Statistics for Pukeahu National War Memorial Park andArras Tunnel

PEOPLE

  • Work hours: 775,000 work hours completed during construction of tunnel and park
  • More than 1800 people attended safety inductions to allow them on site, including

-60+ fulltime designers, construction managers and support staff

-60+ fulltime site crew

-Plus contractors on site for specific jobs

-Upto 220 workers on a site the size of 3 rugby fields at peak of tunnel construction

  • Site office at 175 Taranaki St housed administrative support, designers, engineers – all readily accessible to the project site just outside the doors

PUKEAHU PARK

Some of the special features defining Pukeahu

  • The New Zealand National War Mermorial: Carillon (1932), Hall of Memories (1964), Tomb of the Unknown Warrior (2004)
  • The new Australian War Memorial compliments the New Zealand Memorial, Anzac Parade, Canberra
  • Ngä Tapuwae o te Kähui Maunga, the Mäori garden:is home to the bronze statue of Hinerangi with cloak (adult size – 1.8m tall), andcarved rocks representing Mount Taranaki, Ruapehu and Tongariro
  • The Eastern and Western terraces formed asa series of “landscape rooms”; the Western terraces will be home to other countries’ memorials
  • Two pavilions at the Tasman/Tory Streets and the Taranaki Street entrance with copper-edged roofs will age to be a similar green as the roof of the Carillon and the former Dominion Museum building in the Memorial Precinct
  • Culturally and historically significant plants and trees throughout

How was it decided what to plant around the park?

A series of planting aspects were considered. These included:

  • Do they grow well in Wellington context/environment – a number of native plants and trees are used as a result
  • Do they reflect the international contribution to the park – over time memorials from other counties will be introduced into the park. For this reason exotic plants (ie,red roses) are planted within the western terraces (which is where international memorials will be erected)
  • Symbolic of peace and remembrance – other exotic species (olives and poppies) are incorporated into the park as they symbolise peace and remembrance respectively. In addition, olives grow widely in Europe and the Middle East which talks to New Zealand’s relationship to these regions from its military involvement there)

Plants and trees used to landscape the park

Trees

165 trees of six different types

Native trees:

  • 32 Pohutakawa trees of the cultivar “Maori Princess”. Since 1935, many pohutukawa have been planted around the National War Memorial as living memorials, including plantings after World War Two,by local Mäorii iwi Te Atiawa in honour of fallen Pacific Island comrades
  • 5 Northern Rata trees
  • 25 Kowhai trees
  • 10 Titoki trees

Exotic trees:

  • 75 Olive trees
  • 18 Eucalyptus trees for the Australian Memorial

Garden beds

The 3,000m2 of garden bed area contains up to17,000 perennial plants of a wide variety

Native plants, including:

Leafy clump-forming plants

-Rengarenga lilies, massed plantings, these lilies havestems of white spring-into-summer flowers: important to Mäori spiritually as a sacred mauri (talisman) that embodies the soul of the Mäori people

-Swamp astelia

-New Zealand iris

Tussock-like plants

-Red tussock

-Purei (Carex species)

-Muttonbird sedge (Carex species)

Low shrubs

-Hebe

Spreading groundcovers

-Panekeneke with white flowers

-Creeping fuchsia with yellow flowers

Fern-leafed plants

-Swamp kiokio

Exotic plants, in particular:

Red Rose, low growing shrubs with masses of red flowers over a long period, the red symbolising remembrance

Nuts and bolts statistics

  • Square metres of the park: 21,000m2
  • Pathways: 6500m2
  • Ceremonial plaza in front of National War Memorial: 1000m2
  • Bollards in the plaza to restrict car movements: 46
  • Concrete – poured in situ and precast panels: 920 tonne of concrete retaining wall; 900 tonnes of other site concrete
  • Pavers: 4500m2 of granite paving
  • Turf laid: 3850m2 of tall fescue grass
  • Timber Seating:35 seats made of Eucalyptus Saligna timber

TRENCH AND TUNNEL

  • 6.95km of new service pipes laid underground, including

-900m water main, stormwater and wastewater

-5.6km electricity and telecommunications

  • Underpass trench

-300m long, 18m wide, up to 12m deep

-35,000 m2 of soil removed = 2,700 truck and trailer loads

  • Trench retaining walls

-600m of retaining walls up to12m high

-558 ground anchors, 13m long, drilled sideways through the walls

-16,000 bags of cement to bind the ground anchors in place

  • Tunnel

-94 concrete piles, 10-30m deep, to hold the tunnel in place in the event of a major earthquake

-7,500 m3 of concrete poured for the floor, walls and roof

-2,598 tonnes of steel reinforcing tied in for the floor, walls and roof