Te Wehenga
The role of waharoa in Māori architectural tradition is to physically demarcate boundary, to mark the junction of realms, states, domains and/or space, a transition point where something changes, where one leaves something behind and progresses into something/somewhere different.
Te Wehenga is a contemporary waharoa that has been located at this point to physically embody and mark this notion of transition, and to remind us of the native and natural ecologies of place – natural, social and cultural. This location at the junction of Shortland and Queen Streets marks a key point on the original coastline, where whenua met moana, where Wai Horotiu met Waitematā, the junction of wai māori and waitai, and all of the systems and tensions present in each of those relationships.
Standing in this original landscape position, Te Wehenga strips away the concrete, the bustle and noise of the contemporary city centre to recognise the domains of two atua Māori, Tangaroa and Tāne Mahuta, tamariki of Papatūānukuand Ranginui the primordial parents. Artwork from Graham Tipene powerfully invokes these atua and characteristics of their respective domains, with Tāne Mahuta welcoming you into his domain as you head up Queen Street, and Tangaroa welcoming you into his realm as you head northwards towards Waitematā.
Te Wehenga also reminds us of the need to consider our place in the world, Tāmaki Makaurau as a holistic entity in all of our thinking to ensure the wellbeing of place and community:
Ki uta, ki tai, te hononga e kore e whati, he puna oranga mō ngā tāngata katoa
The enduring relationship of land and sea, a wellspring of wellbeing for us all
If you look around you, you will notice two significant artworks by Fred Graham (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura) - Kaitiaki II and Te Waka Taumata o Horotiu - which also speak to the native cultural landscape that exists in this location.
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Ko te tikanga o te waharoa i te ao Māori, ka tūtohu i ngā pae, i te tūtakitanga o ngā ao, i te tapu me te noa, i ngā whaitua, i te wāhi whakawhiti ai tētahi mea, i te wāhi ka mahuetia tētahi mea e tētahi, ā, ka kuhu atu ki tētahi mea/tētahi wāhi rerekē.
Ko Te Wehenga he waharoa o nāianei i whakatū ki tēnei wāhi hei whakatinana, hei tohu hoki i te ariā o te whakawhiti, ā, ka whakamahara i a tātou mō ngā hauropi taketake, māori hoki o te wāhi – ko ngā āhuatanga māori, ā-hapori, ā-ahurea anō hoki. Ko tēnei wāhi, kei te tūtakitanga o Shortland me Queen Street, ka tohu i tētahi wāhi o te takutai tūturu, i reira tūtaki ai te whenua ki te moana, te Wai Horotiu ki te Waitematā, te pūtahitanga o te wai māori me te waitai, me ngā pūnaha katoa e rongo ana i roto i aua whanaungatanga.
I konei, i tēnei wāhi tūturu o te whenua, e tū ana a Te Wehenga hei whakarere i te raima, te pōwaiwai me te hoihoi o te tāone o nāianei, hei kite i ngā whaitua o ngā atua Māori, a Tangaroa rāua ko Tāne Mahuta, ngā tamariki a Papatūānuku rāua ko Ranginui. He mahi toi nā Graham Tipene e whakaatu ana i ēnei atua me ngā āhuatanga o ō rāua whaitua. Ka pōhiritia koe e Tāne Mahuta ki tōna rohe i a koe e piki ake ana i Queen Street. Waihoki ka pōhiritia koe e Tangaroa ki tōna rohe i a koe e haere ana ki te raki, ki te Waitematā.
Ka whakamahara a Te Wehenga i a tātou kia whai whakaaro anō ki tō tātou tūranga i te ao. Ko Tāmaki Makaurau hei mea torowhārahi i ō tātou whakaaro e ora ai te wāhi me te hapori.
Ki uta, ki tai, te hononga e kore e whati, he puna oranga mō ngā tāngata katoa
Ki te titiro koe, ka kite i ngā mahi toi e rua nā Fred Graham CNZM (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura)- Kaitiaki II me Te Waka Taumata o Horotiu – e kōrero hoki ana mō te āhuatanga ahurea taketake e ora nei i tēnei wāhi.
ABOUT TŪRAMA
Tūrama is a collaboration between Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Manu) and Ataahua Papa (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura; Ngāti Mahuta), and Angus Muir Design, with support from Auckland Council.
He mahi ngātahi a Tūrama nā Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Manu) rātou ko Ataahua Papa (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta), ko Angus Muir Design, me te tautoko a Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau.
