DescriptionTe Whakatipuranga i Roto te Ao Whakaakoranga represents growth from learning. Standing over three and a half metres tall, this stainless steel sculpture was created by longtime University of Waikato educator Donn Ratana.
The School commissioned Ratana to produce a work that would embody the essence of their master’s paper in management. During his research, Ratana discovered that computer rooms were located just beneath the proposed installation site. This inspired a narrative: three shoots climbing up from the technology below and reaching into the outside world. Reminiscent of te aka matua—the parent vine in Māori legend that gave humanity access to knowledge—the three pītau symbolize growth through learning. The tallest pītau represents the School of Management Studies and the knowledge it shares; the second represents the students; and the smallest embodies the community that students will ultimately return to. The three spirals support one another in a delicate balance that fosters collective upward momentum.
This interdependence is a deliberate tribute to the master's students themselves. Ratana sought to acknowledge the knowledge that students bring with them—cultivating a space of reciprocal learning rather than a one-way transfer of information. It also affirms the community’s role as the living environment in which experience is harvested and later returned to with newfound insight.
Taken as a whole, the sculpture echoes a figure performing Te Wero—a ceremonial challenge with taiaha in hand. Originally, the site was more open and faced a southern entranceway, inviting all who approached to meet this symbolic challenge. The sculpture’s stainless steel—chosen both for its visual harmony with the MSB Block and its practical durability—was fabricated in a factory that typically produces dairy farm piping, a subtle nod to the agricultural roots of Hamilton.
Consistent with Ratana’s artistic language, the piece blends traditional Māori concepts with modern materials to craft a rich narrative of interconnected growth. It reminds us that learning is never a solitary pursuit—it is a shared journey, supported and shaped by community, educators, and one another. CreatorDonn Ratana
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