Whangārei joins Minecraft project as teen recreates city in game

Northland teenager Sebastian Sobr-Sosnowski started actively building Whangārei on Minecraft last month and started with Okara Park.

First it was Kaitāia, and now Whangārei is set to be the second Northland city to earn a spot on Minecraft.

In December, Kaitāia teen Sebastian Sobr-Sosnowski recreated his hometown on the popular game Minecraft as part of the Build the Earth (BTE) project.

BTE aims to recreate Earth in Minecraft on a 1:1 scale and has about 160,000 members building various towns, cities and countries across the globe.

His feat made Kaitāia the first urban area to be completed on the server.

He has now moved on to Whangārei and is in the process of completing the Northern most city.

Sobr-Sosnowski started building Whangārei last month. He has completed Okara Park and has started on the Town Basin.

Sixteen-year-old Sebastian Sobr-Sosnowski recreating his town, Kaitaia on Minecaft

“I decided to do Whangārei because I wanted to try doing a city instead of doing towns again.

“I also picked Whangārei specifically because I go there quite often and have a lot of mates that live there.”

Sobr-Sosnowski said there is still a long way to go to complete the city and is getting help from some Whangārei locals.

“I doubt I can complete the city alone, but with all of us working together I think we can at least get a large chunk of the city done, and maybe over time the entire thing.

The Hundertwasser Art Centre is one of the features Northland teen Sebastian Sobr-Sowinski has started on.

“One challenge is that there is not much data in some areas, like parking lots and public parks for example.

“The community has been very helpful and has provided me with photos and have helped me a lot by doing so.”

Sobr-Sosnowski added that he is still trying to finish recreating Ahipara and Awanui.

He has gained some fans along the way.

Calida Webster said her two sons Garrett, 9, and Cooper, 7, find it amazing and love seeing people do something good for the city.

Garrett (left) and Cooper Webster, from Whangārei (with their dog Poppy) also like making things on Minecraft and admire what Sebastian Sobr-Sosnowski is doing.

She said her eldest son would love to have place where people of all ages into Minecraft could meet up.

“My youngest son Cooper has speech delay plus autism but loves making friends that love Pokémon, Minecraft and vehicles, especially Mini Coopers, and loves expresses his interests with so much love and enthusiasm.

“He loves making Minecraft cars, helicopters and aeroplanes and he shows his creations to friends and family and strangers.”

Sam Benson, who is helping Sobr-Sowinski, said ever since he started playing Minecraft he always wanted to somehow recreate Earth as an exhibit to modern civilisations.

“It’s a huge privilege and honour to feature Whangārei. While most people are building big cities like New York or London, I’m representing my small town of Whangārei. Build the Earth is a generational effort, and I’m pleased to be a part of it. My journey has only just begun.”