Waiwaia

Waipā Public Art

Indoor

Waiwaia

Dr Pakariki Harrison

Artwork details

Date	circa 1980
Mediums	Whakairo carving
Physical description	Vertical finely carved wooden sculpture in the shape of a taniwha with paua shell inlaid and green painted vine, suspended on the wall by its mounts.

Description

This whakairo carving depicts the taniwha Waiwaia who is known as the guardian of the waterways within the Waipā catchment as its home. “Waiwaia paenga tau – Waiwaia of many resting places”

It was commissioned by Dr Rongo Wetere and gifted by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa to the people of the Waipā District.

This artwork sits between two tukutuku hand woven panels, each supporting the others kaupapa vision.

Dr Pakariki Harrison (1928-2008) was regarded as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s greatest carvers. In the 1980s Pakariki lectured at the University of Auckland and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Literature in 1991. In 1997, he received a Te Waka Toi Award in recognition for his lifetime achievements.

Dr Harrison has shown his work in exhibitions nationally and overseas in Italy Japan, France, USA and Australia.

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Location

Waipā District Council Chambers, Bank Street, Te Awamutu

Millennium 2000

Waipā Public Art

Outdoor

Millennium 2000

Sonia Frimmel & Natalie Douglas

Artwork details

Date	2000
Medium	Stone, concrete, metal
Physical description	Five stone and concrete sculptures of various sizes depicting Karioi, Pirongia, Kakepuku, Te Kawa and Tokanui. A flax design spreads across three of the sculptures.

Description

The Sculpture Park was developed as a millennium project by volunteer group “Keep Te Awamutu Beautiful Society”.

This sculpture sits at the entrance of the park.

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Location

Sculpture Park – Albert Drive, Te Awamutu

Mātakitaki Pā

Waipā Public Art

Outdoor

James Webster Pou - Waka Poumaumahara - Te Whānau Pani

Te Mātakitaki i ngā Patupaiarehe o runga o Pirongia

James Webster

Artwork details

Date	2022
Mediums	Wood, paint, metal
Physical description	Four hand carved mixed media sculptures erected along the pathway through the pā site. The main entrance features a waharoa depicting Te Uri a significant kaitiaki of the site and tangata whenua who lived here.

Description

Mātakitaki Pā was once a flourishing and well-fortified location for tangata whenua until 1822 when Ngāpuhi came down and participated in the overthrow of the pā by musket force. This was the first introduction of musket battles into the Waikato of the time.

In 2022, to commemorate the reconciliation between hapū connected to the pā and members of Te Rūnanga o Ngāpuhi, James Webster was commissioned to create four pou whakairo hand-carved sculptures. Webster and his team of carvers developed the artwork with nearby Pūrekireki Marae, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hikairo and Waipā District Council.

James Webster is of Tainui and Te Arawa descent who has a number of artworks located in the Waipā district. He is a freelance multi-disciplined artist in bone, stone and wood whakairo, painting, taonga pūoro, karetao and tā moko.

Click on the image to view the collection of whakairo hand-carved sculptures.

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Location

Mātakitaki Pā – Franklin Street State Highway 39, Pirongia.

Te Paenga o Uenuku

PUBLIC ART

Outdoor

Te Paenga o Uenuku

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

Artwork details

Date	2016
Medium	Wood
Physical description	Four pou whakairo with painted kōwhaiwhai patterns in red, black and white, erected side-by-side.

Description

Te Paenga o Uenuku – The Resting Place of Uenuku. The four pou are located as close as possible to where the pou whakairo Uenuku was found at Lake Ngā Roto in 1906.

The spaces between the four pou represent seven Atua: Tāne-mahuta, Tangaroa, Tāwhiri-mātea, Tūmatauenga, Haumia-tiketike and Ruamoko. The lizards painted at the of of each pou embody the kaitiaki that protect the lake.

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Location

Lake Ngā Roto by the entrance to the boardwalk, Te Awamutu.