Te Rewa Rewa Bridge. Taranaki. New Zealand.
S 39° 02.280 E 174° 06.730
60H E 250049 N 5675037
The stunning Te Rewa Rewa Footbridge over the Waiwhakaiho River, the centrepiece of the coastal walkway extension, was formally opened by Transport Minister Steven Joyce and Mayor Peter Tennent in a Saturday ceremony at 9.15am on 5th June, 2010.
Waymark Code: WMH243
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 05/09/2013
Views: 5
THE LOCATION: Te Rewa Rewa Footbridge, on the New Plymouth Coastal Walkway, an arch bridge whose spectacular shape and setting make it a popular landmark.
This stunning multi-award winning piece of architecture forms the beautiful white wave-like structure of the Te Rewa Rewa Footbridge, near the mouth of the Waiwhakaiho River near New Plymouth.
The bridge has been named the Te Rewa Rewa bridge, after the piece of reserve land the council bought in 1999, with the support of Ngati Tawhirikura hapu. Its amazing appearance is said to resemble a white surf wave on the coastline walkway, or the bare white bones of a whale skeleton. It is sited across the river in such a way that the view from the northern end frames the perfect cone shape of Mt Taranaki in the distance.
The vision of Te Rewa Rewa was conceived by New Plymouth District Council and funded by the NZ Transport Agency, council and the Whitaker Family Trust. The bridge opened in 2010 as part of the northern extension of the Coastal Walkway. Te Rewa Rewa Bridge was announced the winner of its category at the Footbridge Awards in Poland and has also won the Ingenium Excellence Award for projects between $2 million and $10m.
The bridge was commissioned by New Plymouth District Council and designed and constructed by a consortium of Whitaker Civil Engineering, Novare Design Ltd, Apex Consultants Ltd (now CPG) and Fitzroy Engineering.
THE PEOPLE: The two persons who opened the bridge are the former Mayor of New Plymouth Peter Tennent and the Transport Minister Steven Joyce.
Peter Tennent: (
visit link) Mr Tennent has been mayor of New Plymouth, New Zealand, since 2001 - 2010.
Steven Joyce: (
visit link) Mr Joyce entered the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2008 as a member of the New Zealand National Party. In the same year he became Minister of Transport and Minister for Communications and Information Technology.
THE PLAQUE: A simple polished steel plaque erected on the New Plymouth end of the bridge structure bears the following inscription;
TE REWA REWA BRIDGE
Officially opened by Hon. Steven Joyce
Minister of Transport
and
Mayor Peter Tennent
On 5th June 2010
with the support of
New Plymouth District Council
New Zealand Transport Agency
Whitaker Family
Tawhirikura Hapu
Access: Signposted from the Devon Street East, Fitzroy, intersection along the Lake Rotomanu Trail, drive along the lakeshore until you see the parking area beside the bridge.