Art set to supercharge The Waimate Trail
Creatives across Waimate District are being brought together on an ambitious project to “supercharge” The Waimate Trail – Te Ara Waimatemate.
Large-scale murals, a giant bicycle, a ghost-like moa, 100 butterflies and stone carvings are among the artworks planned for Footsteps of Our Ancestors, the trail's outdoor sculpture project.
Being developed by Waimate2gether in collaboration with Te Rūnanga o Waihao, the project will weave art through The Waimate Trail, telling stories of the people, culture and natural environment of the district.
The aim is to create a world-class local, regional and national asset, while telling Waimate's story in the landscape where much of it happened.
Waimate2gether is drawing on skills from across the district, bringing groups, artists and students together, creating opportunities to learn from each other, get involved and leave their own mark on the trail.
Jo Sutherland, Project Manager for The Waimate Trail
Water connects the story
The theme for the first stage of the sculpture trail is Wai – Water.
Project manager Jo Sutherland says the theme recognises water as “a source of life, connection and identity”.
“Water has carried people here, sustained communities, shaped the landscape and linked generations.”
As the trail follows the journey from Waimate Creek, passing Deep Creek to the Waihao River, the artworks will explore the district's history, environment and the different ways people have moved through it.
“Some artworks will speak of arriving by boat, some by rail, some by bicycle and some by wings. Others will celebrate the birds, plants, waterways and cultural traditions that make this district special. Together, the sculptures will take trail users on a creative journey through Waimate’s past, present and future.”
Waimate artist Bill Scott with one of his best-known works, the murals on Waimate’s towering silos.
Large scale history
Among the largest projects planned is a mural by Waimate artist Bill Scott depicting the former Waimate Branch Railway Station.
At 33.6 metres long and 2.4 metres high, it will take shape on the fence beside the Norman Kirk Memorial Swimming Pool - on the site where the railway station once stood.
“It's a striking visual link to a time some people only know through photographs and stories,” says Jo.
Bill, an engineer as well as an artist, is responsible for some of Waimate's most recognisable public art, including the murals on the towering silos.
This time, he’ll be working with local students, who will be able to watch and learn about shading, composition and the practicalities of creating art on this scale, with some helping to paint sections of the mural.
Bill has also designed a giant sculpture of James Herries Beattie's bicycle, with Waimate Menzshed and other community members helping to fabricate its parts.
Beattie, a Waimate bookseller and historian, became known as “The Man With the Bike” after cycling around the South Island recording stories from Māori elders and early European settlers. His 1901 Massey-Harris bicycle is now held by the Waimate Museum.
“It is a fantastic example of artists, makers and volunteers combining their talents to create something truly distinctive.”
Artists Sally Reihana and Fran Spencer at Kapua.
A ghost from Kapua
Artist Fran Spencer is creating large-scale kererū and moa sculptures using stainless steel and woven aluminium mesh.
The kererū will be built around a custom stainless-steel frame, with silver and black mesh used to reflect the distinctive colouring of the bird's breast.
At Kapua, Spencer's moa will use insect-grade aluminium mesh over a stainless-steel structure to create a ghost-like, translucent silhouette – a reference to the area's remarkable moa history and a species now gone from the landscape
Weaving knowledge into the trail
Traditional weaving, natural materials and knowledge of the land are central to several other sculpture trail projects.
Sally Reihana will lead workshops creating ruru, kiwi and kōtuku from houhere (lacebark) and wire, teaching participants about the birds, sustainable harvesting and whatu, a traditional hand-binding technique.
Nestled among native bush, the natural sculptures are designed to weather over time and eventually return to the earth.
Reihana will also teach the traditional process of making mōkihi, with harakeke and raupō harvested, dried, twisted into rope and woven into reed rafts for the trail - connecting the artwork back to water and generations of people who have travelled, lived and worked alongside it.
A digging stick tells an ancient story
Artist Chris Harvey is creating Tūwhakarōria, a sculpture based on the traditional kō, or digging stick.
The work will be made from wood and galvanised steel, with carved and painted elements and an etched bronze plate.
The artwork draws on the story of Rākaihautū, who travelled through Te Waipounamu using his kō to dig out lakes and waterways – connecting the trail with one of the earliest stories of people and the landscape.
A kaleidoscope of culture
Further along the trail, artist Lyn Hewitson is working on an installation of 100 wooden butterflies along the fence line through the gorge section.
Inspired by the Red Admiral, the installation is a celebration of the different cultures represented here.
School students are creating designs that represent their nationality, heritage or country of origin, selected designs will be hand painted onto the butterflies.
Lyn recently discovered that a gathering of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope - a fitting description for the collection.
Jo and artist Lyn Hewitson with the colourful butterflies on the trail.
Thirteen communities in stone
Local artists Michael Bajko and Jane Scott will lead stone-carving workshops with district youth to create 13 kilometre markers, each representing one of the district's communities.
Installed at 1km intervals along the trail between Waimate and Waihao Downs, the markers will show trail users more than how far they’ve traveled.
“Each kilometre marker will represent a different community, turning the trail into an open-air gallery created with input from younger community members”
A new take on whata kai
Jane Scott and Wendy Heath are working with Waituna Creek and Waihao Downs schools to create a contemporary interpretation of a traditional Māori whata kai.
Whata kai was a raised wooden rack used to dry and preserve food such as tuna (eel), the structure will be reimagined as public art.
A tall wooden rack will hold forms made from recycled tractor inner tubes representing strips of tuna hung to dry, with students designing and painting the hanging elements using Māori-inspired patterns and symbols.
Jo Sutherland and Wendy Heath outside Waihao Marae.
Bringing people together
The Sculpture Trail project has been made possible through generous funding and in-kind support from Funding for Change, the Creative Communities Grant Scheme, Waimate Menzshed, ITM, Resene, Dulux, Bridget Harrison Physio and Waimate2gether.
“We are also immensely grateful to the many community members who have contributed their time, skills, materials, and enthusiasm through volunteering, helping bring each sculpture to life and making the trail a true community achievement.” says Jo.
As Wendy Heath, of Te Rūnanga o Waihao, puts it:
“It is like a mat; it takes a lot of different strands woven together to make the finished product.”
The project is bringing together artists and people from across the community, with support and advice from Waimate District Council, and that’s what it’s all about according to Jo.
“Art brings people together. It starts conversations, encourages learning and gives people a reason to stop, look and share an experience. That sense of connection and community is what this is all about.”
