Wednesday 12 October 2016

Telling our stories

The stories of our navigational history will soon have a space to be told as Council and iwi have found the right partner to express them.

The creative team from Locales have won the tender to deliver an historic interpretations plan which threads our stories through the navigations heritage trail. Locales come equipped with a great reputation, capacity and experience to do the work in creative and imaginative ways through natural and built landscape. The decision to select Locales was made by a panel of council staff and iwi.

The heritage trail will extend from Waikanae Stream, the proposed Turanganui walkway bridge to slipway, along Turanganui riverside reserve, through the Inner Harbour precinct, over Titirangi to Cook’s Landing site as part of the Tairawhiti Navigations Project.

Locales are a team who specialise in creating visitor experiences and place based story telling. They use a multi-disciplinary approach with focus on the interactions between tourism, culture, history and science.

Planning and Development Group Manager, Nedine Thatcher-Swann says, “We are thrilled to have a team that has an internationally recognised reputation for creating visitor experiences… and a proven track record of collaborating with tangata whenua”

This week Locales Creative Director, Chris Hay is meeting and immersing himself with the iwi whose stories are so integral to the navigations project. During this time, Chris will be spending time with local iwi, visiting significant sites in the area so he can listen and get a feel for what makes the region's stories compelling and unique.

Local iwi are pleased to be working directly with Council and Locales on this project to share and express their stories,

Jennifer Pewhairangi of Te Aitanga a Mahaki says, “It's a great way to tell our stories in our own words while working collectively as iwi to acknowledge our past, present and future.”

Robyn Rauna of Ngai Tamanuhiri also noted "I'm enjoying the opportunity to work collectively as Turanga Iwi in a way that honours and respects our whakapapa and history."

The capacity for iwi to work together collectively and with council wasn't lost on Jody Wyllie of Rongowhakaata who states, "It's a wonderful opportunity for tribes to collaborate with Council on something positive and to share our stories."

Work is set to be complete by Sestercentennial commemorations in October 2019, the project acknowledges traditional navigators who arrived here hundreds of years prior to the first meeting with Captain Cook.

Locales have produced award winning experiences like Nga Tapuwae Gallipoli and Western Front memorial trails and the Rangihoua Heritage Park. Locales use a combination of physical installations combined with mobile apps and web to provide richer and more interactive experiences as you move between sites.

“It has been a long journey to get to this point where we have a positive and meaningful working relationship with our iwi partners. Having Locales work with us to tell our stories in a digital age is the icing on the cake.”
Says Ms Thatcher-Swann.

To find more information about Locales or see more of their projects go to ww.locales.co.nz

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