Statistics for Pukeahu National War Memorial Park
and Arras Tunnel
PEOPLE
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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
- Up to 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
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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), and carved rocks representing Mount
Taranaki, Ruapehu and Tongariro
The Eastern and Western terraces formed as a 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 Mäori i 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 to 17,000 perennial plants of a wide variety
Native plants, including:
Leafy clump-forming plants
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Rengarenga lilies, massed plantings, these lilies have stems of white spring-intosummer 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
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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
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6.95km of new service pipes laid underground, including
- 900m water main, stormwater and wastewater
- 5.6km electricity and telecommunications
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Underpass trench
- 300m long, 18m wide, up to 12m deep
- 35,000 m2 of soil removed = 2,700 truck and trailer loads
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Trench retaining walls
- 600m of retaining walls up to 12m high
- 558 ground anchors, 13m long, drilled sideways through the walls
- 16,000 bags of cement to bind the ground anchors in place
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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