The Tūpuna Maunga Authority and design consultancy firm Boffa Miskell Ltd has created what a Papa Tākaro looks like in 21st century Aotearoa.
Whānau Ātea is the newest Papa Tākaro restoration project on Te Pane o Mataoho/Te Ara Pueru/Māngere Mountain, which will see a broad collection of traditional Māori and contemporary play that is inclusive and intergenerational.
Tūpuna Maunga Authority chairman Paul Majurey says Whānau Ātea is a three-year-long project focused on creating a stronger bond between the maunga and its community.
“When the project was first proposed in 2019, the space held a small, run-down playground, skate park, and basketball hoop. The authority worked to ‘promote an enduring relationship between the maunga and the wider community’, and envisaged a place of gathering, recreating, and sharing pūrakau and kai.”
TMA and Boffa Miskell worked alongside many mātanga Māori and other specialists in creating this Papa Tākaro, which will see the first permanent and public kī-o-rahi field for kīorahi Tāmaki Mākaurau, an integrated kāpehu whetu/Māori star compass, a new basketball court reflecting local pūrākau through mahi toi integrated into the existing skate-park and many more new and exciting features.
