Otara Hill
Encyclopedia
Otara Hill is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland Volcanic Field
. Its scoria cone reached 89 m above sea level (around 59 m higher than the surrounding land) before it was quarried away. The hill was the site of a pā
. Nearby Green Hill
and Otara Hill were together referred to as Bessy Bell and Mary Gray
after an old Scottish ballad.
Auckland Volcanic Field
The Auckland volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field in the North Island of New Zealand. Basaltic in nature, it underlies much of the metropolitan area of Auckland....
. Its scoria cone reached 89 m above sea level (around 59 m higher than the surrounding land) before it was quarried away. The hill was the site of a pā
Pa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
. Nearby Green Hill
Green Hill, New Zealand
Green Hill is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland Volcanic Field. It's scoria cone had a peak 78 metres above sea level , and had a grove of Karaka trees. The hill was the site of a pā. It was quarried from 1870 onwards, and has been mostly quarried away. The site is now Greenmount landfill...
and Otara Hill were together referred to as Bessy Bell and Mary Gray
Bessy Bell and Mary Gray
Betsy Bell and Mary Gray are "twa bonnie lassies", the subject of one of the Child Ballads.According to the ballad, Betsy and Mary were daughters of two Perthshire gentlemen, who in 1666 built themselves a bower to avoid catching a devastating plague...
after an old Scottish ballad.
