Te Ara Tukutuku

Since 2011, Aucklanders have experienced the transformation of their inner-city waterfront - opening it up from former port-related uses to become a world-class destination that excites the senses and celebrates our sea-loving cultures and maritime history.

The next stage of the long-term change will create a celebrated area at the space you might know as Wynyard Point, or the northern end of Wynyard Quarter.

Over the next ten to fifteen years, this area will be transformed into one of the most beautiful open spaces and waterfront destinations in Tāmaki Makaurau.

It will be a unique and engaging space for the people of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Eke Panuku is co-designing alongside their Mana Whenua partners, technical specialists (mātauranga and western), and design collective Toi Waihanga - together addressing site challenges, healing the space from its industrial past, and applying regenerative practice and culturally led design to help restore the mauri of the area.

Read more about the project here.

Designed to be a space for everyone, the project coordinators have been collecting feedback from the public about what amenities they would like to see incorporated into the plans. The project program follows 'Tāmata te Mauri, te Tarai, te Pōhutukawa’, aiming to heal, form, and cultivate the area, stating its mission is to reconnect people with Te Waitematā and return to a state of mauri ora (wellbeing), for the area and the people who use it.

A site not previously open to the public, the industrial space will see contamination management taking place before any development occurs and has a phased approach to the site’s development. The brief forming phase ran from 2010 to 2020, information sharing and gathering occurred in 2022 and currently, the forming ideas and draft vision for public consultation is happening, with ideas being submitted by the public until the end of August 2024. The next phase will see the project move into a Testing and Refinement of Ideas for Public Consultation and after, Design, Development and Consenting should be underway.

Innovative in its design, the concept shifts away from regular public spaces as we know it, incorporating unique features, including.

Nature immersion: Explore a coastal ngahere and visit a plant nursery, learn in outdoor classrooms, follow an urban stream to the ocean and see climate resilience in action.

Marine interaction: Engage with marine life through habitat education, see marine clean-up and habitat from the shore and dip your feet in the shallow waters of Te Waitematā.

Cultural connection: Learn about traditional activities and Te Ao Māori (Māori world view), hear Mana Whenua stories, attend ceremony and enjoy live waiata performances.

Cultural immersion: Get hands-on with waka, participate in and observe waka launches and engage with indigenous knowledge and regenerative practices.

Community events: Engage in or watch community and Mana Whenua-led events in the plaza spaces and experience something new.

Scenic lookouts: Take in the 360-degree views from the headland, enjoy lookouts around the coast for city and harbour views and observe the working waterfront including waka ramp and marine restoration.

The Te Ara Tukutuku vision is to enjoy, explore, connect with community, engage in nature, and interact with whenua (land) and wai (water) environments.