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A gateway connecting us with our deep ancestral ecologies and a passage to our landscape, our life and the wairua we share with the harbour is one step closer to opening after the first sods were turned for an artwork in the Octagon yesterday.

Ayesha Green’s Ko te Tuhono is a monument to Dunedin’s tipuna (ancestors) and tamariki (children), and transcends time and place.

Work on the foundation for the artwork started yesterday and is expected to take about three days to complete.

As the ground breaking began, a karakia was held and local runaka and Dunedin City Council representatives attended.

A kono (flax box traditionally used to hold food) woven by Mya Morrison Middleton (Ngai Tuahuriri) was placed by Piupiu Maya Turei during the ceremony.

DCC Maori partnerships manager Nicola Morand said she was looking forward to seeing mana whenua standing proudly in the middle of Dunedin.

The artwork was noted as a tribute to the ongoing relationship between the council and iwi.

Mayor Aaron Hawkins was delighted to see the project finally under way.

‘‘It feels like a very long time since the DCC reinstated the budget for public art.

‘‘I couldn't be happier that this was the first piece commissioned.’’

He hoped the artwork would spark story telling and conversation.