A breakthrough for landmark sculpture

RESTORING THE MAURI: An image of the Hawaiiki Turanga sculpture at its planned site west of the Waikanae Stream.

Nearly three years after the Te Ha commemorations it appears the Hawaiiki Turanga sculpture might finally be installed next to Waikanae Stream.

A Gisborne District Council meeting last week revealed the council could gain Three Waters Better Off funding of $7.21 million, including $400,000 for remediation of asbestos contamination around the sculpture's long-planned site in front of the Harbourview apartments.

The site has been fenced off since the discovery of asbestos and other contaminants in 2019. The council and iwi were unable to agree over remediation methods and costs, leaving an eyesore on one of the district's prominent walkways.

A staff report prepared for the council meeting said the funding application, if approved, would be used to restore the mauri (essence) of the site in a culturally appropriate way so the sculpture could be installed.

The funding will allow for earthworks and contamination removal; foundations and paving; the installation of artwork, landscaping and ancillary infrastructure.

The report says the project will “create a sense of place at a historically important site for Aotearoa/New Zealand; tell our stories of place and people in an authentic way”.

At the council meeting, councillor Pat Seymour said the Hawaiiki Turanga issue had “been around for ages”.

“If we put that to bed, that has to be good.”

Cr Shannon Dowsing, who voted against the Three Waters Better Off funding application because of a lack of detail about the various projects and constrained timelines, said the Hawaiiki Turanga sculpture had been discussed “in the background” for a long time.

But as a councillor, he had “no idea of the project”.

Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said Hawaiiki Turanga had been put forward by mana whenua as a priority for the funding.

The 6.3-metre-high and 16m-wide sculpture is based on Ruapani, a paramount chief of Turanganui-a- Kiwa who has a common thread to all tribes of Tairawhiti.

The sculpture has two separate pieces. The main sculpture represents the front of a wharenui while a poutokomanawa (centre ridge post of a wharenui) represents Ruapani.

The council report said the installation would be a prominent and important cultural and social icon within the region.

“It will be an imposing artpiece of mixed media (bronze, steel and copper) on the western bank of the Turanganui River.”

Discussions have been held since 1998 on using suitable artwork to acknowledge traditional ownership of the land under the “Wattie's Accord”.

A contract to create a Hawaiiki Turanga sculpture was awarded in 2011 and a contract was signed in 2014.

The Gisborne Herald reported in 2013 that the estimated cost of the sculpture was $355,000 with Gisborne District Council contributing $100,000.

In 2020 a spokeswoman said the council had spent $138,000 on the Ruapani sculpture since 2012, with the waharoa (entrance way) being funded by Te Runanga o Turanganui a Kiwa. The council had spent $77,000 on installation and foundations and would also cover the costs of landscaping around the sculpture, and its ongoing maintenance, she said.