Carved basalt sculptures, paving stones with small stainless steel pipi shells and 24 pop-jet fountains decorate the south-eastern corner of Takutai Square in Britomart, celebrating the past life of this location. This site was where the harbour and foreshore once was, an area that was also a rich food source for Māori before colonisation. The area's once-abundant sea life was harvested by the surrounding papakāinga (villages), such as Te Rerenga Oraiti Pā. A fortified headland, Te Rerenga Oraiti Pā stood guard at the eastern end of the Britomart complex, but was levelled and used for land reclamation.

The 16 boulders, which were carved in collaboration with Ngāti Whātua artists, are inscribed with motifs and placed in a loose grid formation. The water of the pop-jet fountains mimics the squirting shellfish that were once common in the former pipi bed, called Te Rou Kai. The stainless steel pipi are life-sized and embedded in the concrete that people walk on every day. *Te Rou Kai / Pipi Beds* was partially funded by the former Auckland Regional Council.

Te Rou Kai / Pipi Beds

This zigzagged line of neon stretches from one end of Fort Lane to the other, traveling up and down and side-to-side. A luminescent red colour, *Eyelight Lane* glows day and night, illuminating the pipes, bricks, windows and doorways of the lane. It adds an energy to the space, and, moving above passersby at the height of the first storey of the buildings on either side, this work encourages them to slow down, take notice and look up.

*Eyelight Lane* is a reminder of the earlier significance of Fort Lane; a service entrance to the historic buildings that are on Queen Street, and more recently, as part of the red-light district. The southern end of Fort Lane was the foreshore of the original settlement of Auckland and the area is the most historic part of the city centre.

Created by Swedish artist David Svensson from 120 metres of luminous neon, the work has been lighting up the space since it was switched on in February 2014 and is best viewed at night. It is typical of Svensson's work in that he often uses light as a sculpture to create environments.

Eyelight Lane

This cluster of five bronze sculptures of waka (canoes) is named *Tauranga Waka* (the resting place of canoes) because of its location on  Beach Road in Auckland Central. The waka mark where the original shoreline was before 1860, which is 200 metres inland from today's shoreline. The earth was reclaimed and taken from Tangihanga Pūkaea, where Te Reuroa Pā once stood, between 1860 and 1880.

Chris Bailey's waka seem to emerge from the footpath, as though they have been pulled up onto the beach. The waka prows are not carved in as much detail as waka taua (war canoes) – this simpler style of carving is used on waka for fishing, collecting kaimoana (seafood) and transporting produce.

Tauranga Waka

A simple yet imposing bronze statue of a Māori chief. Its form allows viewers to focus on the quiet power and strength of the figure. Artist, Molly Macalister, made the sculpture to welcome people arriving by boat at the downtown docks. It was first located, not far away, in front of the Britomart Transport Centre, where it complemented the neoclassical front of the building. It now stands on Quay Street, across from the Ferry Building.

In 1964, Auckland City Council invited Macalister to create a bronze figure. They wanted "a Māori figure in a traditional form". Macalister was the first woman in Aotearoa/New Zealand to receive a public art commission. Importantly, she also worked with local iwi Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to complete the sculpture.

Macalister made and revised a series of sketches and small models of the figure before beginning work on the full-size sculpture. Her first sketches show a more combative warrior. The final sculpture revealed a dignified chief wearing a kaitaka, a precious flax cloak with an ornamental tāniko border. The chief holds a mere, a simple short flat weapon, lowered at his side as a sign of peace.

There was debate in the media. Some city councillors thought the statue should stick to more traditional ideas of a Māori warrior. The decision was made to continue with Macalister's figure and the final work was unveiled in July 1967.

Ngāti Whātua artists, Chaz Doherty

Te Rou Kai / Pipi Beds

"Carved boulders, small pipi shells and shooting fountains celebrate the history of the area and mark the original shoreline."

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