In 1964 Molly Macalister was invited by the Auckland City Council, on the strength of her exhibited work, to produce a bronze figure of a Māori warrior for the then forecourt of the Chief Post Office, Queen Street (now the entrance to the Britomart Transport Centre). Designed to complement the neoclassical style of the Post Office and to greet visitors and settlers arriving at the wharves, the sculpture was unveiled in 1967.

Auckland Council records note that "Macalister conceived the figure to co-exist with the grand neoclassical building, where it was intended to greet visitors and new settlers to Auckland who arrived on passenger liners that docked at the wharves in downtown Auckland. The sculpture was mounted on a 2m-high plinth there until 1979, when QEII Square was built, and the figure was transferred to a lower base and moved closer to the water and into the square.

"In 2000, during modernisation of the downtown area, the sculpture was again moved - this time to Quay Street, near the intersection with Queen Street and across the road from the Auckland Ferry Terminal." It was moved again that year, to the footpath on the southern side of Quay Street (opposite the Ferry Buildings).

The sculpture was moved into storage in August 2019 to allow for urban redevelopment. After the square had been refashioned in 2022 as the urban plaza, Te Komititanga, the sculpture was proudly returned to the site.

Robin Woodward has written an account of the controversies associated with this work including accusations that Molly had misled the commissioning panel. Rather than the “warrior in a … fighting pose” wielding a taiaha, which the panel assumed would be produced, Molly made a monumental figure “wrapped in an all-enveloping, full-length korowai cloak … holding a mere, a symbol of peace.” This figure Molly hoped would be mounted at ground level. Instead, the work was set up on a nearly 2m-tall plinth. This was remedied with the 1982 re-installation, and again now in 2022, the figure has been made easily accessible to viewers on a shallow stone footing.

The statue has witnessed many significant events in Auckland’s history, and it can be seen in numerous photographs (see link to Auckland Libraries search results below).

A plaque with the work states: “MAORI FIGURE IN A KAITAKA CLOAK / SCULPTURED BY MOLLY MACALISTER.”

See also:

• Molly Macalister: A Māori Figure in a Kaitaka Cloak (Auckland Public Art website)

• Robin Woodward, ‘The Sculpture of Molly Macalister’. Art New Zealand, 1983, n.26, (pp32-33, 61)

• Chief Post Office, Queen Elizabeth Square, 1977 (Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 435-05-12)

• Queen Elizabeth Square, Auckland Central (Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1021-0207)

• Maori Warrior, Queen Street, 1968 (Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1528-68033)

• Maori Warrior, 1982 (Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1528-82036)

• Macalister Māori warrior - search results (Auckland Libraries)

• Maori Chief; Molly Macalister; 1964-1966; 35 | eHive