Auckland’s Mount Roskill loses its Easter cross for good
Auckland: An “iconic” cross has been removed from Auckland’s Mount Roskill/Puketāpapa after lighting up every Easter for nearly 60 years.
The borough’s former mayor David Hay has slammed the decision, saying the structure was part of the area’s local identity.
“It is disappointing that our elected representatives have voted to stop what has been part of our heritage in Mount Roskill for so long,” he said.
The structure is lit up annually at Easter in the shape of a cross, and at Christmas in the shape of a star.
While Mount Roskill is now known for its ethnic diversity, it was once dubbed the “Bible belt” of Auckland.
In the late 1980s the borough had 26 churches for its 35,000 residents.
Hay said the structure had been “a comfort and symbol of hope to tens of thousands” over the decades. “This iconic feature has been part of our heritage and local identity and has been taken from us.”
The structure was briefly taken down in 2015 on the recommendation of the Tūpuna Maunga oTāmaki Makaurau Authority, but later reinstated.
Its decision at the time applied up until Easter 2017, when the cross’ future would be reviewed. Prior to Christmas 2017, church leaders in the suburb were told the star would be put up for the season, but that it was the last occasion.
On Saturday, authority chairman Paul Majurey said the plinth and pole at the tihi (summit) of the mountain, which provided the central structure for the cross and star, had been removed “as part of the work to reinstate the tihi and return it to a fully grassed area”.