Te Karu o Te Ika Poari Hauora (TKOTIPH) brand identity and Strategic plan report design.
Photography provided by Kendyl Walker.
Wairarapa is a large and bountiful region with a long history. Māori oral tradition tells us the area is a part of the huge fish ‘Te Ika a Maui’, hooked and caught by Maui – a Polynesian tupua. The fish is the North Island of New Zealand. Te Karu o Te Ika a Maui, the eye of the fish, is Wairarapa Moana and its mouth, Te Waha o Te Ika a Maui, is Palliser Bay.
Another account of the naming of Wairarapa Moana says it was named by Haunui-ā-Nanaia, the son of Popoto and Nanaia. He named the Moana as he sat at the summit of Remutaka and saw the glistening lake in the near distance. The reflection of the sun caught him in the eye and made them water, hence these words handed down to us through waiata ‘ka rarapa ngā kanohi ko Wairarapa’.
The tohu is a representation of the story of Haunui-ā-Nanaia, as he sat at the summit of Remutaka and saw Wairarapa Moana. The gradient illustrates the glistening beauty of the lake.