There is one common ancestor from the 17th century: Hua-kai-waka (“eater of canoes”) of the Waiohua iwi. When Hua-kai-waka lay on his deathbed he asked for a calabash of water for one last drink. As he finished he dropped the calabash and it smashed, scattering many droplets of water. These droplets became the waka which carried the descendants of Hua-kai-waka. Two Waiohua chiefs were brothers descended from Hua-kai-waka. Their wives argued. They agreed to settle the dispute with a manu (kite) flying competition. The second son’s kite flew higher but the first son cut the string and his brother had to travel a long way to retrieve it. These two brothers lived in fortified pā on the two maunga of south Auckland in the area called Wiri. One lived in Matukutūreia which means the careless bittern. He was not vigilant, often going tuna fishing or sleeping, so when warriors came he was defeated. The other lived in the pā called Matukutūruru which means the watchful bittern, ever alert like the morepork owl, te ruru.

In early Maori times the highways were waterways. Today buses and roads echo this history. The Manukau bus hub could have been a canoe hub. We proposed that these common stories form the narrative expressed by design in the building. The two blocks of buildings, one at each end are the two maunga, and the calabash of Huakaiwaka is in the centre where the tickets are dispersed.