Te Tatau Katitiaki (The Guardian’s Gateway) is the ceremonial threshold that formally welcomes visitors to Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira and into the newly refurbished Te Ao Mārama, South Atrium. The artwork is bestowed to the museum by mana whenua artist Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Manu, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Haua). The pair of doors sets the tone for the atrium and the rest of the museum as a bicultural space. Together the architecture and artwork express and uplift the identity of mana whenua and enable tikanga protocols.

In the words of Graham Tipene, the artist pictured above and below with his tama (son), ‘this piece represents the first voice of welcome. It represents the mana (prestige) of women. It is guidance and learning. It is the land, the ocean, the people and the stars. It is guardianship through deities. It is a visual representation of all we seek to keep us connected to our past. This piece acknowledges this building as a kaitiaki (guardian) of taonga (precious Māori collections). This piece acknowledges change. This piece acknowledges the whakapapa (genealogy) of all who keep taonga safe.’

The wing-like twin doors of Te Tatau Kaitiaki are lined in battens sourced from an 800 year old Totāra tree, felled a century ago. Totāra is a New Zealand native timber renowned for its resilience and use in whakairo (māori carving) which resonates with symbolic value in the context of the museum.