Stonehenge Aotearoa

About

Stonehenge Aotearoa, is one of the largest astronomical installations in New Zealand, an open-sky observatory inspired by and built on a similar scale to the famous Stonehenge in England. The henge is a modern adaptation, inspired by the many stone circles and henges scattered around the world. Stonehenge Aotearoa is designed specifically for its location in Wairarapa region of New Zealand's North Island. Following the closure of the US Naval Observatory’s Black Birch station in the mid‑1990s, some of the site’s equipment — including the observatory dome — was transferred to New Zealand astronomer Gordon Hudson and the newly formed The Phoenix Astronomical Society (TPAS). These assets, together with government funding and volunteer labour organised by TPAS, supported the construction of Stonehenge Aotearoa, completed in 2005 as a non-profit educational astronomical facility. A government grant from MoRST, administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Science & Technology Promotion Fund, supported the construction of Stonehenge Aotearoa, supplementing the significant volunteer time of approximately 150 society members. The henge, built over 2 years, was opened on 12 February 2005...

The design incorporates various astronomical alignments, including those marking solstices, equinoxes, and the Māori New Year. As the Earth orbits around the Sun, the north and south poles are alternately tilted towards the Sun. The Sun's altitude therefore increases and decreases during the year, producing seasons. Stonehenge Aotearoa's six heel stones mark the place where the Sun is rising and setting at solstices and equinoxes.

The stone sculpture "the Fingers of Mother Earth" marks the place where the heliacal rising of Matariki can be observed around the winter solstice in June.