This as yet un-built project was one of four finalists selected in the first stage of a two-stage international competition.

The seabird has great cultural significance to both Maori and European mariners. It is a motif which has been explored by many significant New Zealand artists, ancient and modern, Maori and European. Te Wero Bridge’s opening bascules – like open wings of a bird settling on sheltered harbour – are a welcoming gesture and symbol of guardianship for sea-tired vessels returning to the refuge of the Viaduct basin.