Albert and Wolfe

The following list of texts are endings to the opening title of A Monument to the Memory of... They are meant to prompt thought and encourage the passer by and flaneur to consider how memory works and lives for them on these sites.

The city, like any city, has layered histories. Some are open and freely shared others are private for whānau only. Some memories and histories are painful and raw even hundreds of years later, others are light that we can smile at while thinking of our own.

The colours of the monuments are in vague reference to different objects in the space and reaching back through time.

Late Nights at Food Alley (this eatery was a cultural institution, with the lack of any kind of chinatown this served a vital purpose of making space for a particular kind of food and beverage. The memories of this place are some of my best, hours spent there with friends during art school discussing things that would change the world) 

Music from Passing Cars (referencing my youth spending endless nights wandering the streets and slowly cruising Albert street, watching people and lights and blending into the noise) 

The River Wai Horotiu (not so common knowledge of the river that holds this name. I do not mention the taniwha as feel this is not my place as it is not my kaitiaki and I have no whakapapa ties to the whenua) 

Paa Harakeke (this must have been a healthy place for harakeke to grow) 

Whakapapa that Binds the Heavens to Earth (this references the stairs within buildings that connect to the poutama on tukutuku panels and whāriki, woven mats. This concerns knowledge as well as genealogies.) 

Fresh Water Baths (apparently there were fresh water baths on or near this site) 

Tramlines and Tearooms (referencing a lost era that is romantic and sustainable) 

Mana Whenua; Moo AAke Tonu Atu (who still proudly call Tāmaki Makaurau home, I’m asserting again that their place here is forever though I am fleeting) 

Nursery on the Rooftop https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12087086 (directly refers to the Yates building and is also quite romantic) 

The Forgotten Tide (with the reclamation of land the people lose the concept of high and low tide) 

The Tootara and Puuriri, Tuu Mai Raa (the newly planted tōtara, which I hope stand tall forever as well as the pūriri that is on Wolfe Street)  

The seed sown in Rangiaatea (This references an ancient whakatauki but also the Yates building as the largest seed store in what were then the colonies) the first pigeon in Auckland(there must have been a first time that pigeons were released in to Auckland, used as messengers and important for communication, they are now pests through no fault of their own) The Always glistening WaitematĀ(naming the waters of the harbour that glisten like matā or obsidian is such a perfect comparison)

The Seawall that tried its best This is in reference to a seawall that rather than keep the water from meeting the city streets was instead made redundant through reclamation of the sea for more development.

The Moss, that begins again and again This is a small and beautiful process of decay that is always attempting to return the city streetscape to a natural state.