Myers Park’s meaningful transformation
Waimahara at Myers Park underpass is a must-see interactive art installation referencing the hidden water sources that transverse the inner city site.
Kaynemaile and IION were used to bring the artist’s vision to life, along with multiple sound recordings made by mana whenua composers.
Waimahara by Graeme Tipene, located at the underpass in Auckland’s Myers Park is the cherry on top of the park’s recent modernisation.
The Myers Park upgrade includes this new stairway providing access to Queen Street.
Dawn ceremony attendees walk along the newly constructed boardwalk at the northern end of Myers Park.
Left: David Thomas of Auckland Council; right: Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei mātanga toi Graham Tipene.
Crowds at the dawn ceremony blessing the site and officially opening it to the public.
Stairway detail with pattern design by artist Tessa Harris (Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki).
This summer, Aucklanders and visitors who step into Myers Park will discover something deeply meaningful in a new art installation by Graeme Tipene.
At the northern end of the park, a shimmering aqua-blue art work named Waimahara has been installed. The new artwork aims to evoke the ancient water sources along Queen Street — now flowing beneath the ground — in this inner-city valley. The name Waimahara means a remembering of water, and a remembering of Te Waihorotiu, the stream that flows quietly underneath the underpass.
Auckland Council’s Public Art team worked with artist Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Manu), a team of talented mana whenua composers and several New Zealand companies, including IION and Kaynemaile to create the extraordinary world-class art work.
Opening in December last year, Waimahara is integrated into the landscape of the Mayoral Drive underpass in Myers Park. A sensorial experience of light and audio effects — made up from birdsong, taonga pūoro and water sounds — adds a layer of ambient sound. The presence of visitors and active weather can both further intensify and change the light and sound experiences its setting.
Hayley Wolters, Auckland Council Manager Public Art, Service Strategy and Partnerships, says there are a thousand different combinations of light and sound people will experience as they pass through the underpass.
“No two passes will be the same,” says Wolters. Interactive features (all interactive features expected by March 2024), give visitors the option to learn one of two waiata and sing it in the park. “With accurate rhythm and pitch, singing will trigger another dimension of audio and light response. It will be well worth the wait,” she says.
Through partnership with mana whenua, Graham Tipene and Tessa Harris (Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki) were invited to develop cultural artworks that would be embedded into the project. Tessa’s artwork can be seen in the patterning on the stairwell that connects the Mayoral Drive and Queen Street corner with Myers Park.
The artists embraced the opportunity to develop a truly unique cultural expression in this place in the heart of the arts precinct which defines a regenerating midtown.
The project for the renewal of the northern end of the park — including boardwalk, wetland gardens, a new stairway from/to Queen Street and a redeveloped underpass entry / exit — represents the final stage of the redevelopment of Myers Park, supported by the city centre targeted rate.
The recent makeover reflects the keen interest the Waitematā Local Board, Auckland Council, and the Auckland City Centre Advisory Panel have had in regenerating the city’s 112-year old park.
