Aotea Square

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Aotea Square is a large paved public area regarded as the centre of the city of Auckland City, New Zealand. Officially opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson, the Auckland CBD square next to Queen Street is used as the site for open-air concerts and gatherings, as well as markets and political rallies, with the square holding around 30,000 people.^[1]

The name of the square is derived from Motu Aotea, the Māori name for Great Barrier Island, which is the largest offshore island of New Zealand and located approximately 90km from downtown Auckland.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 History 1.1 Construction 1.2 Significant events 2 Surroundings 3 Public art 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

[edit] 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. Previously a large underground carpark with 930 spaces had been erected underneath in 1975.^[1]

After 20 years, in 2000, a competition for a redesign was held, though before the winning design by Ted Smythe and Associates could be built, damage to the car park roof was discovered in 2004, whch stopped the project. While the roof was temporarily stabilised and plans for its repair made, the redesign of the square also received some changes.^[1]

Construction on the project is now to start in late 2008, and to run to 2010, during which there will be no events in the square. The project is to cost NZ$80 million, around $45 million for the car park repair, $25 million for the Aotea Square upgrade, and $10 million for works on the Aotea Centre facade. A cost savings of NZ$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.^[1]

[edit] 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 also hosts a regular arts & crafts 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 various bands including Herbs and DD Smash. However, a power cut interrupted the concert for a time, and some of the concert-goers began throwing bottles at police in attendance - who then called up additional forces in riot gear, but at first did not intervene further.^[2]

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 the announcement of 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.^[2]

Others present note that the rioting was influenced by a number of factors, including the large amount of intoxicated audience members, youth relief about the end of the Muldoon era, but also a confrontational attitude by the police, who allegedly blocked the exits from the concert area, thus giving the crowd no obvious way to disperse.^[3]

[edit] Surroundings

The Auckland Town Hall is located at the Queen Street entrance to the square. The Edwardian Hall features a main concert chamber with excellent acoustics, and was extensively restored and upgraded in 1994.

To the south of the square stands the Administration block of the Auckland City Council, along with the entry to Myers Park.

On the western side of Aotea 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 which was built in the atmospheric theatre style. The ceiling within the main chamber is illuminated with lights placed to correspond to the constellations of the southern night sky.

Aotea Square was originally the location of a swamp being 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.

[edit] Public art

A number of art works are located in Aotea Square:

• At the Queen Street entrance is an arch called 'Waharoa' (Gateway in Māori ), formed in wood and copper by Selwyn Muru, a Māori sculptor. This is an expressionist version of a traditional 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.^[4]

• In front of the Town Hall is a bronze statue of Sir Dove-Myer Robinson, a former mayor of Auckland. 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. This statue was originally commissioned in the 1960s for the lobby of the Auckland Saving Bank's new building on Queen Street. In 1997 the ASB presented this art work to the City of Auckland.

• In the centre of the square is a Bronze fountain by New Zealand Sculptor Terry Stringer. This angular "mountain" was commissioned in 1979 to form the centre piece for the new square, its form echoes the roofline of the contemporary Aotea Centre.

• In front of the Admin building is a 19th century bronze statue of George Eden, Lord Auckland (a Governor of India after whom the city of Auckland is named). This statue was originally erected in Calcutta and was purchased from the government of India by the Auckland City Council in the early 1960s.

[edit] References

• 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

[edit] External links

• Aotea Square (executive summary of a 2005 study of possible future changes, including a covered street under the square)

• Aotea Square is at coordinates 36°51′08″S 174°45′48″E / -36.852128, 174.763330 (Aotea Square)Coordinates: 36°51′08″S 174°45′48″E / -36.852128, 174.763330 (Aotea Square)