Tākaka marble

[2] Quarrying began at Kairuru (on the southeastern, Nelson side of the hill) in the early 1900s,[3] and in 1911[4] was chosen for use in Wellington’s Parliament Buildings.

[2]The heavy marble blocks for the parliament were transported via a tramline down a steep hillside for 10.4 kilometres (6.5 mi) to Mārahau, where they were loaded onto scows, to be taken to Wellington for cutting.

[2] A total of 5000 tonnes of marble had been quarried at Kairuru by the time of completion of the Parliament Buildings in 1922.

[3] Later, the same quarry provided marble for the Massey Memorial in Wellington, and for decorative features in the Beehive in the 1970s,[3] and for Christ Church Cathedral in Nelson.

It produces a coarse, crystalline marble with orange veins and irregular staining,[1] and is chiefly used for sculpture.