Whitipoua Bridge

Te Kore - Te Pō – Te Ao

Sam Te Tau

This design is about the Maori creation story, the moving from darkness into light. Te Kore is the void before our universe was created. Te Po is the long night that followed, moving us closer to the first light known as Te Ao.

Tāne Mahuta separates Ranginui and Papatūānuku

Sam Te Tau

This design represents our Maori Atua. Ranginui is the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother. They were in close embrace and darkness, thus giving birth to their many children. After much deliberation, one of the children, Tane Mahuta, is said to have separated his parents thus causing Te Ao, (light) to appear.

Tangaroa

Hine Manaena

This Pou is my representation of Tangaroa (the Atua of all water). There is a one wavy line going through the whole Pou, that represents the Waipoua river and how the many waterways that fed into it have been altered and changed. The pattern at the very top represents our eel (tuna) migration to the Pacific ocean and its different stages of life. The koru in the very middle is the tuna in the egg stage, second one is the tuna making its way back to our rivers and streams as a young elver, the third is when the tuna is an adult and parenting it’s offspring, the last one represents the tuna going back into the moana (ocean) to repeat the cycle of life. The pattern below represents our fresh water shell fish, the kakahi, that are one of the many fish that are facing extinction. The pattern in the middle represents how our tipuna (ancestors) would give birth to their babies in the Waipoua awa, blessing their whanau in water.

Waipoua waiora

Kawana Rongonui

This design represents the many pathways of water that are in the Waipoua awa. The vertical lines of the pattern is the rain that falls on the Tararua maunga (the two triangles) and then flowing out to the other waterways. They form rivers, streams and springs that feed the Waipoua river. The three central groves are Nga Kete o Matauranga, the three baskets of knowledge that Tane nui a Rangi was given by Io Matua, the God of all things. They are as wellsprings of guidance for our people. Tane ascended to the upper most heaven to achieve this and thus the pattern resembling the ladder. They three groves also resemble waka (canoe) that carry us through life, as the many waka that did carry our tipuna along the Waipoua awa, connecting them with whanau, marae and kai along the many other connecting waterways throughtout the Wairarapa.

Kupe

Sam Te Tau

Approximately 28 generations ago, or sometime around the 14th century a man named Kupe sailed to New Zealand from Hawaiki. Kupe is a polynesian ancestor who chased a mischevious octopus, te Wheke o Muturangi, all the way to Aotearoa. Kupe finally killed it in Raukawakawa, the Cook straight. The triangles represent Kupe's sail, a prominent landmark at Matakitaki, Cape Palliser, on the Wairarapa coastline. The diamonds represent the fish that were being eaten by te Wheke o Muturangi, thus causing Kupe to find Aotearoa. The circle represents a hole in a rock that Kupe were look through known as Te Matakitakinga a Kupe, the place from where Kupe gazed towards Kaikoura where his daughter had gone.

The pattern is also a reminder that the Waipoua awa flows out to the moana and that ika, fish, from the moana have populated our fresh water streams.

Haunui a Nanaia

Sam Te Tau

This Pou represents the Tipuna Haunui a Nanaia as he named many of the place names in Wairarapa including the Waipoua awa. The Waipoua name itself refers to Haunui a Nanaia crossing the Waipoua and using his pou, (wooden stick) to measure its depth. The design represents his pou in the centre. It has many lines that are the rivers that he crossed on a journey that saw him name many prominent waterways and landmarks in the southern north island. The triangles are the maunga, (mountains) that he crossed and the notches are his footprints and jorney's that will always be remembered. I have also include the poutama symbols on the left and right. They represent the stairway of knowledge and the guidance that one recieves when following a sacred task, as was Haunui a Nanaia.

Ngā Marae a Waipoua

Sam Te Tau

This design represents the many Marae that once flanked the Waipoua awa. The central line is the poutokomanawa (the heart line and spiritual connection) that joins us as whanau (family) and the weaving pattern is the whakapapa of the many hapu that lived with the awa, and that we are all connected. This is represented in the centre area of the design. Later there were seven Marae that both flanked and were in close proximity to the Waipoua. The Marae are represented by the Maihi (arms) that come off the central pou.

Whakaoriori

Peter Amunsden

I chose the Whakaoriori, the Māori name for Masterton, as my theme because I remember the orator, Mike Kawana, explaining that the word lullaby is a poor transation for Whakaoriori. Whakaoriori are not only sung to babies, they are important ‘songs’, sometimes composed on the birth of a chiefly child to teach him/her their ancestry and tribal history. During whakaoriori, a vocalist’s eyes will pūkana to Rangi and Papa or to the sides and this is portrayed in the design. The koru are the pupil of the eye as well they represent the mother, father and child.

Taamitanga

Kawana Rongonui

Hurumututanga

Mei Manaia Warakihi Stevens

The main concept of this design is the extinction of our fish and other living things in our waters. The design in the middle is called 'pātiki' or 'flounder', which can be found in many designs across all our kōwhaiwhai in Aotearoa. The main concept behind 'pākati haehae' is to represent the connections of the waters/rivers in Wairarapa our fish lived in. You can also see the pattern 'unaunahi' within the 'pātiki' and 'pākati haehae'. Unaunahi translates to fish scales. Which again reinforces the idea and concept of this design representing our fish that lived in abundance in the time of our ancestors. In each pātiki we can see that there is a black coloured pātiki in the middle, this represents our ancestor 'Hine‐nui‐te‐pō'. This is to emphasize the idea of our fish being extinct. No, it is not Hine‐nui‐te‐pō, but a representation of her to enchance the kaupapa of this design, which is the extiction of our fish in the Wairarapa.

Oranga Taiao

Hine Manaena

The Waipoua was surrounded by lush abundant growth that our tipuna used for building their shelters, making clothing and food (kai) etc. The weaving pattern at the back of the design represents us trying to weave ourselves back together and to help re‐establish our Taiao (natural environment). The koru (spiral) pattern is thick and wild at the bottom and thins once you get to the top. This is because those resources that were abundant have gone and many native flora and fauna are extinct. The very small koru at the top is detached from the main plant and represents the efforts being made now to regenerate and replant our wildlife, to bring back our native flora and fauna. The weaving pattern is on an unusual angle representing the difficult path for us to make the changes that are necessary to restore our environment. Like climbing a hill, it won't be easy, there will be ups and downs but we need to make the effort!

Mate Hinengaro

Kawana Rongonui

This represents Disease. The negative spaces represent disease that affects us all today mentally, physically and spiritually causing sickness, chaos and confusion. The koru represents everyone and how we are all connected to each other, therefore the health of one affects us all.

Manarite-kore

Hine Manaena

The top represents racism, as you can see there are lines going against each other, this symbolizes the different kinds of racist going against each another.

The one shown below that is to represent inequality. The are lines that are kinda scrambled around showing that there are more than one person trying to be in control which creates inequality. As you can see I did quite sharp and unequal shapes in the middle this is to represent humans, and the black that surrounds us is the barrier that sperate us from our rights.

In this bottom one you can see almost the same pattern except one is going up and the other is going down, is the different sex's on one side is has the female on the top and on the other side there is the male on top, In the bottom triangle, there is a sort of teeth pattern was show that we are kind of biting each other to the point that we are still fighting for what sex's is more important.

Awa Turoro

Sam Rimene

This panel represents Waipoua awa. It stresses the importance of finding and implementing solutions to restore the health to the Waipoua and many other waterways across Aotearoa. The X pattern running down the centre and along the edges of the panel represents the loss of flora and fauna that once provided shade for species that inhabited Waipoua. Each line vibrating from the centre of the awa represents the rippling effect that toxic run off from agricutural farm land and pollution sources have on the awa. This impacts on the mauri (spirit) that inhabits the wai (water) the surrounding whenua (land) and the inhabitants. For many generations our tipuna have lived from and alongside the Waipoua awa. We need to make the changes that will make it safe and healthy for future generations.

Parahanga Taiao

Kawana Rongonui

This design represents three areas in life. The sky( Rangnui) the Earth (whenua) and the sea (moana). These are all suffering from pollution. The top we see Tamanui‐te‐ra (the sun) in the middle we have the Papatuanuku, (the earth) and at the bottom and we have Tangaroa (the ocean). The dark areas represent pollution.

Ko au te Awa, Ko te Awa ko au

Raniera Watene‐Lee

My design is based on the river, fish and birds. The Kowhaiwhai design is my interpretation of Koiri (rat) which represents prosperity & multiplication, accompanied with unaunahi (fish scales) which is symbolic of abundance, wealth and prosperity. The whakatauki “Ko au te Awa, Ko te Awa ko au” translates to “I am the river and te river is me."

Heoi e āku iti, e āku rahi, e āku rangatira, huri noa ki o tātou maunga, ki o tātou Marae, ki o tātou whenua, ki Nga Awa. Tēna koutou katoa.

Matauranga

Kawana Rongonui

My design represents knowledge. Then top pattern is Poutama, the stairway of learning that leads us to knowledge. The three triangles represent Nga Kete o Maturanga) the three baskets of knowledge that Tane received from the heavens. Maori learning comes from these Kete. The patterns bellow represents the seven levels of learning common in the Maori tradition school, Te Whare Wananga. The koru (spirals) are the teacher and the student. Around them are their most important supporters, whanau (family) and the community. Education must be accessible and achievable for all. This is how our future becomes safe and secure.

Huatika PaporiHine Manaena

In this one you can see a weaving pattern at the bottom, this represents equality and all of being united. The main pattern is to represent justice as a whole, I took inspiration from the Scales Of justice.

Hauora (A healthy humanity and the environment)

Carl Rongonui

I have illustrated Kawakawa, an important Rongoa (medicine) used for healing. The use of our native plants I belief will become common once again and used to restore our health, building strength and resilience into future generations.

Kotahitanga (Unity)

Sam Te Tau

This pattern represents the spiral of life and the weave of creation. Science tells us that our DNA is almost identical to all things in nature which proves what our tipuna said, that we are all threads in the same kakahu (cloak) of life. Our Wairarapa history is unique in how Maori invited Pakeha to settle here, giving land and access to food and resources. It was their wish that we come together in harmony and peace, to collaborate, to share knowledge and to form a progressive, unified system that benefits all.