Waka Moana demonstrates how public art, landscape architecture, mātauranga Māori and contemporary fabrication can combine to create enduring civic infrastructure grounded in cultural identity, collective memory and public experience. Emerging from the whenua toward the moana, these waka reconnect Wynyard Quarter to its deeper histories while establishing a powerful contemporary expression of mana whenua presence within the evolving waterfront of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Designed by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei (NWŌ) artist Graham Tipene in partnership with Auckland Council, mana whenua and LandLAB, the project re-establishes a powerful cultural connection between the city, Te Waitematā and the historic waka traditions of the waterfront. Emerging from the landscape of Daldy Street Linear Park, the nine waka sculptures recall the area’s history as a place of gathering, navigation and exchange prior to reclamation and industrialisation.

Set alongside the Daldy Street Linear Park, the location called for innovative engineering solutions for standing the artworks. The forms are located within a series of functional rain gardens. Foundations were engineered to span the width of the gardens, allowing water to flow under the structures. Materials and techniques from the marine industry past and present were employed to meet the challenges of the coastal designation and the complex geometry of the forms, ensuring the artwork would be low maintenance and meet the requirements of 30 years longevity.

Waka Moana is a significant cultural and civic achievement - a contemporary expression of mana whenua identity embedded within one of Auckland’s most prominent urban regeneration precincts. The project demonstrates how collaboration between artist, landscape architect, engineers, fabricators, council and mana whenua can produce enduring public infrastructure that is simultaneously artistic, ecological, cultural and deeply connected to place.