It’s a story that stretches back to the 1880s, when fears of a Russian invasion led to hasty construction to shore up the country’s coastal defences a story involving prison labourers a story of General Douglas MacArthur and the might of the American military reaching deep into the Pacific during the World War II a story of missing documents and spies. The story of what lies beneath the maunga, a dormant volcano standing guard over the Waitematā Harbour, is not new. The tunnels beneath North Head have long been a source of interest, with tours, like this one in 1988, always popular. “What have they got to hide? What is the downside if you are saying there’s nothing there? Why have you been holding us out since 2011?”Ĭould one of Auckland’s most enduring mysteries be solved once and for all? “We could find out in a couple of days,” says Martin Butler, author of Tunnel Vision: Unearthing the Secrets of North Head. In the meantime, campaigners who have kept up a sustained, self-funded investigation for years, are unyielding. So, all clear, right – no hidden tunnels.īut in the course of Stuff’s investigation, the ground on such firm statements shifted, or at least the understanding of what exactly it means changed.Īnd new documents and discoveries made the black and white nature of what’s been maintained for decades more a shade of grey.
Maungauika is now governed by the Tūpuna Maunga Authority, made up of iwi and Auckland Council representatives, but it declined to comment except to say it was “in step” with DOC’s view. Initially, a spokesperson for the Department of Conservation, which took over management of the land from Defence in 1990, told Stuff: “Based on previous investigations carried out by Defence and subsequently by DOC there is no reason to believe hidden tunnels … exist.” Rob Osborne says he is among the last generation who has actually been inside tunnels on Maungauika-North Head, as a kid in the 1950s before they were closed.
0 kommentar(er)
