Te Waihorotiu
The name Te Waihorotiu honours the nearby Waihorotiu Stream. Today the stream is buried below Queen Street. It once flowed in the open, past Horotiu pā (historical fortified village) to the Waitematā Harbour.
The station name connects past and present. In the past, the Waihorotiu Stream supported daily life, cooking, washing, bathing and growing food for those who lived nearby. Today, Te Waihorotiu Station supports the movement of people into and across this same whenua.
The Waihorotiu Stream originated further south at the Karanga-a-Hape ridgeline, around the area now known as Myers Park. Another branch of the stream flowed down from the sides of the Horotiu pā.
Horotiu pā sat on an elevated site at the Rangipuke settlement, near the area now known as Albert Park.
E whakanui ana te ingoa o Te Waihorotiu i te roma e tata ana, arā, ko Waihorotiu. I ēnei rā, kua hunaia te awa nei ki raro iho o Queen Street.
I rere kau atu te awa rā i mua i Horotiu pā ki Te Waitematā.
Mana whenua cultural stories are expressed at Te Waihorotiu Station through 4 design elements: the sky, earth, threshold and fourth elements.
Together, these elements shape how the station is seen and experienced.
Sky element
At Te Waihorotiu, the sky element is formed using aluminium fins in 3 colours: blue, light blue and white. The fins wrap around the upper level of the Wellesley Street entrance building.
The look of the wrap changes depending on where you stand, symbolising the different ways the sky can appear.
A stepped poutama pattern runs across the canopy. This represents the tears of Ranginui (Sky Father) as he is separated from Papatūānuku (Earth Mother) by their son Tāne, in the Māori creation story.
The poutama pattern also symbolises the advancement of knowledge.
Fourth element
The fourth element represents te whaiao, the first glimmer of daylight. It connects the earth and sky elements adding layers of strength and light to the design.
At Te Waihorotiu, this element is expressed through the glass canopy, dark columns, escalators and lifts. Together, they recall the moment light entered the world.
These features are a physical reminder of the moment when Tāne pushed apart his parents, Ranginui (Sky Father) and Papatūānuku (Earth Mother).
Threshold element
The threshold element marks the move from the street into the station below. At Te Waihorotiu, the threshold is located above the ticket gates at the Wellesley Street entrance.
Here, gold-coloured rods hang from the ceiling. They resemble raupō (the stems of the bulrush plant) growing and moving in water.
As people walk beneath them, the rods create a soft rippling effect as if moving in water. At their centre is Horotiu, the kaitiaki (guardian or spirit protector) of the area.
Earth element
The earth element represents Papatūānuku (Earth Mother). At Te Waihorotiu Station, it is expressed through earth-coloured concrete panels that cover the lower exterior and interior of the entrance building.
The colour and texture reference Waitematā sandstone, commonly seen on cliffs around Tāmaki Makaurau. The paving design in front of the main entrance represents a seam of sandstone.
A rock bed on Wellesley Street represents Haumia-tiketike (atua, or deity, of fernroot and uncultivated food). The design expresses energy, wildness, koru, bracken fern and irregularity.
Dense scrub and fern once covered the banks of the Waihorotiu Stream.
Mana whenua artist
Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Manu).
"Te Waihorotiu is named after the awa (stream) that once ran openly down Queen Street, and its connection to Ngāti Whātua.
My entire expression of interest for this project was about integrating Māori design and engineering into the build, instead of building the station and then adding some pretty artwork later.
As a young fella in the 1970s and 1980s, the only place I could see Māori design was at the museum.
I’m hell bent on changing that. I want our kids to see themselves wherever they go.
We’re getting our design work out there so our kids can recognise themselves wherever they go in this city.
My thinking was, “Let’s look at the surrounding area of the building and what is historically significant close by”.
And the Horotiu Stream was it.
The design of the station symbolises the spirit of the water and the water’s connection to humans, and then us as guardians of that water."