Waimarino opening

  • 22 Mar 2024

On Saturday 24 February 2024, Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui and the Te Ara Tupua project team officially opened Waimarino, the new Rowing and Waterski Clubs Building at Honiana Te Puni Reserve, culturally significant land owned by Taranaki Whānui.

The new purpose-built building was built due to the clubs' existing buildings being within the construction area of Te Ara Tupua.

The name Waimarino was gifted by Kura Moeahu with the narrative ‘Te waimarino o te hau raki’ which references the calm waters along the coastline from Ngā Ūranga to Pito-one when the prevailing northerly winds blow.

The art installation on the exterior of Waimarino designed by iwi artist Len Hetet and gifted the name and narrative ‘Te Herenga Whenua, Te Herenga Tangata, Te Herenga Tupuna - Bound to the Land, Bound to the People, Bound to the Ancestors’ which depicts the many land masses that were created by Ngake and Whātaitai from the ancestral mountains, waterways and villages to all the lands that lie within the realm of Te Whanganui-a-Tara.