More than 100 people, including Northland business and civic leaders, Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis (Labour), Whangarei MP Shane Reti (National) and iwi leaders, stood in the warm sunshine only metres from the beach where Hawaiki will make landfall, tied all the way to San Francisco, 14,000 kilometres away.
''Northland is the winner'' was the key message about the project largely born and raised to this stage by regional development agency, Northland Inc.
In the vein of ''build it and they will come'', Mr Key and Ms Adams referred to the impact on the region's economic development, jobs, education and even housing - but the only hard promise of government spending on infrastructure or incentives to help grow those areas was the already planned second stage roll-out of ultra-fast fibre in Northland.
Hawaiki chairman Sir Eion Edgar said the cable would benefit New Zealand through greater capacity, competition in internet pricing, resilience of supply and increased IT-related business opportunities.
Digital industry mogul, Hawaiki chief executive and the main financial backer, Remi Galasso said a survey of the Northland coastline and accessibility to infrastructure and industry-potential sites such as Ruakaka and Whangarei made Bream Tail the ideal landing point.
"Once complete, the Hawaiki cable will also add an extra layer of resilience and security in the event of a natural disaster," Ms Adams said.
Four years in the planning and another two before it will be delivered, the Hawaiki cable will provide Australia's fastest international digital connection - at more than 30 terabits per second, or five times the current capacity used in New Zealand.
The all-New Zealand, privately funded project has attracted government buy-in to the tune of $65m for an ''anchor tenancy contract'' through REANNZ (the Crown-owned Research and Education Advance Networks NZ).
Dr Reti said he was pleased to see the project finally under way.
''Show me the jobs . . . that's the ultimate measure for Northland,'' he said.
Among the speech making, Te Uri o Hau leader Russell Kemp welcomed the high-profile delegation to the site, reminding the prime minister that Ngati Whatua hapu were waiting for Waitangi Treaty settlements to be concluded at nearby Te Arai and Kaipara.
That would enable them to partake in economic development opportunities such as that promised through Hawaiki, Mr Kemp said.
When the marine survey, the cable laying and its commissioning are finished, around mid-2018, Hawaiki will provide the fourth as well as the fastest New Zealand international data link. The other three are through the Southern Cross cable and Tasman Global Access.
From the seabed the cable will plug into a landing station - the meeting place of the submarine and the terrestrial cables, travel under the private access road to Bream Tail Farm properties, emerge at the junction of Waipu Cove Rd and instantly enter the nation's digital landscape.
