This artwork lies at the at the site of the original foreshore where the moana (sea) and whenua (land) once met. The 22-meter-long ‘Moana Whenua’ text is carved into the granite of the pavement and embedded with resin and glass aggregate lettering.
In this artwork, Youle has chosen Te Reo Māori (Māori language) to highlight the links between history, place and landscape. Wayne has a bicultural Māori and Pākehā heritage which he likes to reflect in his work.
Kaitiaki II (guardian) is a sculpture cast in stainless steel which represents a traditional anchor stone and stands guard at one of the most prominent intersections in the city centre.
It stands here to remind us of the site’s significance as the harbour’s original foreshore where once the Waihorotiu river which flowed down Queen Street, met the sea.
The foreshore was significant to Ngāti Whātua and Ngāti Paoa (local tribes) as a waka (canoe) landing site and place of much commerce.
Waka Taumata or resting waka (canoe) is in the form of taurapa (stern post) and tauihu (prow). The tauihu takes the shape of a resting bird; its beak pointing back towards its tail.
Many ancestral canoes lead the settlement of this area – Tainui being the most prominent. Hence the Māori proverb ‘Mōkau ki runga Tāmaki ki raro’ which defines the tribal boundaries of the Tainui canoe. Mōkau in the south referred to as the prow of the canoe, and Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) in the north being the taurapa.
Waharoa is a seven-meter-tall gateway which stands at the entrance to Aotea Square, transforming it into a marae atea (courtyard of a Māori meeting house). It provides a cultural welcome to manuhiri (visitors) to the square.
This huge metal and wood sculpture, although untitled, could be summed up by the Māori word manaaki which means hospitality.
The artist’s interpretation of the work is that the powerful pieces of timber at the bottom of the kōwaiwai (mural) represent the people of today, while the stainless-steel forms at the top are their Māori and Pākehā (European people) ancestors.
The large central diamond shape symbolises hospitality. It links the past and present, and contains hearts, moons, stars and crosses which are signature features of Matchitt’s work.
Ihi explores the mother/son relationship between the gods, Tāne and his mother Papatūānuku, through the separation that brought the world of Te Ao Mārama (light) into existence. ‘In the beginning, Ranginui (sky father) and Papatūānuku (earth mother) were locked in a tight embrace. Their sons and daughters dwelt in the darkness between them. Frustrated by this, their son Tāne decided to use his powerful legs to prise them apart, letting the light in and life to flourish. Tāne then surveys the view he has created - a cosmos of stars and moody brooding skies.
This mathematically intensive installation with more than 50,000 tiny pieces was designed to take tāniko (finger weaving) into the third dimension.
It honours the memory of Rangimārie, a noted mid-17th century dancer and choreographer of the Kaipara and Tāmaki Makaurau regions and a descendent of the Te Taoū and Ngā Oho iwi.
Rangimārie is represented by the central red diamond. The black pyramids are symbolic for Kaipara and Tāmaki iwi. The Niho Taniwha triangular pattern is seen in tukutuku (weaving) panels. It means the ‘serpent’s tooth’ and links with the local taniwha (water spirit) and the mauri (life force) of the Waihorotiu stream running below the street.
An interactive artwork designed to deepen our connection to place. It describes the memory of water, specifically Te Waihorotiu, the stream flowing beneath the Myers Park underpass to Waitematā Harbour.
Like the stream, this artwork is alive. It responds to the environment, weather and visitors’ presence by changing light patterns and sound.
People can actively engage with this experience by singing two specially written waiata into the sensor. These songs, Waimahara and Waiora, encourage reflection on water consciousness and its significance to human life.
The Myers Park paddling pool, built in 1915, stood on this site – a popular feature for children. In 2016 the new splash pad was created with care to preserve many of the heritage features.
The splash pad has a poem inscribed in it by Hone Tūwhare, “STOP your snivelling Horotiu, come rain, hail and floodwater, laugh again”. It is about Horotiu the taniwha (water spirit) that lived in the Waihorotiu stream (now buried underground) which had its source at the top of Myers Park gully.