Waikato Herald
  • Waikato Herald home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Locations

  • Hamilton
  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Matamata & Piako
  • Cambridge
  • Te Awamutu
  • Tokoroa & South Waikato
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Weather

  • Thames
  • Hamilton
  • Tokoroa
  • Taumarunui
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Waikato News

Waikato River: Central city river jetty now reopen for anyone to use

Waikato Herald
29 Jul, 2021 11:08 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The new central city jetty below Waikato Museum, is now open for anyone to use. Photo / Supplied

The new central city jetty below Waikato Museum, is now open for anyone to use. Photo / Supplied

The history of Hamilton's five local hapū is the inspiration behind spectacular artwork at the city's new CBD jetty on the Waikato River.

The artwork has been incorporated into the new central city jetty, which is now open for anyone to use, below Waikato Museum. The new jetty is a floating pontoon that will rise and fall with river levels and replaces the previous fixed wooden structure.

Meanwhile, a new revetment wall running below the jetty will help make the riverbank more accessible, so more people can enjoy the riverside.

The artwork includes five pou (pillars) featuring sculptures representing ancestral stories from local hapū – Ngāti Māhanga, Ngāti Tamainupō, Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Korokī Kahukura and Ngāti Hauā.

The jetty and new revetment wall opened after a blessing on Tuesday.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Deputy mayor Geoff Taylor, who heads Hamilton City Council's Central City and River Plan Advisory Group, said the new-look jetty shows council's ongoing commitment to the Hamilton City River Plan.

"The Ferrybank area was important to early Māori as a landing place for large waka. Now we have a more functional jetty, we can continue that heritage by encouraging more people to use the river for transport, whether that's through recreational boating, river tourism or using a future ferry service."

Taylor said the projects are an important part of shaping a vibrant central city where people love to be. The long-term vision for the central city includes construction of the Waikato Regional Theatre and a proposed pedestrian bridge, alongside completed projects such as Victoria on the River.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mayor Paula Southgate agreed and said was it was fabulous to see the jetty open.

"More than seven years ago, I stood on the old wharf with former Hamilton City councillor John Gower, both of us pushing for better use of the river for visitors and commuters. So I'm thrilled to see this new central city jetty.

"I took the river ferry to Fieldays recently and it was a great experience. I look forward to more Hamiltonians enjoying our treasured Waikato River."

Design of the five pou on the jetty was a collaboration between hapū representatives and artist Eugene Kara, Ngāti Korokī Kahukura.

Kara said the design was inspired by the stories told within each hapū about their genealogy and history.

"The sculptures represent stories of the whenua, awa and tāngata – the land, river and people, interwoven over the years into a deep, spiritual connection," he said.

Sacred geometric symbols and colours were chosen for their historical relevance to each hapū and a wider whakāro Māori meaning.

The jetty replacement is one of three Waikato River Works projects, bundled together to save time and money.

The cost of the new jetty came to $1.03 million and final costs for the revetment wall were about $3.03m.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Waikato News

Waikato Herald

School community ‘deeply saddened’ after students killed in Waiuku triple-fatality

Waikato Herald

Driver who fled head-on crash that injured family gets home detention

Waikato Herald
|Updated

New Zealand's fastest-growing export partner impressed by 'gold standard' bio-economy


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Waikato News

School community ‘deeply saddened’ after students killed in Waiuku triple-fatality
Waikato Herald

School community ‘deeply saddened’ after students killed in Waiuku triple-fatality

The trio were killed when the car they were in crashed in Waiuku on Tuesday.

17 Jul 10:09 PM
Driver who fled head-on crash that injured family gets home detention
Waikato Herald

Driver who fled head-on crash that injured family gets home detention

17 Jul 08:34 PM
New Zealand's fastest-growing export partner impressed by 'gold standard' bio-economy
Waikato Herald
|Updated

New Zealand's fastest-growing export partner impressed by 'gold standard' bio-economy

17 Jul 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Waikato Herald e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Waikato Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP