Aucklanders showed up in droves this afternoon to witness the Acting Prime Minister plant a tree in honour of the coronation of King Charles III.

Attendees gathered around Acting Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni as she and a young girl wielded the spade that planted the historic native tree.

As the tree was planted, families could take advantage of free sausage sizzles, face painting, icecream, live performances by Auckland Brass, and a big screen showing footage from the previous night’s coronation.

Performances from Auckland brass were the perfect backtrack to the celebratory tree planting. Photo / Alex Burton

Four hundred native saplings were also available for those attending to take home and plant themselves.

The ceremony at the Domain in front of the cenotaph at Auckland Museum was part of a nationwide planting effort.

This tree-planting initiative recognises King Charles III’s lifetime interest in sustainability and conservation as well as the coronation of the King of New Zealand.

400 native saplings were available for people to take home and plant themselves. Photo / Alex Burton

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400 native saplings were available for people to take home and plant themselves. Photo / Alex Burton

The planting of native trees throughout Aotearoa will be supported by a donation of $ 1 million from the New Zealand Government. In the upcoming months, Trees That Count will lead the campaign in collaboration with the Department of Conservation and volunteers from all throughout Aotearoa.

Overnight, King Charles III was crowned in London’s Westminster Abbey in a formal religious ceremony steeped in thousand-year-old traditions.

The ceremony means the longtime Crown Prince is now formally King of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth realms, including New Zealand, as well as being head of the 56-member Commonwealth of Nations.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was among 2000 invited guests inside the Abbey in a star-studded ceremony which included actresses Dame Joanna Lumley, Dame Judi Dench, Emma Thompson and singers Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.