Hand-carved Pounamu Greenstone Toki pendant by master carver Barry Dash
Comfort. Healing. Protection. Connection.
People from throughout Aotearoa and from all over the world come to our Fantail House stores to find hand-carved New Zealand Pounamu Greenstone jewellery. Selling Greenstone on behalf of some of the finest carvers in Aotearoa New Zealand and connecting people with our amazing tāonga is one of our favourite things about what we do.
In March, three Fantails embarked on a trip to the South Island to get amongst the cultural significance of Pounamu; two of us from The Fantail House store in Auckland and one from The Fantail House store in Rotorua. We wanted to learn more about Pounamu and felt it our duty to do so as a shop that proudly sells only genuine Made in New Zealand.
Fantail me at the edge of the ancient, glacial valleys of the Southern Alps where nature created our Pounamu Tāonga.
Day One.
We arrived at Auckland Airport at dawn one glorious March morning only to have our flight to Christchurch cancelled with a five hour wait for an available flight. It felt like such a slap as we were all so excited, but right from the get-go, we simply had to put our desires for predictability and productive time management to one side. Our Pounamu training had begun!
Pounamu is Nature, and Nature has her own time frame.
Arriving in Christchurch in the freezing afternoon we drove in the low light to Arthur’s Pass. The mighty Pass that dissects the Southern Alp mountains and connects the West Coast of the South Island to the east. Arthur’s Pass is one of the major Greenstone trails where the stone was carried to the east and traded throughout the motu before colonization.
The Pounamu gateway on the east side of the Pass is Kura Tawhiti, Castle Rock. A magic outcrop of limestone boulders like ancient, bleached bones of giants that had fallen in battle. It was a place recognized by early Māori as sacred and is still cherished to this day. Even the Dalai Lama claimed that it is a spiritual place after visiting.
Fantails walking into Kura Tawhiti, Castle Hill. Eastern gateway of the Pounamu trails.
Walking through Kura Tawhiti was extraordinary. Surrounded by mountains where Pounamu was created over millions of years in the ancient glacial valleys of the Alps, the boulders stand embedded or lie fallen. The light was slowly fading, and snow was falling lightly around the ancient lime stones.
We felt transported. So close to the harsh but magnificent power of geography and nature.
Pounamu was created by incredible natural forces.
Early Māori realized very quickly that Pounamu was a significant discovery. With strength almost rivalling steel, Pounamu made an extraordinary addition to the Pacific tool kit. Māori could also feel that Pounamu carried a spiritual significance, meaningful far beyond its value as a resource for day-to-day life.
Their mystics conferred at Kura Tawhiti, Castle Hill, on the meaning of Pounamu. Notable was the connection felt to the land, nature, earth, and the other realms. They established that Pounamu is a gift from nature to help mankind— to comfort, to protect, to heal, to connect us to nature; Pounamu was looking for the right person and once in their hands it could get to work.
Kura Tawhiti. A spiritual place.
Papatuanuku, Mother Nature, created Pounamu and reveals it to us piece by piece so it can find its person and guide and comfort them in the ways of the soul.
Day Two.
From our Airbnb in a Victorian Granary in Methven, we made the drive over Arthur’s Pass to Greymouth, the heart of Pounamu country. Here, Pounamu was first discovered in the glacial rivers that flow down from the mountains and into the ocean on the West Coast.
Once again, we were amongst the magnificence of the mountains, following the rivers that bring Pounamu to us from the high valleys. Vast, epic, and magical, the landscape is all strength and dominance.
Following the ancient Greenstone Trail through Arthur’s Pass. Southern Alps, South Island, Aotearoa New Zealand
Driving down the Pass into Greymouth felt like re-entering the world. The temperature lifted, the sun warmed us and everything felt a little more familiar. Greymouth is right on the coast and feels charming and practical. It is full of stores and galleries displaying beautiful Pounamu jewellery.
We were lucky enough to visit Master Carver Barry Dash in Greymouth. We spent time with him exploring his work tools, learning about the carving process, and checking out the Pounamu he has. There is amazing skill and exceptional patience involved in creating each carving. Each piece is cut, shaped, polished and perfected by hand.
Workspace of Master Carver Barry Dash in Greymouth, NZ
A special moment with Pounamu Greenstone in its natural state
We ended the day having burgers in Hokitika and sharing our hot chips with the West Coast seagulls which, like the landscape, all seem to be super-sized.
Fantails and burgers and super-sized seagulls in Hokitika
Day Three.
We took a deep dive into the significance and legends of Pounamu for Māori with Tangi Wepu, Kaitiaki of the Arahura River. The Arahura River is revered for possessing exceptional Pounamu and the is the only riverbed in New Zealand that is privately owned. The day was warm and soft, and we met Tangi at the Arahura Pa.
Sitting and listening to Tangi was a remarkable experience. The legend of the creation of Pounamu is an epic story: A beautiful maiden, a taniwha who must have her, an abduction of the beauty from her home in Tauranga and a land chase across New Zealand by her husband. When Poutini the Taniwha realized rescue of Waitaiki the luscious maiden was imminent, rather than return her, he turned her into Pounamu.
Threading our own found Pounamu with the Kaitiaki of the Arahura River, Hokitika
And then, our Greenstone moment. Tangi took us to the mouth of the Arahura River to find Pounamu. Amongst the smooth worn river stones, we saw a flashes of green, and we each found our piece. Absolute magic. Tangi taught us how to use the diamond drill to pierce our pieces and thread them with waxed cotton to make our pendant. The perfect memory to a deeply moving experience as we discovered the deep and everlasting significance of our treasure stone.
Finding our own Pounamu on the Arahura River, Hokitika.
Pounamu Greenstone. Our unity stone.
Now at home in our Fantail House stores, our hearts are full and we feel more connected to Pounamu than ever before about helping people find their Tāonga than ever before. We feel even more passionate about helping our customers find the right Greenstone Tāonga for them, so that it can bring them protection, comfort and connection.