Skip to main content

Streets For People

St Hill Street, Whanganui

Our Project team is Dr Vincent van Uitregt, Tania Te Huna & Cecelia Kumeroa (with Tapiri o te Rangi Pirikahu for further developments). For the Bus Shelter project we have created design work which correlates to the specific migration patterns of our local Kūaka & beloved long distance special bird, AJD.

There is a broader Kūaka Collective team & we will update details about everyone in our international whanau shortly. Our Kūaka is the Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri).

We would like to thank Paul Gibson for the use of his photographs on our bus shelter project and also we would like to acknowledge Jane Gibson who together with Paul are part of the local birding community who have generously shared all their information about AJD and the kūaka at our Teawatupua Estuary. For more information about Paul Gibson and his many books dedicated to birds please visit https://upics.co.nz/

A few pics of AJD (beautifully captured by Paul Gibson)

We have kindly been given permission to use Paul Gibson’s poem which as been translated into te reo Māori (we thank Raukura Waitai for her translation).

Me he manu au ka rere

Taku atea ko te rangi

Taku taunga ko te ākau

Watea ana taku haerere

Ki wiwi, ki wawa

Me he manu au ka rere

Kia pau aku ra ki tenei ao

As free as a bird, the world I roam

The sky is my yard, the shore is my home

I go where I will, I run or I fly

As free as a bird, till the day I die