Wellington Airport has always been a place of wild stories.
A host to giant eagles and fierce dragons.
A place of hellos and goodbyes.
A home of art, culture, wilderness and legends.
The story we haven’t yet told is the one of our whenua, the land.
Based on Te Motu Kairangi peninsula on Wellington’s wild South Coast, our airport is strongly connected to the environment. Papatūānuku, Ranginui and Tangaroa—the gods of earth, sky and sea—meet and play here.
In Aotearoa, we look to the deep world of te ao Māori to enrich our understanding of who we are and inspire who we can become. Pūrakau carry the stories of how our land came to be.
This is the story of our earliest beginnings in Aotearoa—a story of transformation, and of flight long before our time.

Ka mua ka muri
We look to the past for guidance into the future
Ka tīmata tā tātou kōrero i runga i te moana i mua noa atu i te ao tangata.
Our story begins upon a sea before the age of time.
I runga i tō tōna tuakana waka, ka piua e Māui tōna aho ki ngā rētōtanga o te moana, ā, ka hūtia tētahi ika nui. Ka takea ake tō tātou motu nui o te Raki, arā, ko Te Ika a Māui. Kei Te Upoko o te Ika, kei Te Whanganui a Tara, ka haere tonu tēnei kōrero.
On his brothers’ waka, Maui cast a line out to the depths of the ocean and hauled up a giant fish. This formed our great North Island, Te Ika a Maui. The head of the fish, Te Upoko o Te Ika, is Wellington Harbour.
I runga i tō tōna tuakana waka, ka piua e Māui tōna aho ki ngā rētōtanga o te moana, ā, ka hūtia tētahi ika nui. Ka takea ake tō tātou motu nui o te Raki, arā, ko Te Ika a Māui. Kei Te Upoko o te Ika, kei Te Whanganui a Tara, ka haere tonu tēnei kōrero.
On his brothers’ waka, Maui cast a line out to the depths of the ocean and hauled up a giant fish. This formed our great North Island, Te Ika a Maui. The head of the fish, Te Upoko o Te Ika, is Wellington Harbour.
Kua mau hōhonu te matau a Māui ki te taha o tāna ika. Nā te mamae, ka kopia te waha o te ika, nā, kia aukatia Te Whanganui a Tara i te aumoana.
Maui’s hook lodged deep into the side of his catch. The fish’s mouth clenched shut in pain, closing off the harbour from the sea.
Ka taka te wā, e hia kē nei te roa, ā, ka karangatia ētahi tupua e rua ki te whanga nei. Ko Ngake rāua ko Whātaitai ō rāua ingoa. Ka whai oranga rāua i konei, e whaiwhai kōriporipo ana i raro i te kahu o te wai, ā, e kōingo ana he aha rawa kei tua.
Aeons later, two tupua, Ngake and Whātaitai, were summoned to the harbour. They made a life here, playfully swirling beneath the water’s surface, longing to know what lay beyond.
Tērā tētahi rā, ka whakakaongia e te tupua kaha ake, e Ngake, tōna ngao katoa, ā, ka whakamānutia rawatia ia ki te rangi. Ākina rawatia, ka hinga ngā pari o te whanga, kia ngāngā anō te ika, ā, kia tūwhera hoki te waha o te whanga e kitea tonutia ana i ēnei rā.
One day Ngake launched himself into the air. With an almighty crash, the cliffs broke, creating the harbour entrance we see today.
Ka whakamātauhia e tōna tuakana, e Whātaitai kia pērā hoki ia. Engari ia, i tōna putanga, ka puritia rawatia. Kua mau a Whātaitai i waenganui i te aumoana me te roto. Ahakoa te takawhetawheta o tōna whiore, kāore he aha i pahawa.
Whātaitai attempted to do the same. But upon his exit, he became trapped between the sea and the harbour, thrashing his tail. But the struggle was in vain.
Ka haere te wā, i waho tonu i te wai, kātahi ka ngoikore haere a Whātaitai, ka hāhā, ā, ka manawa kiore… I tōna hā whakamutunga, ka hīia ake tōna wairua ki te rangi.
Time passed, Whātiatai grew weaker and began to die… As he took his last breath, a phenomenon of aerial activation took place.
Ka rere ake tōna wairua hei manu, arā, ko Te Manu Muramura. Ka rere mā Rangitatau, koia nei tētahi tomokanga ki te ao ki tua.
His spirit ascended in the form of a bird, Te Manu Muramura. He passed through Rangitatau, a portal to the universe beyond.
Our place here has been shaped by this ancient journey, an impression still with us today.

Explore the layers of the tohu






Our airport is Rangitatau, a transformational gateway. Our portal to the universe, and the world’s portal to Aotearoa.
From our bold sustainability journey to our community initiatives, we’re always striving for the next aerial activation, the next phenomenon. Like the tupua, we also dream of what lies beyond.
Looking down on Te Motu Kairangi peninsula, we were in awe to see the shape of Te Manu Muramura in the land, taking off into the sky.