Unique gift valued at $280,000
HE COULDN’T help himself – appraiser Dennis Blacklaws said it was a ‘‘mammoth task’’ to figure out how much a gavel and striker set made of mastodon ivory and gold was worth.
The unique set was made from 674 gold nuggets from the Klondike region of Canada and the preserved ivory and bones of an animal which became extinct about 10,000 years ago. It was gifted to Freemasons New Zealand in 1905.
Mastodons looked similar to woolly mammoths and are often confused with them, but lived during a different period, were smaller and had differently shaped tusks. Their preserved remains are a rarer find than that of the woolly mammoth.
The story goes that Otaki Freemason Frederick Browne was so touched by the kindness shown to him by other members of the organisation during his journey to the Klondike gold rush in 1898, that he felt inspired to give something back.
He had the gavel and strike set made in Dawson City, Canada, and then with the help of Sir Richard Seddon had it shipped back to New Zealand to be presented to the grand master in 1905.
Mr Blacklaws has valued the gavel and striker set, which will be used at the confirmation of grand master John Litton today, at $280,000.
‘‘It’s quite mindblowing, most people would never get to see something like this – it’s not only the romance of the whole thing but the craftmanship.’’
The valuer understood Freemasons were ‘‘getting their house in order’’ by valuing some items in their collection for insurance purposes, but it may be put on display for the public at some stage.