July 26, 2018
Rangiriri rebuild wins international praise
A project which symbolically restored one of New Zealand’s most significant battle sites is being showered with awards.
Rangiriri Pā in north Waikato was the site of one of the first major battles of the Waikato War in 1863, but it was damaged when State Highway One was rerouted across it in 1965.
As part of building the Waikato Expressway, the road was moved closer to the river and a scaled representation of the fortified pa built on the original site, with a large pou telling stories of the area and marking a battle trench which runs down to the river.
The project has been given an award for excellence in crown-Māori relations by the Institute of Public Administration, and an outstanding award in the culture and traditions category at last week’s International Landscape Architects World Congress in Singapore.
It also won two awards at the Registered Master Landscapers awards earlier this month.
Transport Agency director of regional relationships, Parekāwhia McLean, says it shows what can be achieved when the Crown and iwi work together.
The agency worked alongside consultants Boffa Miskell, Waikato-Tainui, Heritage New Zealand and cultural advisors to design and develop the structure.
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