We're transforming Nikau Street
In preparation for the opening of Maungawhau Station, the Uptown Business Association has commissioned a series of murals along Nikau Street. Thanks to the property owners and the artists for making this project a reality.
The first work completed on the corner of Nikau & Flower Streets confidently announces “You’ve arrived” in Uptown. It sits high above the development site and it can be clearly seen from the Western Line station platform.
Created by the artist
Component, it’s a big, bold, friendly marker that you are in our neighbourhood. Its composition echoes the classic postcards that were once sent to family from a road trip. Close observers will recognise a nod to Uptown’s rich musical heritage. Ray Columbus and the Invaders, who played in night clubs on Symonds Street in the 1960’s, are featured. You’ll also see the exterior of the legendary King’s Arms Tavern and the ceiling feature of the Orange Ball room where courting couples once danced into the night. The female singer is a nod to soul legend Sharon Jones who played with her band The Dap-Kings at The Powerstation in 2010. All spaces that invoke entertaining memories for people here.
Component has been a working artist for over 25 years, is self taught in the art of stencilling. He says reflectfully “I was shaped by my environment, now I help shape it”.
Not far up the street is Finn Gerry Wilson’s eye popping montage of what Uptown means to him. Finn lives in the precinct and was born and raised in the shadow of Maungawhau.
His absorbing work meshes places and people from the neighbourhood in a fresh way. Locals will recognise the historic shot tower that until recently was a landmark in the Normanby Rd area. The Cityside Church which has been on Mt Eden Road since 1906 is depicted beautifully. While the gleaming train is a nod to the moment. Curious Out-of-Towners can have a chuckle counting the number of JAFFA’s that feature on the wall. The bespectacled man with the prodigious mane is of course local resident, artist, Dick Frizzell.
“Ever since I first got interested in art I’ve been an admirer of Dick’s work. So when I got the commission, I knew he had to be part of this” says Finn.
The pooch at the base of the mural was introduced to the concept once painting started. Nash, who is part of the team at a nearby Uptown business, took an ongoing interest in Finn's creative output.
Towering up the side of “Villa Dalmacija”, home to the Dalmatian Cultural Society, artist Margarita Vovna has created a mural celebrating one of the community's musical stars.
Maria Dallas (born Marina Devcich) was one of New Zealand’s biggest female popstars of the 1960s. She won the 1966 Loxene Golden Disc (equivalent to the New Zealand Music Awards) for her hit “Tumblin’ Down”. The song is now imprinted as a classic country-pop Kiwi hit from that period.
Over her career, she released more than
ten albums and
twenty‑five singles, blending pop accessibility with country warmth. Her work contributed to shaping New Zealand’s early commercial music identity and opened doors for later domestic country‑pop artists.
Read more about Maria here.
At the back of The Corner Store & Cafe twentythree, a beautiful vertical garden has enveloped the aged brick walls.
“Droplets” was created by legendary street artist Eliott Francis Stewart @elliotfancisstewart. The immersive work adds an element of tranquillity to Nikau Street… the water droplets reflecting a temporal moment of beauty.
In a nod to community, the colours talk to the work of Sara Hughes “Magma” which is found on the Symonds Street water reservoir, just around the corner.
Magma
Sara Hughes, Magma 2, 2025
Commissioned by the Uptown Business Association
This 512 sqm mural, spray painted onto Watercare’s Khyber Pass reservoir, is one of Auckland’s largest outdoor murals and the creation of renowned New Zealand artist Sara Hughes. Hughes created the work in 2017 and in 2025 created a new edition which brings renewed vitality to the Uptown district.
“I consider the artwork a ‘volcanic scape’, it is abstract in form, yet it is influenced by the history and geography of the area. The real feature of the wall for me was its extremely rough surface – I have used it as a feature of the artwork applying spray paint to create many veiled layers of paint to build up a rich surface”.
- Sara Hughes
Auckland based artist Sara Hughes is a highly regarded dynamic artist with a well-established career across Australasia. Known for her captivating large-scale installations and public artworks that response to history and site, Hughes’ response to this specific location brings her experience of working with complex space and colour to the fore, creating this exciting artwork for the Uptown district.
Hughes is represented by Gow Langsford Gallery.
Originally painted in January 2017, Magma brightened the Uptown area for nearly eight years, bringing colour, vitality and a sense of place. Now, Magma 2 continues that legacy, offering a focal point that enhances the vibrancy and character of the area.
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