Parks, Gardens and Zoos • History • First Nations

He Toa Taumata Rau

Client

Location

Completed

New Zealand Police Museum

Porirua, New Zealand

2021

The Process

Story Inc was engaged by the New Zealand Police Museum to create an installation honouring the bravery and courage of those who put others before themselves.

The development and design of the installation, called He Toa Taumata Rau, involved extensive consultation with our client and local iwi Ngāti Toa. Through this process, we worked together to identify and develop the story and how it would be presented.

We decided on a series of pou (posts), the design of which was an iterative process. Working in this way ensured the final result would honour these brave souls correctly.

We also had to ensure the pou’s structural integrity because they would have to stand up to some ferocious Wellington weather.

The Result

He Toa Taumata Rau comprises 16 steel and two wooden pou that flank the path leading to the New Zealand Police Museum.

The steel pou are inscribed with the names of dozens of police officers, a number of civilians, and one police dog, all of whom – even the pooch – received awards of bravery during police actions since 1951. Inscribed alongside each name is a short description of the action for which they received their award.

Nathan Rei (Ngāti Toa), worked with us to incorporate Māori design elements into the steel pou such as the mangōpare, hammerhead shark pattern symbolising tenacity, and puhoro, symbolising courage.

The two much larger wooden pou, positioned at each end of the path, were created by Nathan and fellow carver Hermann Saltzmann (Ngāti Toa). They carved these two magnificent structures from a huge tōtara log found buried near the mouth of the Whanganui River. One represents the challenge of the warrior, the other an upturned hull of a canoe — a memorial to the brave.

Learn more about how we helped create He Toa Taumata Rau on our blog