St John ambulances with the new design are currently hitting streets across the country, as the full vehicle fleet is to be replaced in the coming years.
St John ambulances with the new design are currently hitting streets across the country, as the full vehicle fleet is to be replaced in the coming years.
New St John ambulances will receive a new look over the summer to incorporate a kaupapa Māori design and display the te reo Māori translation for the ambulance operator: Hato Hone.
Hato Hone St John ambulances will keep the yellow and green colour scheme, but will now operate with adesign depicting the ancient deities Manaia and Tāwhirimātea, rauponga and Manawa patterns and a carved taurapa [canoe stern post].
St John New Zealand believes they are the first ambulance operator in the world to visually incorporate emergency vehicle safety standards while embracing cultural designs that acknowledge tangata whenua.
The design, set to be applied to 50 new vehicles throughout this year, includes more reflective material on the rear of the vehicle to maximise the visibility of the ambulance and highlights St John’s commitment to serving all people of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Hato Hone St John deputy chief executive of ambulance operations, Dan Ohs, says the new “Waka Manaaki” design connects with New Zealand communities in a “uniquely Kiwi” way.
“‘Waka’ means transport method, and ‘Manaaki’ means to take care of. If we break Manaaki down, ‘mana’ is one’s power and ‘aki’ means to encourage or empower – which is essential for our patients.”
The design is centred around three main concepts of care for all New Zealanders: Manaaki tangata [care for individuals], Manaaki whānau [care for families, communities and staff], and Manaaki hauora [care for collective health and wellbeing].
Every part of the design has a deeper meaning. The Manaia in the design functions as a kaitiaki [guardian], providing safe passage through our communities and protecting patients and staff within. The rauponga patternillustrates the treasured care and protection of patients and the community.
St John national deputy chief executive of ambulance operations, Dan Ohs. Photo / George Heard
Hato Hone St John ambulance national equity manager Dan Spearing says the new design and use of kaupapa Māori comes with great responsibility.
“The responsibility to ensure we whakamana [empower] and continue to make a tangible difference for the health outcomes of Māori,” Spearing says.
“The new design also acknowledges tangata whenua [people of the land] and connects us all to te ao Māori [the Māori world]. Furthermore, this design represents us, a distinctive ambulance service within Aotearoa, and reflects our journey to achieving better health outcomes for all, especially where health inequity is most prevalent.”
The design has been developed in co-operation with Māori design agency Haumi and strategic brand agency Origami. The focus was to develop a design that is inclusive and which represents all peoples and cultures who have made their own journey on waka to arrive in New Zealand, to pay homage to the heritage and history of Aotearoa.
Eventually, St John’s whole vehicle fleet will have the new design, but it won’t be applied to existing vehicles.
