Shifting Grounds

‘In a city that has forgotten and erased much of its history, there are still places where traces of the past can be found.’ 


Deep histories, both natural and human, have been woven together over hundreds of years in places across Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, forming potent sites of national significance. This stunning book unearths these histories in three iconic landscapes: Pukekawa/Auckland Domain, Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill and the Ōtuataua Stonefields at Ihumātao. 


Approaching landscapes as an archive, Lucy Mackintosh delves deeply into specific places, allowing us to understand histories that have not been written into books or inscribed upon memorials, but which still resonate through Auckland and beyond. ‘Shifting Grounds’ provides a rare historical assessment of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s past, with findings and stories that deepen understanding of New Zealand history.