Maurice Gee’s creepy, and exciting children’s book Under the Mountain is set on the shores of Lake Pupuke, North Shore. It features shape-shifting aliens hiding under Rangitoto and Maungawhau.
All three locations are part of Auckland’s volcanic field, first mapped in 1859 by the German geologist Ferdinand Hochstetter.
Maurice Gee’s story will be a jumping-off point for a look at Hochstetter’s famous geological map, Māori representations of the volcanic world and the way other travellers and writers positioned Auckland’s geology at the intersection between science and the uncanny.
About the speaker
Kirsty Webb is the Principal Curator of Archives & Manuscripts for Auckland Council Libraries Heritage Collections.