You may have spotted our new Raumati flags brightening up the precinct — bold, vibrant and unmistakably summer at Te Tōangaroa.

Designed by ringa toi Te Whaea Witika, the flags weave together traditional tukutuku patterns with playful, modern symbols that capture the feeling of raumati in the city.

With Raumati as the kaupapa and the familiar Te Tōangaroa colour palette as her base, Te Whaea began sketching after a hui and coffee at Whare Ako. But something wasn’t quite landing. “The kaupapa was clear, the colours were there — but the āhua wasn’t right yet,” she reflects. So she stepped back, slept on it, and took time to whai whakaaro.

The breakthrough came when she thought back to her time at Te Puna Reo Ōkahukura, where she focused on creating mahi and taonga that tamariki could see themselves in. That reminder — that design should feel relatable and lived — shifted everything.

From there, she returned to our familiar tukutuku stitch patterns and began to play. Classic forms like mawhitiwhiti, poutama, aramoana, patikitiki, roimata and pūrapura whetū were thoughtfully combined with icons of summer: te rā, jandals, moana, potae, sunglasses and even ice cream. Each motif carries both the integrity of traditional tukutuku and the lightness of Raumati vibes.

“The true art form of tukutuku is always at the heart of it,” she says. “But with design, there’s room to play a little.” By blending lattice pattern work with everyday summer imagery, the flags feel both culturally grounded and instantly recognisable.

The result is a series that reflects who we are as Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei in the city centre — creative, contemporary and connected to our roots.

Whether you pass them daily or are visiting for the first time, the hope is simple: that you feel the vibrancy of Raumati and the cultural depth woven into every pattern.