Barrowcliffe Bridge: Linking to Manukau’s cultural and ecological heritage
18 February 2022
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Landscape architect Cathy Challinor explains why, through working with mana whenua, the Barrowcliffe Bridge and Place Enhancement inextricably links history and culture with a connection to place.
We were very excited to win the opportunity to work on the Barrowcliffe Bridge and Place Enhancements project on behalf of Eke Panuku. The project came about as part of the Transform Manukau – a long-term strategy based around supporting Manukau as the centre of the south. The Barrowcliffe site is located in central Manukau and is well-placed to support this vision: at the heart of a landscape rich and diverse in culture and history, focussed on an exciting future.
The project itself offered the opportunity to make real connections — connections in a physical sense, in the form of a new cycleway and improved footpath connections; but also a spiritual connection to place and culture. As Landscape Architects working together with Mana Whenua representatives in this space there was an almost overwhelming amount of material to draw from. We were lucky to work closely with Lucy Tukua on behalf of Mana Whenua who shared her wisdom along the way.
Armed with research and opportunities ranging between the volcanic landscape of Ngā Matukurua, the Justice (injustice?) Precinct, the notable achievements of Judge Karina Williams and even Barrowcliffe (who was he?), the team chose to focus on one element that inextricably links the past history and culture with its future, a connection to place.
This was, and is, the Puhinui Stream.
The Puhinui was once a rich and fertile waterway. Emerging from near Totora Park, the Puhinui once flourished through various ecologies from rich podocarp forest in the upper land to wetlands that provided an abundance of kai and resources for mahinga kai, mahi toi and rongoā. More recently the Puhinui has become significantly degraded and polluted.
While the project area itself is slightly north of the natural stream alignment, it still falls within the catchment of the Puhunui and is a contributor to the future health and wellbeing of the waterway. This focus dovetailed nicely with the statutory planning, technical engineering and stormwater management requirements of the project. It was also a good fit with creating connections, as the new footpaths and cycleway create a connection to the work on a new shared pathway in the Puhinui Reserve.
Progressing the project through technical design and approval processes also allowed the narrative to be progressively distilled and embedded into functional requirements. The resulting elements built into the project then become essential parts of the street, and include further reference details that can be discovered. This is achieved in two, deceptively simple, moves.
Firstly, the mix of street tree species and planted buffers refer back to the original vegetation of the area, but they also act to collect stormwater runoff, cleansing the water before it is released back into the catchment. This gives respect to and uplifts the mana of the Puhinui.
On the surface this appears simple but a lot of investment went into the whole process. This went from working with the Council Arborist and tree suppliers to determine the best and some untested tree species for this tough urban environment, to engineering the water runoff management and the construction of large volume tree pits to support future growth of the trees.
Secondly, the functional lighting for the pedestrian and cycle paths has been utilised to reference the Puhinui naming story. The Puhinui narrative ties the story to place by using naming – Puhi Nui – which refers to an event where a hidden waka was discovered as a result of its protruding puhi. These are also known as whatu (eyes) ariki (spiritual guide) or the guiding eyes that can be seen on the front of a waka taua.
Rising to the challenge of meeting technical, ownership and maintenance requirements the light columns have been designed to reflect waka hoe raised in salute to the Puhinui. They are designed for a wide viewing audience, including motorists on State Highway 20, means that they now also signify a gateway to Manukau.
For further information please contact Cathy Challinor
