FORTUNATE NEW ZEALAND FINDERS OF PRECIOUS AMBERGRIS

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6864, 20 March 1929, Page 8

FORTUNATE NEW ZEALAND FINDERS OF PRECIOUS AMBERGRIS

Mistakes and Disillusion Common RECOLLECTIONS OF A DEALER Several large finds of ambergris this summer have aroused widespread interest in this rare and precious substance, says the "New Zealand Herald." Experts are of the opinion that tho supply about these shores is diminishing on account of the wholesale slaughter iof the sperm whale from which alone it comes, but, however that may be, the past season has been a prolific one. That is not wholly good new-s for the fortunate finder, for tho ambergris market is one that can be easily overstocked and depressed. One of the few men who deal in ambergris is Mr W. H. Mason, of Ponsonby, Auckland. Many years ago he was in the perfumery business with his father and they then bought ambergris for use. Vague and extravagant ideas of the public on the subject of ambergris, leading to absurd incidents ending in disappointment came under Mr Mason's notice. One find, which was lodged with due care in the strongroom of a Napier bank was subsequently described by a London expert as "a poor sample of low-grade tallow in an advanced stage of decomposition." A similar disillusionment fell to the lot of a Dargaville business man who, when cutting up a stranded whale, came upon something he was sure must be the precious substance. Carefully concealing his good fortulic he returned to the carcase with horse and cart at dead of night. Whryt exact part of the whale’s -anatomy it was that he bore away with him is not recorded, hut it is sufficient to say that it was not ambergris. Easily Understood Mistakes.

Such mistakes are easily understood by anyone who has seen a collection of samples of ambergris such as Mr Mason has at his home. They are mostly black or grey lumps pvaterworn like stones or wood found on the beach, and there is nothing about tho appearance of any of them to catch the eye of the uninitiated. So greatly do the samples vary in appearance that it is hardly possible to give any general description that would apply to them all. At the upper end of' the scale, most valuable of all, is the silver grey kind, coloured like cigar ash and having something like the appearance of pumice stone. Price levels of ambergris cannot bo stated with- any exactness, but in normal times the best may be reckoned to be worth in London about its weight in gold. The value in New Zealand would be considerably less. Next to the silver grey comes the white or fossilised ambergris, with a honey-comb formation. After that comes light and dark greys, and then brown and various forms of black. Black is tho most common arftl least valuable of all, and on the shores of Stewart Island it can he gathered literally by the ton. Colours and Perfumes. The perfume of the fossilised ambergris is sweet and faint. The various grdyis are characterised by an aromatic, tobacco-like, musky odour and are very sweet when properly dried. This process means a shrinkage of weight anything up to 25 per cent. The lowgrade immature black ambergris generally has an objectionable scent. This is worth very little at any time and when there is a plentiful supply of better grades available it is worthless. Speaking of record finds, Mr Mason said Mr John Leask, of Leask’s Bay, Stewart Island, held the record for a long time with a piece weighing 2000 oz and picked up near his farm. Next to this was a find at Pihama made by Mr Lloyd. This weighed 7500 z. and is understood to have realised about £I7OO at Home. There was a very largo find at Waiherahera, from the proceeds of which the discoverer was able to establish himself in a hotel business. The greatest haul of all was mado some years ago in the extreme south of New Zealand by a group of Norwegian whalers, who were down on their luck. They came across a dead whale, the carcase of which proved to contain ambergris said to have weighed 56cwt. Sold for £125,000. It was afterwards sold to a French syndicate for £125,000. Nobody knows what tho full market value might be. “It might have been close on £1,000,000," said Mr Mason. When visiting Stewart Island some time ago Mr Mason found the feeling strongly prevalent that part of this hugo stock was still being placed on the world’s markets and continuing to keep prices depressed. Previous records of loose pieces have been decisively broken twice this season by the finding of a piece of 1721 b. on a North Auckland beach and a lump of 1991 b. a few days later at Invercargill. Mr Mason said he did not take this to indicate any likelihood of an increase of supplies in the future. A picturesque figure who is understood to make a handsome living from searching for ambergris at Stewart Island is Mr Adam Adamson, a sturdy Scotsman, who served -with distinction in tho Great War. Ho spends the period of boisterous westerly winter weather on the south-west of Stewart Island, whore, by the fury of wind and sea, the ambergris is lifted bodily out of the water and caried chains away inland. Quite alone he lives the life of hunter and hermit for months, returning each season literally with sackful. 4 of booty, on the .proceeds of which ho is able to enjoy the refinements of civilisation. The Uses of Ambergris. Ambergris is used chiefly in the making of high-grade perfumes, where it nets as a blender and fixer of the bou*

quet for -which purpose it is also used in the manufacture of wine. The better grade ambergris in spirits of wine makes a very sweet perfume. The demand for it for such purposes in New Zealand is very restricted and it is nearly all sent Home. In New Zealand ,lor some reason not apparent, the ambergris is nearly all found on the West Coast. The time to look for it is after heavy westerly weather, when it may bo found above high-ivatcr mark. Not a few residents near North Auckland beaches spend part of their time patrolling with more or less success for ambergris, and there arc instances recorded where fox terriers have been trained to become most useful in the search. The master goes along on horseback, and when the dog stops to sniff he investigates also. Whatever the value of a find might be it is at any raj;e sufficient to give encouragement to that hope that springs eternal in the human breast.