Pounamu Treasures

Russell Beck studied all aspects of nephrite jade for over fifty years, especially research into Maori usage, and involvement with the discovery of new sources and their preservation. A qualified gemmologist (FGA), he was also director of the Southland Museum and Art Gallery for twenty-three years, until his retirement in 1999.

He travelled widely from the Arctic to the Subantarctic and inspected most of the world's nephrite deposits occurring in China, North America, Siberia, East Asia and the South Pacific.

Russell was the author of New Zealand Jade: The Story of Greenstone, first published in 1970 and revised over two subsequent editions. He also co-authored many international publications, written articles and papers and delivered lectures about New Zealand jade in New Zealand and overseas.

Russell was a carver of jade as well as a sculptor. His work attracted several awards and is represented in public and private collections. In 2000, Russell was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM). He passed away in 2018.

Maika is of the Ngati Waewae hapu of Ngai Tahu and has had a long association with pounamu since early childhood. In recent decades, he has been actively involved in the tribal affairs of Ngai Tahu. During the Ngai Tahu Treaty claim to the Waitangi Tribunal, he was the leading advocate and authority on Ngai Tahu history, traditions and values associated with the West Coast pounamu. As Ngai Tahu pounamu researcher, Maika undertook an inventory research programme of Ngai Tahu taonga held in major museums.

Now retired, Maika was the long-time chairman of the Mawhera Incorporation, which owns and manages the pounamu resource of the Arahura Valley, where he lives.

Andris Apse is one of New Zealand's leading landscape photographers. During a career spanning more than thirty years, he has won many major awards, and is acknowledged as one of the finest wilderness photographers in the world.

His work has been reproduced in the New York Times, National Geographic, New Zealand Geographic, Time and Newsweek, among many other publications. Apse has also published an array of books, including the phenomenally successful New Zealand Landscapes, which has sold more than 150,000 copies, Pounamu: The Jade of New Zealand (with Russell Beck and Maika Mason), Spirit of the South, a stunning tribute to the South Island, and the pocket-sized Southern New Zealand Landscapes.

In 2010, Apse was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM). He is also an Honorary Fellow of the New Zealand Professional Photographers Association and an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers. He lives with his partner Lynne at Diamond Harbour, near Christchurch.