army occupied the area, including the MYMBC, between 1941-1946. The Aotea Sea Scouts then took ownership of the building. You can see Te Pane-o-Mataaho (Mangere Mountain) in the background here.
Directions and facilities
There is a carpark specifically for Gloucester Park, which is off Onehunga Mall. There are no toilets that we could find in the area.
Happy adventuring,
