Three huge sculptures depicting some of the rich cultural history of Tauranga’s Te Papa Peninsula have been installed as part of an upgrade of Cameron Road.
Tauranga artist and carver Whare Thompson from Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua and Te Whakatōhea worked with mana whenua on the works, which are made with Corten steel and Hinuera stone.
The work at First Avenue is based on the kō or traditional wooden digging stick as a reminder the area was once a place of fertile and productive gardens.
At Seventh Avenue, there’s a fountain based on a pātaka or and featuring an intricate kōwhaiwhai belonging to Ngāi Tamarāwaho.
The fountain design on top of the structure is designed to catch rainwater which will gently spray out, symbolising the life cycle of growth.
At the intersection of Fifteenth Avenue and SH2, there is a stone sculpture of a water-carrying tahā or bottle gourd representing the concept of manaakitanga – the showing of care and respect for people.
Thompson says it’s a reference to the Battle of Pukehinahina/Gate Pā in April 1864, when some Māori women are known to have tended to wounded soldiers by giving them water and loading them onto horses so they could be taken to the field hospital for treatment.
Ngāi Tamarāwaho spokesperson Buddy Mikaere says the works not only capture some key aspects of hapū history but are also a tribute to the late Peri Kohu who strongly influenced many of the cultural aspects of the Cameron Road upgrade before he died in 2022.
“I think Peri would have been very pleased with the outcome,” Mikaere says.
- Waatea News