The location of Whale Song
Wharemauku Park - Kāpiti Coast
Wellington, New Zealand
Landowner and Whale Song partner, Ngahina Developments representing local iwi interests, see this vision as an essential part of the Paraparaumu town centre’s future.
Ngahina Development has granted the perpetual lease of the one-acre site where the Whale Song sculpture’s will be located. This land is alongside the Wharemauku Stream, which has its headwaters in the Maungakotukutuku valley, flowing through Paraparaumu township to Raumati Beach before reaching the sea.
The site will be accessible to the public as well as being highly visible from the Kāpiti Expressway, linking into the national Te Araroa cycle and walkway network.
Wharemauku Park
Wharemauku Park is a proposed central park and the heart of Paraparaumu and Kāpiti, as part of the Kāpiti's Urban Regeneration Project.
It incorporates Whale Song, a Wharenui/Cultural Centre, and the Wharemauku Stream Forest Nursery restoration project.
The park's focus is on cultural connections, with all that it encompasses being interwoven with rangi, wai, whenua, tipu, and kararehe.
Wharemauku Stream Restoration
The park is aimed at restoring the wairua of the Wharemauku Stream and its surroundings, improving hydrology and stormwater capability, culminating with the creation of a new central park as a centrepiece of this huge area of future development.
What are the key objectives?
The park's objectives include:
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restoring and protecting the catchment for future generations
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enhancing opportunities for public access and recreation along the stream
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improving water quality, biodiversity throughout the Stream and its immediate environs
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making the stream a focal point for the Kāpiti community.
Who are the key partners?
The restoration of the Wharemauku Stream, its ecology and capacity and its future surroundings requires a unified approach from multiple parties as described in the vision above. Key partners include Puketapu ki Paraparaumu Hapū of Te Atiawa ki Whakarongotai Iwi and Te Atiawa ki Kāpiti Charitable Trust, who provide Cultural Consent Services on behalf of the Iwi.
