Hōkai Nuku is the authorised voice of four Iwi and Hapū mana whenua – Ngāti Manuhiri, Te Uri o Hau, Ngāti Rango of Kaipara and Ngāti Whātua - and have partnered with NZTA Waka Kotahi since 2010 when we originally formed to collaborate on the Ara Tūhono - Pūhoi to Wellsford project.

 

Hōkai Nuku provided valuable specialist cultural and environmental advice for the first stage of the project, and worked together with Waka Kotahi and NX2 to ensure the values and historical significance of the project area are reflected for generations to come through the mahi toi package.

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A number of carvings, silhouettes and pou whenua line the motorway and the mahi toi were designed and handcrafted by artists appointed by Hōkai Nuku, recognising the cultural identity and values of mana whenua, and acknowledging and expressing our traditions and relationships with our ancestral lands, water, sites, wāhi tapu and other taonga.