Tomb of the Unknown Warrior Design
The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior design, inspired by the Southern Cross constellation, possesses a distinctive New Zealand character. The choice and treatment of materials, the use of symbols and language, strongly reflect the unique cultural identity of this land and its people. Bronze and stone were the primary materials used in the Tomb's construction.
The Warrior was guided by the stars of the Southern Cross on his journey back to New Zealand. The distance of the foreign land he left behind is represented on the base of the Tomb by a night sky of black granite inlaid with light grey Takaka marble crosses. The crosses represent the Warrior's companions who died in service for their country and remain overseas. They also signify stars in the night sky. Around the base of the Tomb is text of a karanga, in English and Maori, calling the Warrior back to his homeland. A cloak of bronze, decorated with four inlaid pounamu crosses, alludes to the Warrior's national flag. It was laid over his body as a celestial mantle. The bronze mantle also represents the vital role the Defence Forces play in protecting our nation and people.
Words of karanga
Te mamae nei a te pouri nui
The great pain we feel
Tenei ra e te tau
Is for you who were our future
Aue hoki mai ra ki te kainga tuturu
Come back return home,
E tatari atu nei ki a koutou
We have waited for you
Nga tau roa
Through the long years
I ngaro atu ai te aroha
You were away. Sorrow
E ngau kino nei i ahau aue taukuri e
Aches within me.
Images of the tomb design
You can also download higher quality versions of these images as a pdf file. See Gallery for photographs of the completed Tomb.
Higher quality versions of these images as a pdf file (2.8 mb). If you have trouble opening this file directly from your browser you might want to save it to your computer before opening it. To do this in Internet Explorer right-click on the link and choose 'Save Target As' (other systems use something similar) then save it to your computer before opening it. Please let us know if you have any problems with this.
Illustrations on this page are by Gray Hodgkinson.
Artist Profile
Leading New Zealand designer and artist Kingsley Baird's art career spans over 25 years. The central themes of his art practice and research are memory and remembrance, memorial, and loss and reconciliation. How the design of memorials (and attendant issues such as siting) can contribute to reconciliation, and communicate and assuage a sense of loss to visitors is a particular interest. Other concerns include the ‘spirit of a (physical) sites', and the unique relationship and shared and distinct nature of Pakeha and Maori cultures.
Larger commissions include: The New Zealand Memorial in Canberra (with Studio of Pacific Architecture) and the Kereru sculpture in Tawa Village. He has an extensive history of solo and group exhibitions, works in numerous New Zealand and international collections, and is the recipient of various awards and grants.
Currently, Kingsley is a practising artist and designer, and senior lecturer at the College of Design, Fine Art and Music, Massey University of Wellington. He holds a Master of Fine Art degree from RMIT (Melbourne) and a Diploma in Arts (postgraduate diploma in art history) from Victoria University of Wellington.
The Tomb design and manufacturing team comprised:
- Michael Bennett
Stephen Poulopoulos
Bridget Lissaman
of Architecture + - Annette O'Sullivan
Typography - Allen Wihongi
Maorii culture consultant - Romulus Consulting Group
Structural Engineers - The Heavy Metal Company
Pattern making and bronze casting - Acme Engineering Ltd
Bronze milling and cutting, pounamu cross grinding, tomb installation and bronze mantle carrying frame fabrication - Trethewey Granite & Marble Ltd
Stonemasonry and tomb installation - Stephen Myhre
Forming of pounamu crosses - Jonathan Campbell
Bronze patination
See also: site plans for the Tomb.
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