Ko ngā tini ahurea, ko ngā tohu o te whenua me te āhua o te noho a te tini ngeronero o te taone nui o Tāmaki Makaurau ka kitea rā i tētahi whakaari pūoro pukukata, he tuatahi o tōna momo, ko City of 100 Lovers te ingoa. Hei tā ngā kōrero a te kaiwhakaari nei, a Te Waihoroi Shortland, ko te ito o te whakaaturanga e waru mīriona tāra nei te wāriu, ko te ao Māori.
Ko tā Shortland, he whakaari pūoro whakaipoipo, hihiri nei e tū ana ki Tāmaki Makaurau.
“E kore e taea tēnei whakaari te mahi mei kore te papa o te kaupapa Māori i roto i a ia,” i mea atu ia.
“Koirā te mea kei te hāpai, koirā te mea kei te ora i te whakaari. I runga i tērā koia taku tino hari i whai wāhi au, ahakoa iti nei.”
Kotahi rau e rima tekau mā waru te tira mahi a ngā kaiwhakaari, kaimahi, kaihoahoa, kaiwhakahaere hoki o te whakaaturanga e waru tekau meneti te roanga me ngā tikanga Māori kua kōtuituia.
“I ngā rā katoa ka tū tātou ki te karakia kia pai ai te wairua o te mahi, kia whakawhanaungatanga i ngā kaimahi ngā kaitūranga i roto i tēnei kaupapa,” i kī atu a poutikanga Māori a Paora Sharples,
“He paku wāhanga o te haka o te waiata, he paku mahi poi.”
Nō tērā tau tōna orokohanga. Hei tā te kaitohutohu nō Te Āporonui hei tā Tony Stimac he mea nui te whakaatu i a Tāmaki Makaurau te pouherenga waka, pouherenga tāngata.
“What has struck me most about New Zealand is the genuine interweaving of cultures and we have worked hard to showcase this important element,” said Stimac.
Ka noho tūturu te whakaaturanga ki SkyCity ā ko te matapae ka piki te hunga mātakitaki ki te kotahi rau rima tekau mano I roto I ngā marama e iwa.
“Ka puawai ngā tikanga nō tua whakarere iho ka whakahuatia mai mō tēnei wā tonu. Nā reira kāore e kore ka ngana mai ngā taiohi,” te kupu a Sharples.
Ka whakarewa te whakaaturanga ā te tekau mā rua ā tērā marama.