A memorial celebrating the co-operative relationship between New Zealand and Australia was unveiled by the Prime Ministers of both countries at a dedication ceremony in Canberra on 24 April 2001.
Situated at the head of Canberra's ceremonial avenue, Anzac Parade, the memorial takes the form of two bronze arches, each representing the handle of a flax basket or kete. Based on the proverb ‘Mau tena kiwai o te kete, maku tenei' or ‘Each of us at a handle of the basket', the kete symbolises the shared ‘load' and experience of Australians and New Zealanders, with the dynamic form of the handles emphasising the ongoing evolution of that relationship.
Each handle is distinct, with one handle representing Australia, and the other New Zealand. On the Australian side, Daisy Nadjungdanga from Maningruda in the Northern Territory has designed an Aboriginal motif for the paving beneath the handle, using stone of Australian origin. Toi te Rito Maihi and Allen Wihongi from Northland have created a Maori design for the paving on the New Zealand side, with the stone originating from Coromandel, Golden Bay and Canterbury.
The special bond forged between Australia and New Zealand during times of war is acknowledged on the paved area beneath each handle. In a ceremony on 26 February 2001, soil from Chunuk Bair, Gallipoli was buried in a rimu box on the New Zealand side, while on the Australian side, soil from Lone Pine, Gallipoli was buried in a box made from Australian jarrah. The campaigns in which New Zealanders and Australians have served side by side are also inscribed on concentric circles radiating from each handle.
For further information on the New Zealand Memorial please see the National Capital Authority website.
In 1995 the New Zealand Government accepted an invitation from the Australian Government to erect a New Zealand Memorial in Canberra. Designs for the new memorial were called for in 1996 and over 100 expressions of interest were received from design teams on both sides of the Tasman. Of these, 15 teams were invited by the five-member selection panel to submit design proposals for the new memorial, with the panel then selecting three finalists to submit more developed designs, including a scale model.
The 15 teams selected were:
The selection panel for each stage of the process was:
The design proposed by sculptor Kingsley Baird and Wellington-based Studio of Pacific Architecture was chosen unanimously by the panel and the winning design was unveiled in June 1999 by the then Prime Minister, Rt Hon Jenny Shipley. Construction of the memorial began in November 2000.
Working together, Kingsley Baird and the team at Studio of Pacific Architecture jointly created the concepts for the memorial design. They have also coordinated the input of other creative contributors.
Kingsley Baird is a well-known artist, working principally in sculpture, with a wealth of experience in commissioned works. He works with a wide variety of materials. Since beginning the practice of sculpture in 1978, Baird has frequently worked with subject matter that deals with New Zealand's cultural identity and the interface between Pakeha and Maori cultures.
He has received a number of awards and grants, and has an extensive exhibition record.
Studio of Pacific Architecture is an award winning architectural and urban design practice, which has been responsible for an innovative and diverse range of projects since its inception in 1992. Studio of Pacific Architecture has three directors; Nicholas Barratt-Boyes, Stephen McDougall, and Evzen Novak.
Recent awards that Studio of Pacific Architecture have received include a BEST Award, an NZIA Branch Award, and NZIA Colour Award for TransAlta New Zealand Ltd Head Office fitout; and NZIA Awards for Marion Square Apartments, Origin Design, and Mission Hall's offices in Wellington. Other competition wins include Carrington Polytechnic Student Housing Design Competition for 85 student apartments in Auckland, and, as participants in Studio 333, the Revitalisation of Samarkand Competition, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, a competition sponsored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, USSR Union of Architects and the Uzbekistan Union of Architects, 1991.
Since 1994, Kingsley Baird and Studio of Pacific Architecture have worked together in a dynamic and creative informal design team. Their cooperative design projects have included a variety of urban design, landscape and sculptural works, including proposals for Tawa Village Centre in Wellington, and the New Zealand Crete Memorial in Lower Hutt/Hutt City.
The multi-discipline Kingsley Baird/Studio of Pacific Architecture creative team includes the following additional artists and consultants:
Evzen Novak
Studio of Pacific Architecture Ltd.
PO Box 11 517
Wellington
Tel: 64 4 473 6444
Fax: 64 4 499 1888
Email: architects@studiopacific.
