New Taonga Toi Unveiled at Te Waihorotiu Station to Celebrate Mana Whenua Narratives

The landscape of central Tāmaki Makaurau has been transformed with the unveiling of two significant public artworks at the new Te Waihorotiu City Rail Link (CRL) station. Reported by Waatea News on 31 July 2026, the installations, titled Wāhine and Horotiu, serve to anchor te ao Māori at the centre of one of the country’s largest transport infrastructure projects. The artworks were developed in close partnership with mana whenua to ensure that Māori history and cultural identity are visible to the thousands of commuters expected to pass through the precinct daily. According to the report, the project seeks to move beyond using Māori art as mere decoration, instead embedding authentic narratives of tikanga and identity into the very architecture of the city’s public spaces. The first work, Wāhine, is a tribute to the enduring strength and leadership of wāhine Māori. It acknowledges their roles as knowledge holders and protectors of whakapapa, reflecting values of resilience and intergenerational leadership. By placing these stories in a high-traffic transit hub, the project ensures the vital contributions of Māori women are recognised by a wide audience. The companion piece, Horotiu, draws its inspiration from the ancient Waihorotiu stream that flowed through the area prior to urban development. The work is designed to reconnect visitors with the natural environment and the kaitiakitanga (guardianship) of the land that existed long before the modern city was built. It serves as a physical reminder that the whenua retains its own memory and identity even beneath modern infrastructure. As part of the City Rail Link—the largest transport investment in New Zealand’s history—these taonga toi mark a milestone in contemporary civic design. The project demonstrates a growing commitment to incorporating Māori design principles to ensure that major infrastructure projects reflect the unique cultural heritage of Aotearoa.