Bastion Point (Takaparawhau) | Historic Headland & City Views
Why go
Bastion Point, also known as Takaparawhau, is one of Auckland's most significant places — both for its sweeping view and its history. The headland looks out over the Waitematā Harbour, with one of the city's best unobstructed panoramas of the CBD, the Sky Tower and the Harbour Bridge. But the real reason this place matters is what happened here: between January 1977 and May 1978, Ngāti Whātua ki Ōrākei led a 506-day occupation of their ancestral land in protest against a proposed government sale for luxury housing. On 25 May 1978, 800 police and army personnel evicted the protesters and arrested 222 people. The land was eventually returned to Ngāti Whātua under a Treaty of Waitangi settlement, and the occupation became one of the defining moments of Māori land-rights activism in Aotearoa. Visiting is both a beautiful view and a quiet acknowledgement of what unfolded here.
What to expect
A grassy headland with sweeping harbour views, walking paths, and the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial — an obelisk marking the burial place of New Zealand's first Labour Prime Minister, who died in 1940. The Savage Memorial Gardens around it are formally laid out and worth a wander. It's a contemplative space rather than a destination attraction — bring a coffee, take in the view, walk the headland, and read the interpretive material that tells the Ngāti Whātua story. Pair the visit with a stop along Tāmaki Drive — Kelly Tarlton's is just down the road, Silky Otter is nearby in Ōrākei, and Mission Bay is a short drive away for fish and chips on the beach.
