Take a ten-stop walk in the new neighbourhood around City Rail Link station - Te Waihorotiu. At street level you'll discover lots of new art and design elements reflecting this area’s history and character.
Victoria Street West now shines with contemporary art. Deep narratives from te ao Māori (the Māori world) have been brought into the everyday life of the city.
Wāhine and Horotiu create a dialogue - one bringing a welcoming, human presence and the other honouring Te Waihorotiu, an ancient stream flowing through the Queen Street valley, now in pipes underground.
The new artworks are part of the renewal of this station precinct, which is ready to welcome people who visit this redesigned and refreshed part of the city by bus, train, bike or on foot.
Read more about this taonga toi and the artists on OurAuckland.
Start your walk here:
1. Upper Federal Street - Lace up your walking shoes and head to upper Federal Street. You’ll see eight large boulders anchored along the street. They have been carved by artist Joe Sheehan to reveal everyday items – seemingly left behind. The artwork is called Lost & Found and the items include a pair of walking shoes – a fitting starting point for this ten-stop midtown meander.
2. Wellesley Street bus interchange – Counterpoint to the bustling bus interchange in lower Albert Street, the new bus interchange in Wellesley Street is a game-changer. As you walk from Federal Street past Te Waihorotiu Station take in new features: new bus shelters and wider footpaths; improved pedestrian crossings; new paving, seating, and street lighting; and smoother bus / train transfers along this bus and pedestrian prioritised street.
3. Te Waihorotiu Station - art projections – In the evening light, discover the city's newest public art canvas beside Te Waihorotiu Station. Huihui Whetū will illuminate the Aotea Square side of the station until 25 September with spectacular imagery by Graham Tipene. The design celebrates starlore and constellations in te ao Māori. Huihui Whetū is the first in a series of artworks being projected onto this temporary canvas in coming months, bringing new visual experiences to midtown.
Huihui Whetū light show. Photo credit: Jinki Cambronero.
4. Elliott Street – This eclectic street was one of the first to be renewed - about a decade ago. It has a long culinary history, so pop in for a bite to eat and ponder how the area looked 400 years ago. In 1987 archaeologists discovered this location had been a place of gathering and harvesting food for Māori settlers centuries ago, now the cultural epicentre of midtown.
5. Strand Arcade - A jewel of Auckland’s heritage, this arcade has caught the eye of young innovators who are bringing new energy to this place. Walk these hallowed tiles, look up, and celebrate one of the grandest surviving shopping arcades in New Zealand. Some ornate elements, still present, date back to 1899.
6. Victoria Street cycleway – Pick up a scooter and ride the next part of your journey. This two-way cycleway connects Victoria Park and the Nelson Street cycleway to Queen Street – a vital link in the city centre’s cycle network, and another milestone in the regeneration of midtown.
New planting and street design in upper Victoria Street East.
7. Wāhine - As people emerge from the Victoria Street exit of Te Waihorotiu Station, they will see a silent gesture of welcome from new artwork – Wāhine - depicting a Māori woman performing a karanga (call of welcome). She stands on a low plinth, scaled and oriented to meet the gaze of manuhiri (visitors) as they ascend from the underground station. Get a close-up view of the intricate woven details and feel the awe of her presence.
Wāhine in Victoria Street West.
8. Horotiu – Walk eastward along Victoria Street towards Queen Street and discover another striking artwork - Horotiu. This large-scale tuna kūwharuwharu (longfin eel) in bronze descends in a spiral to the footpath which is etched by the artists to reflect the Waihorotiu stream bed. This artwork gives enduring expression to the legendary kaitiaki (guardian) and protector of the Waihorotiu stream, bringing this important narrative into the everyday lives of people who live and work in midtown.
Horotiu with children playing. Photo credit: David St George.
9. Upper Victoria Street East – Walk towards Albert Park along widened footpaths, next to streets with fewer traffic lanes, wooden seating, new trees and landscaped resting places. Four trees were crane-lifted from trucks into new street-side seating areas last year, watched over by the ancient trees of Albert Park.
10. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki - Wander into Auckland’s foremost midtown gallery and see what's on, before walking among the restful urban ngāhere (forest) of the city centre’s time-honoured Albert Park.
For two other ten-stop walks around the city centre’s new CRL station neighbourhoods, check out Waitematā Station neighbourhood and Karanga-a-Hape Station neighbourhood.