Opinion: I’ve been dreaming of a waka.
It’s big and magnificent and is a spectacular wondrous piece of architecture for the Wynyard Point. A New Zealand equivalent of the Sydney Opera House or the Balboa Guggenheim.
And in 2026, my dream is that it will become a reality and something that Auckland can be proud of. Something that is so needed to inspire and celebrate who we are and what we have become.
In 2013 when I was on the board of Te Papa I suggested it was time for a Te Papa North. I was chairing the board of Waterfront Auckland and it seemed to me the idea of bringing something important to the end of the Tank Farm would be an inspiring addition to a city that had only managed a common sky tower to mark its centrepiece.
Auckland just needs something special and important and relevant. I called a meeting of all the directors of museums across New Zealand to workshop what could be an iconic and glorious addition to the City of Sails.
Ten years later Lindsay Mackie of Archimedia presented his Te Waka Moana concept to a small group of us, as a must-see world class attraction. And I knew that this brilliant idea was what Auckland could dream of having and be renowned for on the end of Wynyard Point.
Te Waka Moana is for me my biggest personal dream, that I would like to see come to fruition in 2026 and to be celebrated as a special and wonderful iconic tribute to the land and voyagers. The greatest human migration across the vast Pacific.
The last five years have been bringing this concept into reality. We have worked closely with Ngāti Whātua, our Polynesian community and our maritime historians. We have refined the design and now we feel that it will comfortably sit on the new council park Te Ara Tukutuku.
Sir Bob Harvey at Karekare Beach, is a veteran of the surf lifesaving club – and he wants other Aucklanders and their visitors to enjoy the city’s coastline just as much as he does. Photo: Dean Purcell/Supplied
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Te Waka Moana will be more than a museum. Its five beautiful floors of wood and glass will be an immersive experience of visual wonderment, artefacts and history but its prominence will be seen as a welcoming and iconic destination for Aucklanders and international visitors.
A must-see, a must-visit experience. It’s time now to unveil its potential and its glorious future. It’s time to cheer on something important and next year is its unveiling.
That’s my dream. It’s quite a dream.
If I had three wishes they would be for New Zealand to listen more to the voices of our youth, our next generation seems to be seriously missing in our conversation.
My second wish is for more consideration for our disabled community – ignored, underfunded invisible.
And my last wish is for more fun. I don’t know when we last laughed out loud. Since Covid and the floods, a cloud of gloom as blown in from the Tasman like Australian bushfire smoke and has given us a seriously damp and gloomy outlook as a nation.
A dose of happiness is seriously in need. Hey dude, lighten up.