We’re so grateful to our Iwi partners Ngāti Toa for gifting names to some of the key structures on the road. The names reflect the area traversed by the Transmission Gully motorway. Ngāti Toa Rangatira kaumātua Tā Matiu Rei says the names gifted by the iwi were chosen to recognise many of the original place names that were changed during colonial settlement.
“We have been involved from the outset of the project and have, where possible, worked hard to influence decisions around cultural and environmental mitigation," Dr Taku Parai, board chair of Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, says.
"All in all, it has been a successful working relationship with the project, and we are pleased to have another opportunity to assert our presence as mana whenua."
You can learn more about the names and the history behind them in the video below:
If you’ve driven on SH1 near Linden recently, you may have noticed the art panels that now adorn two retaining walls just south of where the Transmission Gully motorway will connect with the existing SH1. The Corten steel panels have been designed by Ngāti Toa artists, Nathan Te Rei, Ashleigh Sagar and Rākairoa Hori.
It may appear as if they popped up by magic, but our TG elves have been busy working overnights to get the installation complete with minimum disruption to traffic.
Find out how they did it, and what the design means below:
