Wiri Lava Cave, Nature reserve and lava cave in Wiri, New Zealand

Wiri Lava Cave is a subterranean passage system located beneath Wiri Station Road, created when lava flowed and cooled in an underground network. The cave shows varied passage widths and reveals how volcanic activity shaped the geology beneath Auckland.

Matukutūruru erupted about 30,500 years ago, dated by carbon-14, paleomagnetic and argon-argon methods. Its lava flows, up to 18 m deep, spread 1 km north and 1.5 km south and formed the 290 m Wiri Lava Cave. The scoria cone was later almost entirely quarried away for construction material, leaving only part of the lower northern slopes.

Matukutūruru and nearby Matukutūreia are together called Matukurua, "the two bitterns". A proverb about watching for eels versus watching for a war party recalls a mid-18th-century attack by Te Taoū; Matukutūruru is the "careless bittern", named for a chief who fell asleep and was captured, though some sources switch the names. The suburb name Wiri commemorates chief Te Wirihana Takaanini.

Access to this cave is restricted and requires special permission to help protect its natural state. Potential visitors should check in advance about the rules and requirements for visiting.

A manhole beside Wiri Station Road covers a narrow vertical shaft that drops to the cave's horizontal section, about 4 metres below the road. The entrance is locked and the cave is not open to the public.