Pounamu

[3] Pounamu is generally found in rivers in specific parts of the South Island as nondescript boulders and stones.

Pounamu has been formed in New Zealand in four main locations; the West Coast, Fiordland, western Southland and the Nelson district.

[14] In the Southern Alps, the Pounamu Ultramafic Belt in the Haast Schist occurs as isolated pods which are eroded and found on West Coast rivers and beaches.

[15] One source of īnanga pounamu at the head of Lake Wakatipu is possibly the only jade mining site in the world with Government protection.

These were often reworked into hei tiki (stylised human figures worn as pendants) and other taonga when they were no longer useful for carving wood.

Hunting tools include matau (fishing hooks) and lures, spear points, and kākā poria (leg rings for fastening captive birds); weapons such as mere; and ornaments such as pendants (hei tiki, hei matau and pekapeka), ear pendants (kuru and kapeu), and cloak pins.

[25] Jewellery and other decorative items made from gold and pounamu were particularly fashionable in New Zealand in the Victorian and Edwardian years in the late 19th and early 20th century.

[29] In the 2016 animated movie Moana the central premise is to return the stolen heart of Te Fiti which is manifest in a pounamu stone amulet.

[30] Fossicking for Pounamu is a cultural activity in New Zealand and allowed on designated areas of the West Coast of the South Island (Te Tai o Poutini) and is limited to what can be carried unaided;[31][32] fossicking elsewhere in the Kāi Tahu tribal area is illegal, while nephrite jade can be sourced legally and freely from Marlborough and Nelson.