Contact Energy's Gift to the People of Taupo - Ngatoroirangi Toa Matarau

Dawn on Saturday the 14th of November 2009, saw around 1000 people join members of the Taupo RSA at the entrance to the Taupo War Memorial to unveil Contact Energy's Gift to the People of Taupo. The 9 metre high sculpture is a Waharoa or spritual entrance that now stands as a gateway to the Taupo War Memorial Cenotaph on Tongariro Street in Taupo. 

It was designed and carved by local master carver Delani Brown, who is of Ngāti Tūwharetoa/ Raukawa descent. He worked closely with Ngāti Tūwharetoa Kaumātua to receive the stories, wisdom and historical knowledge that underpin the stories depicted in the carving. The Waharoa has been sculpted from ancient Totara sourced from the Waipohutu forest of the Pouakani Lands, it features carvings that tell a symbolic and spiritual story about the arrival of geothermal energy to the Taupo region.

The site for the waharoa outside the Great Lake Centre was selected by Ngati Tuwharetoa as it is sacred to the whole community as a place to reflect and remember those who have passed on. 

View the story of the Waharoa Ngatoroirangi Toa Matarau