Speed is winning the tauwhāinga (race) and rushing around, being the first to know the rongo kōrero (news), the first to out-manoeurve the hoariri (enemy). But you also have to know when to slow down... to enjoy the ao (world) around you... before life sprints away.

A coat hanger-shaped piriti (bridge) with its own souvenirs

Getting around hohoro (speedily) makes a city seem smaller and suburbs closer together.

We love our motokā (cars) in Auckland but we hate getting stuck in traffic jams. Have you been on the huarahi matua (motorway) in rush hour? Bumper-to-bumper is no fun. How times have changed. In the 1960s, you could easily zoom over the Auckland Harbour Bridge to Northcote and beyond. So whakatangihia (toot) the horn for more public transport, ok? And how about a bike lane on the harbour bridge!

Tick tock, Auckland’s first town clock

Early Māori look to taiao (nature), not a clock, to know the best time to fish, whakatō kai (plant crops) and... well... do everything. So when watchmaker James Watt set up shop in Shortland Street in the 1840s and put this grand clock in the matapihi (window), it announced a very different way of measuring time. Thanks to clocks it wouldn’t be long before there were trams to miss and tamariki (children) could be late for school.

The mark of speed

Speeding through the ngaru (waves) can mean winning races and battles, and surviving ocean haerenga (voyages).

Superyachts are super flash, and in Henderson we waihanga (build) some of the best. They are packed full of whizz-bang sailing rāwekeweke (gadgets) and luxury custom fittings.

And for some kiwi boats today the finishing touch is the pūhoro, which signifies the idea of tere (speed). Paint this on your hull - and you’ll sail so much faster.

Storming home to win by an ihu (nose)

The ao (world) is full of fast runners.

And they’re away racing…Carbine comes from the back. He’s ahead by a length. He’s making a dash for the line, he’s won! Carbine was a racehorse as fast as a matā (bullet) fired from the gun he was named after.

His track record was inspiring. From 43 starts, he won 33 races. He was bred at Sylvia Park stud pāmu (farm) in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland - where the only racing now is hokohoko (shopping) for bargains.

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