Baypark to Bayfair Link

Project update

8 March 2024

Bayfair underpass comes to life

A mural is getting underway in the Bayfair underpass as part of the Baypark to Bayfair Link project, and the community is invited to watch it take shape.

The walls of the Bayfair underpass will be transformed with a unique piece of mahi toi – a mural featuring underwater and shore kaitiaki (guardian) species, covering both sides and spanning the length of the pedestrian connection from Bayfair Shopping Centre to Golf 360 on the Matapihi side.

Ngāti Tapu artist Stu Mcdonald along with several other local artists will get started on Saturday 9 March and the community is welcome to float on in, watch the artists create and find out more about the mural and the stories it tells over the next 3 – 4 weeks.

Stu Mcdonald, a local artist and carver who leads The Ahipoutu Collective in Matapihi, is using this opportunity to encourage talented local up-and-coming rangatahi (youth) artists to contribute to the mural and make their mark on the Tauranga Moana art scene.

Everyone is welcome to visit the artists, see them at work, have a kōrero and get involved.

The mural will be painted during the day, allowing underpass users to see live painting happening. Please take the opportunity to come along over the next month.

The underpass will remain open to people walking and cycling while this work is underway. Please take care when using the underpass as space may be more constrained than usual while this work is underway.

Key dates and location

Saturday 9 September to approx. Saturday 30 March 2024
Daytime, from approx. 8am – 5pm, weather dependent
Bayfair walking and cycling underpass

About the mural

‘Mai te Awa, Ki te Moana - From the river to the ocean’

The artists will use the underpass and toi (artwork) as a lens to paint kaitiaki species that are important to mana whenua. Being situated between the harbour and the ocean, this area was once abundant with plant and animal life including important sources of kaimoana for mana whenua.

This is one of the overarching cultural narratives associated with the Bay Link project and will tie-in with the existing mahi toi already present across the site and still to come.

The following flora and fauna will be shown on the walls of the underpass in the painted mural:

• Mangōpare – Hammerhead shark
• Whai – Eagle ray
• Tuna – Eel
• Inanga – Whitebait
• Tuturiwhatu - Dotterel
• Kōtuku – White Heron
• Tītī – Shearwater or Muttonbird
• Harakeke – Flax

More information

For more information on the Baypark to Bayfair Link upgrade project, contact us at baylink@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/baylink