SUPPLIED/ELLA ROSSITER
Tourists and Auckland locals alike would until recently climb over safety barriers to get an Instagram-worthy snap on this ledge at the top of Mt Eden.
A popular photo spot at the top of Auckland’s Mt Eden has been demolished.
Locals and tourists alike would climb over safety barriers to access a ledge on the eastern side of the summit and pose for Instagram-worthy pictures with a view of the city’s skyline.
However, the structure, which was the last remaining section of a telecommunications building from the 1950s, has been removed in the past couple of weeks as part of a redevelopment of the maunga.
Tūpuna Maunga Authority operations manager Nick Turoa said although no selfie-related incidents had been reported, people climbing over the guard rail to reach the ledge was a health and safety concern.
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However, the ledge was removed for an entirely unrelated reason – to make way for a boardwalk around the crater rim.
Wannabe influencers need not worry though – the boardwalk would include a purpose-built viewing platform on the northern knoll of the tihi (summit), which Turoa said was an ideal spot for photographs due to its unobstructed views of the the Waitematā Harbour and Auckland’s city centre.
“The boardwalk and viewing platform have been designed to follow the contours of the terraces and will use materials that will age and weather over time, to help minimise the visual impact.
“Removal of the old communications building also helps to achieve that outcome.”
TOM MURDOCK/STUFF
The former location of a popular photo spot on Maungawhau (Mt Eden) is now a construction site.
The last public photo showing someone posing on the ledge was posted to Instagram on November 26.
Taken from the right angle, photographs of the ledge appeared to indicate it was on a cliff edge.
However, in reality it was only a few metres from the ground.
While Maungawhau (the Māori name for Mt Eden) failed to make the cut for the top 10 most Instagrammed locations in New Zealand, more than a million people are estimated to visit it each year.
The maunga was one of the the largest and most important pā in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland).
Tūpuna Maunga Authority said the poor condition of paths had led to people making their own tracks, which had scarred the mountain.
Construction of the boardwalk began last month and would be completed in May.
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