Navigate Tairāwhiti is a programme of 5 projects delivered together with tangata whenua and partner organisations. The programme weaves together significant sites through storytelling and design to showcase our region's unique culture and heritage of first arrivals and great navigators.
Both public and privately-owned spaces are upgraded to include stories and elements to reflect the exceptional navigational feats of the first iwi who arrived and James Cook who arrived in 1769.
The projects in the programme include:
- Te Ikaroa a Rauru Walkway Bridge - completed
- Puhi Kai Iti/Cook Landing Site and Te Maro sculpture - completed.
- Titirangi maunga - completed
- Tūpapa – historical interpretations - completed
- Inner harbour upgrade - completed
- Te Panuku Tu - Titirangi summit
Te Ikaroa a Rauru walkway bridge
Te Ikaroa a Rauru, the ancestral waka which brought Ngāti Oneone's tipuna Maia Poroaki from Hawaiki to Turanganui-a-Kiwa, has been acknowledged through the naming of a new walkway bridge.
Also known as the 1000 Year Walkway Bridge, Te Ikaroa a Rauru is part of the the Navigation Tairāwhiti project. The bridge was completed in October, with a blessing led by Ngāti Oneone to officially name and open the bridge on 24 October 2025.
Storyboards will be installed at Te Ikaroa a Rauru walkway bridge and at Te Maro, sharing the rich cultural narratives and ancestral connections of Ngāti Oneone.
About the project
The project began as an upgrade to the existing Cook Landing Site and its connecting paths, forming part of the wider Navigate Tairāwhiti programme.
Te Ikaroa a Rauru is part of Navigate Tairāwhiti, which strengthens our regional identity, celebrates our dual heritage and creates opportunities for storytelling, tourism and education.
The pedestrian bridge styled in a 'waka haumi' or boat prow design, rises 6.3m above Kaiti Beach Road to connect Te Whare Wananga o Puhi Kai Iti / Cook Landing Site with Titirangi Maunga - returning views to the moana and Te Kurī a Paoa.
It’s also important to bring the cone of vision back to this historical site so Te Kurī a Paoa/Young Nick's Head can be seen.
The memorial Puhi Kai Iti used to have a view of Tūranganui-a-Kiwa and Te Kurī a Paoa. However, over the past century buildings have blocked that view. The cone of vision is important not only to see Te Kuri a Paoa/Young Nick's Head National Historic Reserve but to capture a view of the navigation pathway into the bay. It also restores the view from Titirangi, where tipuna monitored conditions of the moana for gathering kai.
The bridge links tracks on the maunga to the Ruatanuika Lookout and Te Maro sculpture, walkways around the inner harbour connecting to cycleways and paths leading to Wainui, Kiwa Pools and the city beaches.
Project funding
- Lotteries Grant of $3.1 million - $2.68 million for the bridge and $389,000 for the Te Maro platform
- Trust Tairāwhiti grant of $343,000.
- Council - $100k final design elements.
Design, consenting and community engagement were completed for the bridge in 2019. Progress was later delayed due to interruptions including Covid-19 and the cyclones in 2023.
Walkway bridge build and installation
Te Panuku Tū - Titirangi summit redevelopment
Council working in partnership with Ngāti Oneone proposed to build a space for cultural and educational activities. The project was to restore the top of Tītīrangi - Te Panuku Tū was first mooted by Ngati Oneone and started with the removal of the Captain Cook statue and the observatory.
Council has withdrawn it’s application for Te Panuku Tū due to lack of funding, the project is now not proceeding.
Completed projects
We’ve completed the landing site of the tipuna Maia.
The structure includes steel tukutuku panels, lighting and landscaping.
Construction began in January 2019 and was completed in time for the October Tuia 250 commemorations.
The project also included the installation of the 10x10m art piece across the landing site to acknowledge Te Maro, an Ngāti Oneone tipuna.
This project was a partnership between Gisborne District Council, Ngāti Oneone, and the Department of Conservation.
In partnership with Eastland Port we’ve transformed our waterfront to become a natural visitor destination and hospitality precinct.
Work included enhancements to new and upgraded parking, new public convenience, green spaces with landscaping, improved lighting and pedestrian and cycle-friendly connections.
Cultural elements are woven throughout the space to make it a destination where people can experience and reflect our navigational heritage.
The word ‘Tupapa’ describes the place where iwi share their stories, of iwi arrival and settlement and great navigators that have been passed down about the first people to navigate to and inhabit this place.
Developed by a partnership of the 4 Turanga iwi, people can take self-guided walks that connects sites from Waikanae Beach to Cook Landing Site and Titirangi maunga. For more information about the heritage trail, see the Tupapa website
The restoration phase of our sacred maunga, as part of the Navigate Tairāwhiti programme is complete.
Through the Whaia Titirangi programme we’ve focused heavily on weed management and re-establishing the natural look of the maunga through native restoration.
This programme a collaborative effort between Ngāti Oneone and Council, has been running for 3 years with a primary focus on community engagement and conservation education that will enhance our kaitiakitanga.
Work will continue through the co-management agreement with Ngāti Oneone’s vision for Titirangi to Tuamotu Island. This is funded mostly by iwi, with Council support and currently focused on wider areas of Titirangi maunga.