This giant redwood is the largest publicly-visible of four in the entrance to Moores Valley, one of the branches of the Wainuiomata suburb of Wellington. The four trees, from 10 Hine Road to 6 Whitcher Grove, are just over 1 kilometre apart, however information from the Wainuiomata Museum [1] suggests they may have been planted at the same time, circa 1890. This was when the land was in one farm under the ownership of John Wakeham. Before Wakeham the land had been owned by the Sinclair family, brothers John and Duncan running a large sawmill that harvested the native forest in this area. Remnants of the native forest remain in places, but the majority of trees on the subsequently subdivided land are exotics like this redwood. An historic photo from 1956 is available [2], and a magnification of this shows the redwood at a size consistent with the estimated planting date of 1890. As can be seen from the contemporary photographs, the tree spans two properties, and while some bottom branches have been removed it still presents an impressive sight in the local area. One of the trees - at 32 Hine Road - is included in the Lower Hutt Register of Notable trees.
Thanks to Paul Inia for allowing us to measure and photograph this redwood (Lloyd, M., 2024).

[1] Information thanks to Dawn Chambers, committee member, Wainuiomata Museum. The Whitcher Grove redwood is close to the old homestead called Northbrook.
[2] Photo can be found on the Alexander Turnbull Library website: ‘Aerial view of Wainuiomata’ Ref: EP/1956/3083a-F