ŌPAOA WAHAROA / WAIHARAKEKE MARLBOROUGH /

CLIENT. Waka Kotahi, Marlborough District Council / ROLE. Concept Design, Developed Design (Construction Design by WSP, Wayfinding by Janet Bathgate) / TIMEFRAME. 2019-2020 / STATUS. Complete

Ōpaoa Waharoa is the first of three proposed gateways for Blenheim, delivered in unison with the towns new Ōpaoa River Bridge. Blenheim was settled in the 1850s and known to many as 'the Beaver', a settlement as waterlogged as the name implied. 

This swampy landscape proved to be an excellent growing environment for waiharakeke (flax); a conceptual driver for the project.

Important to the project was a desire to capture and reflect a sense of place and an identity, and to acknowledge the cultural heritage of the region - the manifestation of which can be seen in the planting, concrete inlays, and paved whāriki. 

A hand carved pou whenua, by master carver Reg Thompsett, proudly marks the entrance, and represents the mana whenua of Wairau. All of which serves as the foreground to Marlborough’s iconic Wither Hills.

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