Our gift from the Mt Messenger Bypass team and the story of Hinetūparimaunga

21 hours ago

2 min read

At our 25th anniversary celebration at Mt Messenger, Construction Manager Jackson Tilley from the Te Ara o Te Ata Alliance project team presented Geovert with a commemorative cutting pick from the roadheader that excavated the bypass’s 235m tunnel, mounted to mark the tunnel’s completion this year.

Tunnellers traditionally give a roadheader a female name before it makes its first cut. On Te Ara o Te Ata, the machine was referred to as Hinetūparimaunga, the female personification of mountains and cliffs. Rae-Hinerau Wetere, Pou Tiaki – Project Cultural Lead explained to us that the name represented the power and energy of the roadheader as it connected with the rock and earth with every cut.

Hinetūparimaunga artwork on the roadheader machine and the mounted cutting pick

Tunnel engineer Teringa Horton created artwork showing Hinetūparimaunga holding up the walls and roof of the tunnel, set against a yellow background that represents the light that will flow through once the tunnel is complete.

Hinetūparimaunga’s ancestral story artwork

A second design tells Hinetūparimaunga’s whakapapa, or ancestral story. It shows her union with Tāne Mahuta, God of the forests and birds, and their daughter Parawhenuamea, who represents the freshwater that flows down from the mountaintops. Beneath them, the design represents all forms of rock and stone. It will be displayed at the tunnel entrance as a reminder of the environment the project sits within.

Our crews carried out the stabilisation works around the tunnel portal, including the rock bolts that help hold the ground there. Being given a piece of Hinetūparimaunga meant a huge amount to the people who did that work and the company as a whole.

Ngā mihi to Rae-Hinerau, Teringa and the Te Ara o Te Ata team for the gift and the story behind it, and for the warm welcome our team has received on site. We are also grateful to have been included in the project’s cultural celebrations. At this year’s Matariki, the Māori New Year, Geovert team members took part in whāngai i ngā whetū, the feeding of the stars. We hope to join the project again for Matariki next year.