Whakaūwhera o Te Waka Aorere Ararau

Nelson Airport and the eight iwi of Te Tauihu marked a significant milestone this morning with a dawn blessing for a major new cultural design installation, a 22-metre-long airborne waka, within the region’s main gateway.

Aorere Ararau carries the resonance of Te Tai o Aorere and the naming traditions of our tūpuna, where names travelled and settled across landscapes as people did. Ao: cloud, sky, horizon. Rere: to flow, to fly, to move. Ararau: the many pathways that converge here; our waka origins, flight paths connecting us with the world, the migration of the Kuaka and so on.

Named Aorere Ararau, the waka hovers above the arrivals and departures hall of the airport, affixed to the angled ridgepole of the terminal ceiling. The waka weighs more than 1.3 tonnes, and took over 1,000 hours to manufacture and install. It recalls the form of some of the earliest waka in the region and was thoughtfully designed to complement the award-winning place-inspired architecture of the redeveloped terminal, which officially opened in 2019.

The waka functions as a tomokanga – a gateway or portal into the region – locating all those who pass beneath it within the stories and identity of Te Tauihu. It is adorned with bespoke cultural patterning, including whekū (carved faces) representing the eight iwi of the region, with a central pairing acknowledging tauiwi (those who have made this place home) and manuhiri (visitors). 

Kōwhaiwhai patterning extends from the hull onto the glass entrance panes of the terminal, and hundreds of internal LEDs illuminate the work from within.

Aorere Ararau is a deliberate act of cultural restoration. It asserts the presence of mana whenua within one of the region's most visible civic spaces — reshaping how Te Tauihu is encountered, understood, and remembered. As a gateway into the region, Nelson Airport carries the responsibility of introduction. This work responds directly to that responsibility.

The design and execution spanned over 14 months and was realised through a collaborative process between the eight iwi of Te Tauihu, Nelson Airport, cultural design specialists, artists, structural engineers, and fabricators.

Te Ātiawa o te Waka-a-Māui Chief Executive Justin Carter says, "Aorere Ararau celebrates our origins and our identity as people of Te Tauihu. To have our story reflected with such quality and confidence, in one of our most important civic spaces, is significant for us as iwi. We are proud to share this taonga with our whole community and all those who pass through our rohe."

Nelson Airport Chief Executive Brendan Cook says the airport carries a big responsibility as the first and last impression of the region for many people. "Aorere Ararau ensures that experience is grounded in the culture, stories, and identity of this place - and it does so with a beauty and sophistication we are immensely proud of. That is a testament to the strength of the partnership we have built with Ngā Iwi o Te Tauihu."

The name of the artwork reflects its location within Te Tai o Aorere (Tasman Bay), and speaks of many pathways moving in many directions, referencing flight paths, ancestral waka routes, and multiple roads, possibilities and opportunities meeting in this place.

Aorere Ararau is part a wider commitment to cultural expression and storytelling at the airport. It supports a regional effort to increase the visibility of toi Māori, under the iwi-led strategic initiative Kōpū, spurred on by the city’s arts and creativity strategy, He Tātai Whetū, which was adopted by Nelson City Council in 2022.