Kalib Wallace mural overlooking Rangiuru Sports Club

Kalib Wallace in front of the new mural facing the carpark at Rangiuru Sports Club in Te Puke.

What was a slightly drab corner of Te Puke has been brought to life thanks to a new mural.

Painted on a wall overlooking the Rangiuru Sports Club carpark, the mural is the third in Te Puke created by Kalib Wallace.

“This mural represents the two iwi and the three maunga in the area,” he says.

To the left is Rangiuru the maunga of Tapuika, and to the right Waitaha maunga Otawa. In between, but more distant, is Ōtānewainuku . The mural also includes the Kaituna and Raparapahoe awa (rivers), and silhouettes of two marae — Tai and Hei.

“It’s a sunset theme and was also done during Matariki time, which explains the shooting stars in the sky,” says Kalib.

Kalib runs a healthy lifestyle programme for youngsters through Ngā Kākano Foundation called Te Tuapapa Auaha.

Several rangatahi from the programme helped with the mural.

“We’re looking at bringing creativity into our programme which is what this is.”

Both Rangiuru and Otawa maunga are used in the programme.

“We might go up Otawa for a training session, and we also train on the top of Rangiuru. Rangiuru is more like a hill, so we go up and do a lot of trainings there. A lot of the kids are from there, but sometimes they say this is the first time ever going up.

“One of our goals this year with our programme is to help our youth reconnect with some of their cultural roots.”

Otawa is used less frequently

The mural has been backed by Colab, Creative New Zealand and Ngā Kākano Foundation. Rangiuru Sports Club backed the project by providing lunches.

Kalib’s other murals are on The Hub in Jocelyn St and Ngā Kākano Foundation in Commerce Lane.

Kalib, who has been a professional artist for 15 years, operates under the name AEROsoul World.