As you enter Tauranga Harbour, you are greeted by a sculpture of Tangaroa, the Māori god of the seas. The deity is holding a traditional warrior club (mere) and a battle staff (taiaha). Tangaroa’s crouched position represents wero, a ritual used to determine a visitor’s good or bad intentions. The 9.8 foot bronze sculpture was created by Frank Szirmay in 1973. Three years later, during the harbor’s centennial, the statue was positioned on a plinth at Stoney Point. The sandbar is submerged during high tide.
