Aotea Square
Encyclopedia
Aotea Square is a large paved public area in the CBD
, of Auckland
, New Zealand
. Officially opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson
next to Queen Street
, it is used for open-air concerts and gatherings, and markets and political rallies.
In November 2010, a major redevelopment of Aotea Square was completed. The square was redesigned to make it appropriate for use by crowds of up to 20,000 people.
Its name is derived from Motu Aotea, the Māori name for Great Barrier Island
, which is the largest offshore island of New Zealand, approximately 90 km from downtown Auckland.
In 2000 a competition for a redesign was held, but in 2004, before the winning design by Ted Smythe and Associates (including Rod Barnett and Dr Dushko Bogunovich) could be built, damage to the car park roof was discovered, which stopped the project. While the roof was temporarily stabilised and plans for its repair made, a consultation process initiated by mayor Dick Hubbard called 'Outside the Square' resulted in a new proposal. This proposal was abandoned after it was estimated to cost up to $600 million. After this the old design was revised several times (including some feedback from public consultation in August 2008) and was adopted in 2008.
Construction started in November 2008 and ran to late 2010, during which there were no events in the square. The project was projected to cost NZ$80 million, around $45 million for the car park repair, $25 million for the upgrade, and $10 million for works on the Aotea Centre facade. A cost saving of $15 million was identified during the process due to a modified construction process for the car park roof, which allowed the project to dispense with building a temporary car park.
market on Fridays and Saturdays.
Aotea Square was site of a major civil disturbance on December 7, 1984, during a free end-of-academic year rock
concert
given by bands including Herbs
and DD Smash
. A power cut interrupted the concert for a time, and some of the concert-goers began throwing bottles at police in attendance, who called up additional forces in riot gear but at first did not intervene further.
Dave Dobbyn
, DD Smash’s lead singer, was later accused of having incited a riot by declaring "I wish those riot squad guys would stop wanking and put their little batons away", followed by an announcement by Triple M
, the radio station promoting the concert, that the performance would be stopped on the request of the police. This caused a riot amongst parts of the audience, who moved into Queen Street, smashing shop windows and overturning cars, causing over NZ$
1 million in reported damage.
Others present noted that the rioting was influenced by a number of factors, including the large number of intoxicated audience members, youth relief about the end of the Muldoon
era, and a confrontational attitude by the police, who allegedly blocked the exits from the concert area, giving the crowd no obvious way to disperse.
The riot was the subject of a Commission of Inquiry headed by Peter Mahon
.
is at the Queen Street entrance to the square. It has a main concert chamber with excellent acoustics, and was extensively restored and upgraded in 1994.
To the south of the square are the Administration block of the Auckland City Council
and the entry to Myers Park
.
On the western side of the square is Auckland's main conference and theatre venue, the Aotea Centre
. The foyer contains art works by many New Zealand artists including a full length portrait in bronze of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
by Terry Stringer
.
To the north of the square is a cinema/theatre complex including the 1929 Civic Theatre
, in the atmospheric theatre
style. The ceiling within the main chamber is illuminated with lights placed to correspond with the constellations of the southern night sky.
Aotea Square was originally the location of a swamp fed and drained by the Waihorotiu Stream
. The stream was turned into an open sewer canal and eventually bricked over and the swampy area drained. A three-story underground parking garage accessible from Mayoral Drive and Greys Avenue was constructed in the 1970s.
Auckland CBD
The Auckland CBD is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas...
, of Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Officially opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson
Dove-Myer Robinson
Sir Dove-Myer Robinson was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office....
next to Queen Street
Queen Street, Auckland
Queen Street is the major commercial thoroughfare in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand's main population centre. It starts at Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Centre and the Downtown Ferry Terminal, and runs uphill for almost three kilometres in a...
, it is used for open-air concerts and gatherings, and markets and political rallies.
In November 2010, a major redevelopment of Aotea Square was completed. The square was redesigned to make it appropriate for use by crowds of up to 20,000 people.
Its name is derived from Motu Aotea, the Māori name for Great Barrier Island
Great Barrier Island
Great Barrier Island is a large island of New Zealand, situated to the north-east of central Auckland in the outer Hauraki Gulf. With an area of it is the fourth-largest island of New Zealand's main chain of islands, with its highest point, Mount Hobson, rising...
, which is the largest offshore island of New Zealand, approximately 90 km from downtown Auckland.
Construction
The square was created in 1979, with a large part of it being the former end of Grey's Avenue, which used to connect directly to Queen Street - a large underground carpark with 930 spaces had been erected underneath in 1975.In 2000 a competition for a redesign was held, but in 2004, before the winning design by Ted Smythe and Associates (including Rod Barnett and Dr Dushko Bogunovich) could be built, damage to the car park roof was discovered, which stopped the project. While the roof was temporarily stabilised and plans for its repair made, a consultation process initiated by mayor Dick Hubbard called 'Outside the Square' resulted in a new proposal. This proposal was abandoned after it was estimated to cost up to $600 million. After this the old design was revised several times (including some feedback from public consultation in August 2008) and was adopted in 2008.
Construction started in November 2008 and ran to late 2010, during which there were no events in the square. The project was projected to cost NZ$80 million, around $45 million for the car park repair, $25 million for the upgrade, and $10 million for works on the Aotea Centre facade. A cost saving of $15 million was identified during the process due to a modified construction process for the car park roof, which allowed the project to dispense with building a temporary car park.
Significant events
Aotea Square is often utilised for public events, including fairs, protest rallies, music festivals, rock concerts and the annual seeing-in of the New Year. It hosts a regular arts & craftsArts & Crafts
Arts & Crafts may refer to:* Arts and Crafts Movement, an aesthetic movement* Arts and crafts, activities related to making things with one's own hands and skill* "Arts & Crafts", a song by Red Light Company...
market on Fridays and Saturdays.
Aotea Square was site of a major civil disturbance on December 7, 1984, during a free end-of-academic year rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
given by bands including Herbs
Herbs (band)
Herbs are a New Zealand reggae vocal group formed in 1979 once described as "New Zealand's most soulful, heartfelt and consistent contemporary musical voice". It has been said their debut EP Whats' Be Happen? "set a standard for Pacific reggae which has arguably never been surpassed".-History:Herbs...
and DD Smash
DD Smash
DD Smash was a New Zealand pop/rock band formed by Dave Dobbyn after the breakup of Th'Dudes.-Members:Members included Dave Dobbyn , Peter Warren , Rob Guy , both formerly of Lip Service , and Lisle Kinney , formerly of Hello Sailor.-Origin:Originally formed in New Zealand, the band was resident...
. A power cut interrupted the concert for a time, and some of the concert-goers began throwing bottles at police in attendance, who called up additional forces in riot gear but at first did not intervene further.
Dave Dobbyn
Dave Dobbyn
Dave Dobbyn, ONZM is an award-winning New Zealand musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash...
, DD Smash’s lead singer, was later accused of having incited a riot by declaring "I wish those riot squad guys would stop wanking and put their little batons away", followed by an announcement by Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
, the radio station promoting the concert, that the performance would be stopped on the request of the police. This caused a riot amongst parts of the audience, who moved into Queen Street, smashing shop windows and overturning cars, causing over NZ$
New Zealand dollar
The New Zealand dollar is the currency of New Zealand. It also circulates in the Cook Islands , Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands. It is divided into 100 cents....
1 million in reported damage.
Others present noted that the rioting was influenced by a number of factors, including the large number of intoxicated audience members, youth relief about the end of the Muldoon
Robert Muldoon
Sir Robert David "Rob" Muldoon, GCMG, CH served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1975 to 1984, as leader of the governing National Party. Muldoon had been a prominent member of the National party and MP for the Tamaki electorate for some years prior to becoming leader of the party...
era, and a confrontational attitude by the police, who allegedly blocked the exits from the concert area, giving the crowd no obvious way to disperse.
The riot was the subject of a Commission of Inquiry headed by Peter Mahon
Peter Mahon (lawyer)
Peter Thomas Mahon QC was a New Zealand High Court Judge, best known for his Commission of Inquiry into the crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901 . His son, Sam Mahon is a well-known artist.-Military Service:...
.
Surroundings
The Edwardian Auckland Town HallAuckland Town Hall
The Auckland Town Hall is a historic building on Queen Street in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions , as well as for its famed Great Hall and its separate Concert Chamber...
is at the Queen Street entrance to the square. It has a main concert chamber with excellent acoustics, and was extensively restored and upgraded in 1994.
To the south of the square are the Administration block of the Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority representing Auckland City, New Zealand, and was amalgamated into the Auckland Council on 1 November 2010. It was an elected body representing the 404,658 residents of the city...
and the entry to Myers Park
Myers Park (Auckland)
Myers Park is a narrow park in central Auckland, New Zealand, running parallel to the upper part of Queen Street. It is characterised by steep, grassed slopes and canopied with a mixture of large exotic and native trees, including an alley of large palm trees...
.
On the western side of the square is Auckland's main conference and theatre venue, the Aotea Centre
Aotea Centre
The Aotea Centre is a performing arts and events centre / theatre in the Auckland CBD, Auckland City, New Zealand. Located at the western edge of Aotea Square, off Queen Street, the centre provides cultural venue space in the heart of the city and is managed by 'The Edge'...
. The foyer contains art works by many New Zealand artists including a full length portrait in bronze of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
Kiri Te Kanawa
Dame Kiri Jeanette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand / Māori soprano who has had a highly successful international opera career since 1968. Acclaimed as one of the most beloved sopranos in both the United States and Britain she possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, singing a wide array...
by Terry Stringer
Terry Stringer
Terry Stringer ONZM is a leading New Zealand sculptor.-Biography:Stringer was born in Cornwall, England in 1946. Stringer received a Diploma of Fine Arts from the Elam School of Fine Arts in 1967. Many New Zealand galleries and collections feature works by Stringer and he has completed a number...
.
To the north of the square is a cinema/theatre complex including the 1929 Civic Theatre
Auckland Civic Theatre
The Auckland Civic Theatre is a large heritage theatre seating 2,378 people in central Auckland, New Zealand. First opened on 20 December 1929, it was reopened in 2000 after a major renovation and conservation effort...
, in the atmospheric theatre
Atmospheric theatre
An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace which has an auditorium ceiling that is intended to give the illusion of an open sky as its defining feature...
style. The ceiling within the main chamber is illuminated with lights placed to correspond with the constellations of the southern night sky.
Aotea Square was originally the location of a swamp fed and drained by the Waihorotiu Stream
Waihorotiu Stream
The Waihorutiu Stream , also called the 'Queen Street River', is a former stream in the downtown region of Auckland City, New Zealand, which has long since been covered over and made to disappear by the increasing urbanisation of the area.-History:Originally, it was an open stream starting out in a...
. The stream was turned into an open sewer canal and eventually bricked over and the swampy area drained. A three-story underground parking garage accessible from Mayoral Drive and Greys Avenue was constructed in the 1970s.
Public art
A number of art works are in Aotea Square:- At the Queen Street entrance is an arch called 'Waharoa' (Gateway in MāoriMaori languageMāori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
), formed in wood and copper by Selwyn Muru, a Māori sculptor. This is an expressionist version of a traditional MāoriMaori cultureMāori culture is the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, an Eastern Polynesian people, and forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture. Within the Māori community, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori...
entry gate. It features symbols like birds, fish and the crescent moon and stars but also elements like the nuclear disarmament symbol, reflecting the modern influences on New Zealand art.
- In front of the Town Hall is a bronze statue of Sir Dove-Myer RobinsonDove-Myer RobinsonSir Dove-Myer Robinson was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office....
, a former mayor of AucklandMayor of AucklandThe Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland region in New Zealand...
. This work dates from 2003 and is by the New Zealand sculptor Toby Twiss.
- Near the Town Hall is a bronze figure of a Māori warrior by Lyndon Smith, commissioned in the 1960s for the lobby of the Auckland Saving Bank's new building on Queen Street. In 1997 the ASB presented it to the City of Auckland. [This item is currently in storage awaiting relocation]
- In the centre of the square is a bronze fountain by New Zealand sculptor Terry StringerTerry StringerTerry Stringer ONZM is a leading New Zealand sculptor.-Biography:Stringer was born in Cornwall, England in 1946. Stringer received a Diploma of Fine Arts from the Elam School of Fine Arts in 1967. Many New Zealand galleries and collections feature works by Stringer and he has completed a number...
. This angular "mountain" was commissioned in 1979 to form the centre piece for the new square, and its form echoes the roofline of the contemporary Aotea Centre. In 2009 media controversy centred around the speculation that Council prefers to permanently remove the fountain, despite having assured its sculptor that it will return after the maintenance work on the car park roof. This item was in fact later relocated to the forecourt of the Holy Trinity CathedralHoly Trinity CathedralHoly Trinity Cathedral may refer to:* Holy Trinity Cathedral , Ethiopia* Holy Trinity Cathedral , Ghana* Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland, New Zealand* Holy Trinity Cathedral, Blaj, Romania...
in ParnellParnell, New ZealandParnell is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is often billed as Auckland's "oldest suburb" since it dates from the earliest days of the European settlement of Auckland in 1841...
, though by then with the artist's agreement.
- In front of the Administration building is a 19th century bronze statue of George Eden, Lord AucklandBaron AucklandBaron Auckland is a title in both the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in 1789 when the prominent politician and financial expert William Eden was made Baron Auckland in the Peerage of Ireland. In 1793 he was created Baron Auckland, of West Auckland in...
, Governor of India, after whom the Auckland is named. This statue was originally erected in Calcutta and was purchased from the government of IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
by Auckland City CouncilAuckland City CouncilAuckland City Council was the local government authority representing Auckland City, New Zealand, and was amalgamated into the Auckland Council on 1 November 2010. It was an elected body representing the 404,658 residents of the city...
in the early 1960s.
- In April 2011 Auckland Council placed in the square a large temporary sculpture by Japanese artist Ujino, titled Dragonhead and said to represent the homogeneity of consumer culture and globalisation.
See also
- Cathedral Square, ChristchurchCathedral Square, ChristchurchCathedral Square, locally known simply as the Square, is the geographical centre and heart of Christchurch, New Zealand, where the city's Anglican cathedral, ChristChurch Cathedral is located...
- Civic Square, WellingtonCivic Square, WellingtonCivic Square is an open public area at the centre of Wellington, New Zealand. It marks the boundary between the financial district to the north and the entertainment district to the south.- Textures and materials :...
- The Octagon, DunedinThe Octagon, DunedinThe Octagon is the city centre of Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand.-Features:The Octagon is an eight sided plaza bisected by the city's main street, which is called George Street to the northeast and Princes Street to the southwest...
Further reading
- Decently And In Order, The Centennial History of the Auckland City Council - Bush, G.W.A., Collins 1971.
- Auckland City Heritage Walks - Yoffe, Susan & Mace, Tania, 2005
External links
- Aotea Square (executive summary of a 2005 study of possible future changes, including a covered street under the square, that was later abandoned due to cost reasons)