The transformation that delivered a play space at Kaipātiki
The July 2024 opening of a new Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara inspired wāhi tākaro, play space and community recreational area, signalled the success of a restorative project underpinned by co-governance and sheer determination.
Seven years earlier, then Newsroom journalist Farah Hancock had written that ambitious plans for the reserve seemed “far-fetched” given the effects of a wet winter that had left much of the 18 hectares of low-lying land looking like a “water-logged wasteland”.
Landscape architects from Resilio Studio who were present for the opening this year – Jack Haldane-Willis, Nick Pearson, Elliot Richmond and Findlay Sloane – can attest to the fact that “far-fetched” is possible when there’s an alignment of all the best elements.
It was fitting at the opening that Dame Rangimārie Naida Glavish - pictured above - deemed the day a testament to a “true Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership” and “almost history in the making”.
After acquiring the land in 1878 the Crown formally returned the reserve in 2013 under a Te Tiriti o Waitangi settlement.
In the words of Margaret Kawharu, inaugural chair of Te Poari o Kaipatiki ki Kaipara, the resulting 50:50 co-governance between iwi and council gave an opportunity “to work together ... to bring some of the history to the fore”. Through features such as the new play space it also allowed for a surfacing of Ngāti Whātua narratives.
Auckland Councillor Greg Sayers, Rodney Ward, stated how honoured the council was to be part of such a successful co-governance model. He observed it was gaining attention around Aotearoa “to see how (co-governance) can work, and just how well it has worked”.
Resilio’s involvement extended from masterplanning to design and delivery; from delineating a path network for the reserve and redevelopment of sports areas to manipulating its contours and lifting the site up.
A core element of the project that struck Jack the most was the collaborative ripples of working in the co-governance space from a co-design perspective.
“You know you sit away as a designer trying to come up with these ideas and (yet) when you have that sort of alternative viewpoint on the world to bounce off and co-create with, there are some really rich outcomes”.
“The importance of having multiple perspectives at the table shone out through every stage of this project,” says Jack.
“Only good things come from defining a list of aspirations that you stay true to, working in a spirit throughout of mutual respect and being open to tweaks and opinions and, if needed, u-turns.
“The learning curves and te ao Māori dualities that unfold in a project like this then open your mind to big mental leaps.
“From a te ao Pākēhā and design principle perspective we contributed our technical landscape architecture language, our designspeak.
“When you look at the world from a te reo Māori basis, it frees you up to access a larger portal of ideas. It gives you a diversity of origin points that move your conceptual thinking along. You encounter layers of meaning that from an English language perspective you can’t even come close to”.
Concepts that Jack identifies as key to the work on the new play space are its geothermal story, the meaning of para in kaipara and parakai and finally, the overarching concept of kaipātiki.
“What we know about this whenua is you have this underlying layer of geothermal activity. So when you see the colourful moments and vertical elements within the space, the intention there is about bringing that geothermal acitivity to the surface.
“The concept of para is about the para fern and the nurturing aspect of the fern. So the way that’s manifested in this play space is in the green, soft, sheltered spaces that provide for those kids who potentially don’t want to be part of the explosive play. They want to be part of the more quiet kind of play off to the side.
“The overarching concept of kaipātiki and the pātiki aspect of that has a long history and can mean many, many things beyond the narrow English translation of the kupu (word) as ‘flounder’.
“Within the play space you’ll see it represented as a shape, and you’ll see that symbol imbued in other aspects of the play space associated with the concept of gathering.
“It was the abundance of pātiki in the Kaipara harbour that historically facilitated the ability within this whenua to have large social gatherings. That ties directly into the evolution of the amenities at Kaipātiki from covered BBQ areas with seating to the shift from an outdated camping ground to a modern one – a real destination point”.
For Resilio’s Elliot Richmond the artistic and mātauranga Māori elements brought to the project by prominent artist and designer Bernard Makoare (Te Uri o Hau, Ngāti Whātua, Te Waiariki, Te Kai Tutae, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu) and renowned māra hūpara / traditional play specialist Harko Brown took the play space to the next level.
“You can’t understate the influence that both Bernard and Harko have had on enhancing the mauri (life force) of Kaipātiki and Te Awa Kahawai, the geothermal field.
“I’m still in awe at Harko’s approach to the kaupapa of Kaipātiki as a recreational hub, and how he could trace elements of play back to the inland and coastal skillsets that tamariki required from centuries past”.
Elliot acknowledges that while the reserve will always be vulnerable to the adverse impacts of extreme weather events, it has now entered a new phase of mitigation and resilience.
“It’s worth remembering that commencement of the project was impacted heavily on by Cyclone Gabrielle. It’s notable that the number of eucalypt trees that were felled by that event found a second life as part of the playspace. Almost everything was re-used”.
GreensceneNZ, a company founded by arboriculture consultant Stacy Colyer 30 years ago, also embraced the co-governance ethos and worked together in a team which included mana whenua contractors. GreensceneNZ site manager Mick Joyce: “(At an early ceremony on site) it was stressed to us that if we respected the land, the land would respect us. We have done that through the whole construction process and look what the land has given back to us”.
When LAA spoke with the Resilio Studio team, it transpired that the Parakai Springs, and formerly named Parakai Recreation Reserve, held fond childhood memories for Jack Haldane-Willis of being in the hot pools looking through an open roof to the drama of an overhead thunderstorm.
In addition to its local amenity, new generations will be heading there on family road trips for new adventures.
And in line with the evolving story of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, the classic back seat refrain of “Are we there yet?” could be said to resonate with a new meaning.