It’s not unusual for Ōamaru to bring its past to the fore, but this time the focus is on extinct birds, not Victorian buildings.

Several life-size moa, with a trail of footprints, are being painted under and near the Thames Street railway bridge, as part of a plan to revitalise the town centre.

The Ōamaru Underland Artscape is the first of five community-led ‘pathfinder projects’ to get started. The projects aim to pilot new approaches to unlock the potential of central Ōamaru, and the groups have been made up of a selection of volunteer community members.

Waitaki District Council community and economic development manager Mel Jones says it has been rewarding to actively engage in developing the projects.

“Volunteering their time, knowledge and resources to make Ōamaru a place we can all be proud of.”

Ōamaru artist Matthew “Wicksey” Wicks has been commissioned to recreate the life-sized Dinornis robustus, or South Island giant moa, which stood 3.6 metres tall before it died out.

“On the big wall, as you come out of the tunnel - there's just this large concrete face - there'll be three moa going on that, painted life-size.

“So kids and adults will be able to stand next to them and get a feel for what their size was, and then on two of the pillars that hold up the railway bridge, there's two moa going on those as well.

“They'll be sort of in the trees, which is quite neat. In their natural habitat as it were.”

The footprints are being painted by a group of volunteers, who will be guided by another Ōamaru artist, Martin Horspool, using a stencil made using actual moa prints found in Central Otago. 

About 60 footprints, the same size and stride as left by the former giant bird, will be used as an educational and directional tool, steering people to walk in the footsteps of the moa.

“ On the concrete path that goes underneath the bridge, all the way underneath that bridge there,” Martin says. “Almost like, it's like another layer. It's like a subterranean sort of passage.

“It's as if it's kind of like underground.”

Work on the project was supposed to start on Monday, but has been hampered by wet weather, Wicksey says.

“The large wall is going to have a bit of cleaning done to it first, and then once that's all prepped and ready to go, we'll have a bit of a working bee down there and paint a sort of a background on it, and get the face ready for the moa to be painted on it.

“It's just on hold at the moment in terms of starting, just waiting for it to dry up, and then we'll be into it.” 

An artist's impression of what the moa mural might look like. Photo: supplied

Wicksey says the project will be finished by the end of the year. 

While there will probably be some signposting to let people know what they might find under the bridge, the group also wants it to be a bit of a “hidden gem” to be discovered.

The initial plan was to form a larger arts trail through the town, but the decision has been made to start small. 

“I think starting where we're starting gives us the opportunity to go, ‘Hey, let's do what we wanted to do. It might take a few years, but eventually it will be great’,” Wicksey says.

“There's conversations happening behind the scenes, some really good ideas being shared that will come to light in the future . . . but we want to do it right and we want to do something really cool, so scale it down, do a really good job of it and then eventually grow it.”

The cost of the project is being covered by Better Off Funding, which was allocated to the council by the Labour Government as part of the Three Waters Reform process.

Town Masterplan

Waitaki District Councillors voted to adopt the Central Ōamaru Masterplan at last week’s meeting.

The plan aims to improve and develop central Ōamaru over the next 30 years, focusing on better connections and navigation. Key projects have been identified to help link three main areas – Thames Street, the Heritage Precinct, and the Harbour.

The five community-led projects will be a part of that.

The Masterplan is a “living document”, meaning it will be updated with new ideas and opportunities as they come up, and take on board learning from the pilot projects.

Council chief executive Alex Parmley says the Central Ōamaru Masterplan brings together several existing plans into one combined strategy "for revitalisation and growth". 

“It offers the chance of a new way of working with partners, local businesses and community members to make Ōamaru a place we can all love and feel connected to.”