Kōrero: Northland places

Wave and waka sculpture

Wave and waka sculpture

Ngātiwai sculptor Te Warihi Hetaraka shapes the prow of a stone waka, which now forms part of the landmark ‘Waka and Wave’ at Hīhīaua Point, at the entrance to the Whangārei Town Basin. This major sculpture project was created in collaboration with another renowned sculptor, Chris Booth, who designed the enormous stone waves that appear to partially engulf the 20-metre-long waka tētē (fishing waka). The work can be read as a comment on colonisation, but also acknowledges the history of the site as a landing place for waka and later as a point of arrival for Pākehā seafarers.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Northern Advocate

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Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Claudia Orange, 'Northland places - Whangārei city and environs', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/photograph/7873/wave-and-waka-sculpture (accessed 30 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Claudia Orange, updated 1 May 2015