Botanic Garden ki Paekākā to the waterfront

Now underground, Tutaenui Awa flows from the hill at Bolton Street, down Bowen Street to the original shoreline at Lambton Quay and out to the harbour.

Long associated with burials and matters relating to those who have passed on, this awa holds significance for mana whenua Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui who lived at Pipitea Pā, and their descendants today.

The artwork Kaiota on the retaining wall next to the uphill bike lane responds to this area’s name and heritage as a significant food cultivation and hunting place for mana whenua.

The mural is the work of Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington-based artist Ariki Brightwell (Te Whānau-a-Ruataupere, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, Ngāti Mutunga, Rangitāne, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toa Rangitira, Te Arawa ki Tūwharetoa, Tahiti, Ra’iātea, Rarotonga).

Te Ātua Rongomatāne, representing food plantations and peace, and Haumiatiketike, representing the wild food and fauna surrounding the Kaiota area, are made present through the two central figures in this work.

Kaiota was a place of food cultivation and gathering for the people of Pipitea Pā and was located where the Parliamentary Library and Parliament House now stand.

Kaiota translates as uncooked food, with kaumatua Hōri Kerei Taiaroa recalling that Kaiota was “so called because the natives on one occasion were cooking food and were suddenly surprised by the enemy and had to pick up the food half-cooked and run away with it. That is how I came to know the name of this spot”.

Urupā burial sites are also located within Kaiota.

Also now underground, the Waipiro Awa flows through what is now Parliament grounds, at the original shoreline at Waitītī Landing on Lambton Quay and out to the waterfront.

Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington-based artist Joe Sheehan’s inlaid Nephrite jade, pounamu and sound installation artwork Walk the Line at the Cenotaph traces the lower course of the Waipiro Awa, where it reaches the shoreline as it existed in 1840.

Pipitea Awa flows underground from Raroa Road and Kaharore Karori, along Tinakori Road, and across the raised flat at Haukawkawa Thorndon.

This stream enters Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington Harbour at the corner of what is now Thorndon Quay and Davis Street, marked by the now-built-over cliff face Te Rae-kai-hau – the headland that eats the wind.

Pipitea Awa provided kai and fresh water to Pipitea Pā and kainga, which were situated on the original shoreline at Haukaukawa Thorndon and are significant to Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui.