GREENSTONE EXHIBITS

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25677, 14 December 1948, Page 3

GREENSTONE EXHIBITS

DISPLAY AT MUSEUM Examples of greenstone worked by the Maoris and found either in Canterbury. WeStland, or Marlborough form a special display for the holiday period at the Canterbury Museum. A cut out map shows the tremendous journeys made by the Maori tribes of the North East and South East coast of the South Island to the source of the greenstone. The map also shows the main sources of the true greenstone (nephrite or pounamu) which is in the area between the Arahura and Taramakau rivers in Westland. The superficially similar bowenite or tangiwai of the Maoris is shown to come from Milford Sound. The two materials are quite distinct. In heavy oil the bowenite floats and the nephrite sinks. Nephrite closely resembles Chinese jade, of which examples are shown in the display. An outstanding exhibit is the historic greenstone mere, Te Paa, which is 19 inches long. This is about the record length for a mere. It belonged to the Ngai Tuahuriri clan of Kaiapohia. The owner, Te Aika. was in the Kaiapohia pah. and in Onawe in Akaroa harbour when these places were besieged and sacked by Te Rauparaha in 1831. Te Aika escaped with the mere, which has been lent to the museum for safe keeping by his descendant. Iwikau Te Aika, of Tuahiwi. Another exhibit of unusual interest is a boulder of very high-quality stone showing deep saw cuts worn into it by a sandstone cutter. This was found at Okains Bay by the late Mr Tom Ware, and is exhibited by Mr John Ware, of Ladbrooks. From the collection of Mr C. Thacker, of Okains Bay. comes an unusual examole Qf a block worked to the outline of a thick adze. Another adze with an Interesting history is a greenstone example of the rare hog-backed type found by the late Mr Peter Trolove in the Avon estuary off the Mount Pleasant tram stop. A large adze, from Greymouth was brought up !n the dredge bucket when the north bar of the Grey river was being dredged. It has been lent to the museum by Mr J. Horrock.

Four exhibits show the whole process of making an adze from the original block to -the finished adze. These were ploughed up together with the grinding tools used in the making of them in the 1890’s on the site of one of the most popular camping places of the Maoris, at Ellesmere spit where excavations for Maori whares can still be seen.