From the karanga of Hape welcoming early waka voyagers, the open invitation from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to William Hobson to establish the settlement of Auckland in 1840, to becoming the beating heart of contemporary Tāmaki Makaurau, the Waihorotiu valley has always been a place renowned for the extension of manaakitanga, for welcoming and extending hospitality to visitors, to guests and to ourselves.  

The ancient citadels Te Ngahuwera, Te Rerengaoraiti and Te Horo Roa standing above, the bountiful Wai o Horotiu river flowing along the valley floor to meet Te Waitematā, the abundant ngahere of the valley teeming with life and song, the generations upon generations of footprints left by ngā mana o te whenua over the millennia; all part of a native and natural landscape now lost beneath the modern City Centre’s urban form, removed from our sight. But not from our memories. Or our future.  

Tūrama is an open invitation to all of Tāmaki Makaurau to revisit and re-imagine the Waihorotiu valley. You will be welcomed and farewelled by atua, dance on the sparkling waters of Te Waitematā and Wai o Horotiu, celebrate artworks by icons of Māori art and design, meet the manu of this place, and come face to face with an 8-metre-high representation of resident kaitiaki. 

Start your Tūrama journey at the intersection of Queen and Shortland Streets with Te Wehenga, a uniquely designed and crafted waharoa denoting where the waters of Waitematā and Wai o Horotiu merged. Then, make your way up to Aotea Square, led by Kawau Tikitiki, Kāhu Kōrako and Manu Korokī and encounter a stunning visual display as the area kaitiaki appears lit up on the grass terraces.  

Prepare to be amazed at the celebration of light, form, scale, and life that has been developed for Tūrama  by the creative team  Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Haua, Ngāti Manu), Ataahua Papa (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta).and Angus Muir Design.

Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei are proud to bring Tūrama  and the Waihorotiu valley to life as part of Matariki ki te Manawa, for all of Tāmaki Makaurau to enjoy.  

Image Credit: Liam Newth

 

He wāhi e mōhiotia nuitia ana te whārua o Waihorotiu mō te manaakitanga me te pōhiri i te tangata, manuhiri anō hoki. Mai i te karanga a Hape i pōhiri i te hekenga o ngā waka o mua, ki te pōhiri a Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei ki a William Hobson ki te whakatū i tētahi kāinga ki Tāmaki Makaurau i te tau 1840, tae rawa mai ki tēnei wā, kia tipu hei tāone nui.

Ko ngā pā o Te Ngahuwera, Te Rerengaoraiti me Te Horo Roa i tū ake. Ka rere te awa o Wai o Horotiu ki Te Waitematā. Ora ana te wao i te tangi a ngā manu, ā, ko ngā tapuwae o ngā reanga mana whenua i ngā manomano tau kua mahue. Ko te āhua māori, tūturu hoki o te whenua kua riro ki te tāone nui. Kua ngaro i te tirohanga tangata, engari, kāore i ō tātou mahara, i tō tātou ānamata anō hoki.

He karanga nā Tūrama ki a Tāmaki Makaurau whānui kia hoki ngā mahara, whakaaro anō ki te whārua o Waihorotiu.  Ka pōhiritia, ka poroakitia hoki koe e ngā atua, ka kani hoki i ngā wai o Te Waitematā me te Wai o Horotiu. Ka whakanui i ngā mahi toi mai i ngā tino ringatoi, tūtakitaki ki ngā manu o te wāhi, me tētahi whakaaturanga o ngā kaitiaki, 8 mita te teitei.

Tīmata i tō haerenga o Tūrama ki Te Wehenga, kei te tūtakitanga o ngā rori o Queen me Shortland. He waharoa motuhake i hanga ki te whakaatu i te hono o ngā wai o te Waitematā me te Wai o Horotiu. Tōtika tō haere ki Aotea-Te Papa Tū Wātea, he mea arahina koe e Kawau Tikitiki rātou ko Kāhu Kōrako, ko Manu Korokī, kia tūtaki koe ki tētahi whakakitenga muramura o ngā kaitiaki o te wāhi, i ngā parehua pātītī.

Kia whakamīharotia koe ki ngā rama, ngā āhua, te nui me ngā momo ora kua whakawhanakehia mō Tūrama e te ohu toi:  Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Haua, Ngāti Manu), Ataahua Papa (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta) me Angus Muir Design.

E whakahīhī ana Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau me Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei i te aranga o Tūrama me te ora o te whārua o Waihorotiu hei aronga ki Matariki ki te Manawa, hei haringa mō Tāmaki Makaurau whānui.

 

 

Tūrama Kaitiaki: Horotiu 

He tupua, he kaitiaki 

Wai o Horotiu is the ancestral river that once flowed through what is now the Queen Street valley. The river sustained and enabled settlement of this area over the millennia, and the valley is literally thick with ngā tapuwae o ngā mana o te whenua (the footprints of local tribes), embedded into this space over time, testament to the richness of local resources and strategic importance of this location. 

Alongside these tūpuna (ancestors), this valley and its river were also the domain of Horotiu, a being of both physical and metaphysical dimensions. Horotiu is recognised variously by ngā mana o te whenua as kaitiaki of this area, his domain; an enduring influence to remind us, and to challenge us. 

Despite the historic covering over and containment of Wai o Horotiu, this river still flows and dances beneath our feet, and retains both mana and mauri, albeit compromised significantly by our contemporary urban form and lifestyles. 

For Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, having Horotiu stand in this place in this way is a powerful and poignant challenge to us all to consider the health and wellbeing of our urban waterways and water systems, as plans for the development of Tāmaki Makaurau continue. Continuing to tell the many stories of this place, broadening understanding, and ensuring the education of the many generations ahead of us who will inhabit the legacies we are creating through our actions remain ongoing and important challenges for us all. 

The whenua now occupied by the Auckland Town Hall was once a kāinga (settlement site). Development of this space uncovered koiwi (human remains). The resting place of these tūpuna was disrupted, requiring them to be uplifted and reinterred elsewhere to enable construction. Horotiu in this place prompts us to remember the sacrifice of those who have shaped this place for all Aucklanders and whose memory we should acknowledge into the future. 

Horotiu is a collaboration between Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Manu), Ataahua Papa (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta) and Angus Muir Design. 

 

Ko Te Wai o Horotiu te tupuna awa i rere i te whārua o Queen Street. Nā te awa i hāpai, i āhei ai te noho i tēnei takiwā i ngā manomano tau. Kua kapi te whenua i ngā tapuwae o ngā mana o te whenua, waihoki he tohu o ngā rawa me te hira o tēnei wāhi.

Atu i ēnei tūpuna, he whaitua hoki tēnei whārua me tōna awa o Horotiu, he tipua o ngā ao e rua. E mōhiotia ana e ngā mana o te whenua i roto i ngā āhuatanga rerekē, ko Horotiu te kaitiaki o tēnei wāhi, o tōna whaitua. He mana mau roa tōna hei whakamahara, hei wero hoki i a tātou.

Ahakoa te taupokina me te whakakatinga o te Wai o Horotiu, e rere tonu ana tēnei awa i raro i ō tātou waewae, ā, e pupuri tonu ana i tōna mana me tōna mauri, heoi, kua tino pāngia e ngā āhuatanga o te noho tāone i ēnei rā.

Ki a Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, ko te tū a Horotiu i tēnei wāhi, i tēnei āhua hoki, he wero nui ki a tātou katoa kia whai whakaaro ki te oranga o ngā wai i te tāone me ngā pūnaha wai i a tātou e whakarite tonu ana i ngā whakawhanaketanga o Tāmaki Makaurau. He wero nui, he hira hoki ki a tātou katoa te kōrero tonu i ngā pūrākau maha o tēnei wāhi, te whakawhānui i te māramatanga, me te whakapau kaha kia whāia tonutia te mātauranga e ngā uri whakaheke ka kite i ngā hua o ā tātou nei mahi.

Ko te whenua e nōhia nei e te Hōro ā-Tāone o Tāmaki Makaurau, he kāinga nō mua. I ngā whakawhanaketanga o tēnei wāhi i huraina he kōiwi. I whakararuhia te wāhi takoto o ēnei tūpuna, nā, i hahu ai ngā kōiwi me te whakanehu ki wāhi kē atu, kia haere tonu ai ngā mahi hanga. Ko Horotiu i tēnei wāhi e whakamahara nei i a tātou ki ngā mahi nui a rātou mā kua whakaāhua i tēnei wāhi hei kāinga mō tātou katoa o Tāmaki Makaurau, ā, kia mahara tonu tātou ki a rātou haere ake nei.

He mahi ngātahi a Horotiu i waenga i a Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Manu), Ataahua Papa (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta) me Angus Muir Design. 

 

Supporting Tūrama Kaitiaki is an 18 minute soundscape, Oro Manawa, created by Ese Aumalesulu, Tejit Records, Waipounamu Silbery, Te Reo Lepou, and Ataahua Papa.