Tamaroa Walker and Akapita Scally hold space and knowledge for the next generation of pounamu carvers in Rotorua.
Traditional Māori pounamu carvers are rare, says Rotorua’s Tamaora Daniel Walker.
He is the only greenstone carver to be a finalist in the RT Nelson Awards for Sculpture, which recognise excellence in small-scale sculpture.
Walker (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Whakaue and Ngāti Rangitihi) will vie against 32 other sculptors nationwide to take home part of the $25,000 prize pool. The winner, to be crowned in May, gets $15,000.
“There are not many pounamu carvers in the country. I can count on two hands [the] good ones,” he said.
It was “by chance” that Walker discovered pounamu carving 25 years ago.
“I was 18, about to be a father on the dole, and I met a lady [who] introduced me to her son, and he was just starting his own business and needed some young guys to teach and work.”
The son turned out to be Rākai Jade shop owner Lewis Gardiner. Walker said he was one of the country’s premier carvers.
The art form of Māori carving was an exclusive profession to get into, and Walker said he felt grateful to have worked his way towards making it a fulltime job.
Pounamu carver Tamaora Walker's entry for the RT Nelson Awards for Sculpture which earned him a spot as a finalist.
Te ao Māori and sharing knowledge
Walker now manages and teaches six up-and-coming jade carvers from Rotorua – the youngest of whom is 18.
He and his brother Akapita Scally run the workshop at Mountain Jade. They endeavour to pass down the traditional Māori art form to the next generation of carvers to ensure its survival.
Walker said student carvers would eventually pass their knowledge down to the generations after them.
“It’s not that easy. You have to be given the opportunity and then you have to take it.
“Because it’s a very rare skill,” he said.
Rotorua-based Walker was happy to share his culture’s taonga with travellers visiting the tourism hotspot.
He said it was something he found special about having a carving workshop at the back of a boutique retail shop like Mountain Jade.
“Visitors have an appreciation for what we do and what pounamu means to us.
“Our Māori symbology; a lot of foreign people really connect with the stories that our taonga tell.
“Even if they don’t understand, they’re all willing to learn, and then by the time they leave this place, they have a deeper understanding of what we do and why taonga is so important.”
“It’s about the intention, thoughts and the stories behind every piece we make for everyone – it’s designed specifically for the people you’re working with, too.”
Dylan Hati seized the opportunity to explore his passion for carving four months ago at the Mountain Jade workshop and studio. Photo/ Aleyna Martinez
Passing down knowledge
Dylan Hati is a student of Walker’s three months into his journey.
Hati, from Ōpōtiki, started in the retail half of Mountain Jade two years ago.
From day one, the buzz of the studio caught his attention, he said.
“I developed a bond with the boys in there and it was easy to migrate from the floor to the studio.
“Because there’s six of us, it does feel like a brotherhood. We all bounce off each other,” Hati said.
The 31-year-old originally studied animation, but it wasn’t until he saw pieces being made in the Mountain Jade studio that he found what he truly wanted to do.
“Most of them were all intricate Māori designs like the manaias and the hei tiki. When I saw them being carved, I thought it looked so difficult, but I wanted to learn how to do that.”
Hati said a challenging part of learning Māori carving was controlling the metal tools over the pounamu stone. Pounamu is a hard material and the tools are hefty, so it takes confidence to carve.
A sample of pieces Dylan Hati made while learning to be a carver in the Mountain Jade workshop.
“That was probably the hardest thing: getting used to not being afraid, to go ahead and carve,” he said.
Hati said Walker and Scally were very good teachers and always reassuring whenever he found something hard.
“I can always turn around and, you know, he’s always right there.
“They have done all the hard yards, and everything they say, I listen to it, you know?”
Hati was inspired to eventually become a teacher himself.
“It’s a way to kind of keep our culture alive as well, and the practices that they learn, because Tama [Walker] obviously learned from someone else as well, and I’ll pass it down to someone else.”
Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.
