Month: December 2022

Slope Point Diversity, 25 Recently Polished Slope Point Stones: Part One – Stones 1 to 8

A Slope Point beach.

I have been tumbling quite a few Slope Point stones recently and this Series of Posts features a selection from a 3lb barrel. The batch tumbled in a fresh lot of tin oxide polish for 12 days then was burnished in borax for eight days. The order of presentation is random. Many of the stones are likely to be rhyolite but I am unsure about the identification of most of them.

The first stone has similar features to others I have found at Slope Point. It appears to be some kind of breccia, with some of the small fragments containing fine white lines. It is just over 4 cms long. The following are photos of four sides of the stone:

Stone 1, brecciated rhyolite?
Another side of Stone 1.
A third side of Stone 1.
A fourth side of Stone 1.

Stone 2 appears to be partly brecciated:

Stone 2, partly brecciated rhyolite?
Other side of Stone 2.

Stone 3 contains some orbicular features:

Stone 3, rhyolite with some orbicular features.
Another side of Stone 3.
Another side of Stone 3.

Stone 4 has a different composition than the previous three stones, close-ups revealing many tiny fragments. I don’t know what kind of stone it is.

Stone 4.
Other side of Stone 4.

Stone 5 is again different from the previous stones. It is probably a flow-banded rhyolite.

Stone 5, probably flow-banded rhyolite.
Other side of Stone 5.

Another rhyolite with a complex composition is Stone 6. Its two sides have different colour patterns.

Stone 6, rhyolite.
Other side of Stone 6.

Stone 7 is a light-coloured stone, white and caramel. It is just over 2 cms long. It is most likely another rhyolite.

Stone 7, light-coloured rhyolite.
Another side of Stone 7.
Another side of Stone 7.

The last stone in this Post, Stone 8, is another brecciated rhyolite. In this sense, it is similar to Stone 1 but the fragments that make it up are from a different source.

Stone 8, brecciated rhyolite.
Other side of Stone 8.

See here for an account of one of my fossicks at a Slope Point beach, and here for an account of another. Many of the Slope Point stones have arisen from Jurassic Era volcanic activity and debris flows.

The next Post in this Series features another eight stones from the same tumbling batch.

Some More Recently Polished Stones from Slope Point and Kakanui

The 14 stones from Slope Point (left) and Kakanui (right).

Here are 14 tumble polished stones, seven from Slope Point and seven from Kakanui, many of them just recently tumbled. About two weeks ago, I finished tumble polishing a 6lb barrel of Slope Point stones, half of which had been given to me by fellow fossicker Oliver Simpson. Slope Point is the southernmost part of the South Island, about 70 kilometres east of Invercargill. There are three or four beaches there that are productive for fossicking, though they are difficult to access due to some steep slopes and the need to walk a way to reach them. See here for an account of a fossick at one Slope Point beach, and here for an account of another. Many of the Slope Point stones have arisen from Jurassic Era volcanic activity and debris flows. Most of the following seven Slope Point stones come from my recently tumbled batch. The most interesting ones would originate from Oliver, for example, the petrified tree fern stone (photos below). In her booklet, “Gemstones” Jocelyn Thornton writes on the pebbles to be found at Slope Point (page 35): “The prize is petrified punga, found as black nodules barely showing the eyed grain of the fern.” You have to hold the stone at an angle to the light for the lines in it to become visible.

Petrified tree fern, Slope Point
Other side of stone

Another I am sure to have come from Oliver is a chrysanthemum rhyolite, a form of spherulitic rhyolite, a volcanic rock. On Mindat.org, it is noted: “The chrysanthemums are cross-sections through large spherulites that formed in the rhyolite” (spherulites are small spheres with a radiating structure).

Chrysanthemum rhyolite. from Slope Point
Other side of stone

The following stone is also a rhyolite. Jocelyn Thornton writes in “Gemstones”: “‘Flower garden’ is the local name for rhyolites with white and grey circles and centres”.

Flower garden rhyolite from Slope Point.
Other side of stone

The next two stones are flow-banded rhyolites:

Flow-banded rhyolite from Slope Point
Other side of stone
Small flow-banded rhyolite stone from Slope Point.
Other side of stone

The sixth Slope Point stone is probably a volcanic breccia, a stone consisting of the melding together of small fragments from different sources:

Volcanic breccia stone from Slope Point.
Other side of stone

The seventh and last Slope Point stone is a spherical shaped petrified wood one. Typical of much Slope Point petrified wood, it is very dark, with just some brown wood-like shapes on one side.

Slope Point petrified wood.
Close-up of part of the pattern elsewhere on the stone.
Other side of stone, predominantly black

The next seven stones are from Kakanui’s Seadown Beach. See here for an introduction to Seadown Beach, which starts just two kilometres north of Kakanui village. There are interesting jaspers to be found on this beach, including hematite jaspers like the small one below. The silvery grey hematite in the stone is a type of iron oxide.

Small hematite jasper from Kakanui.
Other side of stone

Various types of quartzite can be found at Kakanui too, many with tiny quartz crystals in them. The origins of quartzite are mentioned in the Wednesday 26 May 2021 entry in this Post.  The first quartzite below is a small colourful yellow one with some red streaks, the second a very dark brown circular stone.

Kakanui quartzite.
Other side of stone.
Kakanui quartzite
Other side of stone

The largest of the 14 stones could also be quartzite – it is full of clear quartz crystals.

Quartzite? From Kakanui’s Seadown Beach.
Other side of stone.

The next two stones look like a kind of quartz with light-coloured mineral patterns in them.

Kakanui stone.
Other side of stone
Kakanui stone.
Other side of stone

The final Kakanui stone is a fossilised sea floor one, containing many tiny fossils. See this Post for more information on this type of stone. After tumbling in fine grit, such stones feel soft and waxy, and there is no need to go on to tumble them in polish.

Fossilised sea floor stone from Kakanui
Other side of stone

Christmas Stones: Part Two – Kakanui

Part of the eastern North Otago coast. Source: http://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap?v=2&ll=-45.148453,170.913019&z=13
Kakanui’s Seadown Beach, looking north.

My Christmas gift to family this year consists of a TumbleStone 2023 Calendar plus some polished stones. The calendar itself features stones from Slope Point and Kakanui – see here for information on the calendar and on the two beaches. The stones I am sending come from the same beaches – Part One features the Slope Point stones while this Post features the ones from Kakanui’s Seadown Beach. It’s not always easy to part with stones I have collected and polished, but as long as I have a few good photos of them, I find it’s possible for me to give some of them away. The photos in these two Posts include “close-up” zooms that are sometimes brightened to bring out aspects of the details. The original photos were taken in bright sunshine, and viewing the stones themselves in bright sunshine best brings out their colours and patterns.

Kakanui’s Seadown Beach lies about 12 kilometres south of Oamaru and 20 kilometres north of the Moeraki boulders (see half way through this Post for a visit to the boulders).  See here for an introduction to Seadown Beach, which starts just two kilometres north of Kakanui village. The beach is on a five kilometre stretch of coast running north to Cape Wanbrow. I mainly fossick along the initial 900 metres of Seadown Beach. I am attracted mainly by the quartzites (especially the yellow and red ones) and the jaspers (including brecciated and hematite varieties), as well as “fossilised sea floor” stones, soft waxy stones containing tiny fossils. Occasionally agates and petrified wood can be found here too, but these don’t feature in these Christmas gifts.

The following are the 22 Slope Point stones given away by me this Christmas. The first four are fossilised sea floor stones (see this Post for more information on this type of stone):

Kakanui fossilised sea floor stone
Other side of stone
Kakanui fossilised sea floor stone.
Other side of stone
Kakanui fossilised sea floor stone.
Other side of stone.
Fossilised sea floor stone from Kakanui.
Other side of stone.

Nine jaspers are included, most of them brecciated, having been broken into fragments then re-formed, often in a matric of white quartz or dark hematite. Jasper is a cryptocrystalline form of quartz, with added minerals providing colour (see this Post for more details on jasper).

Dark red brecciated jasper from Kakanui’s Seadown Beach.
Other side of stone.
Smaller dark red brecciated jasper from Kakanui’s Seadown Beach.
Other side of stone.
Small light-coloured brecciated jasper from Kakanui
Other side of stone
Brecciated hematite jasper, Kakanui.
Other side of stone
Kakanui jasper – the green might be epidote.
Other side of stone.
Kakanui jasper.
Other side of stone.
Kakanui jasper.
Other side of stone.
Kakanui jasper.
Another side of the stone.
Light red jasper with thin veins of silica, Kakanui.
Other side of stone.

Finally, a number of quartzites were presented as gifts. The origins of quartzite are mentioned in the Wednesday 26 May 2021 entry in this Post. This kind of stone can be found on a number of beaches (like Birdlings Flat and Timaru) but seem to be more a little more common on Seadown Beach, with the yellow variety especially present. Many of them have tiny clear quartz crystals or fragments in them. The last two of the following nine stones may or may not be quartzite.

Light yellow quartzite from Kakanui.
Other side of stone.
Kakanui quartzite.
Other side of stone.
Kakanui quartzite.
Other side of stone.
Dark yellow quartzite from Kakanui.
Other side of stone.
Kakanui quartzite.
Other side of stone.
Kakanui quartzite.
Other side of stone.
Kakanui quartzite.
Other side of stone.
Kakanui beach stone, could be a quartzite.
Other side of stone.
Kakanui beach stone, could be a quartzite.
Other side of stone.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Stones: Part One – Slope Point

Tourist sign, Slope Point.
Cover of 2023 Calendar.

As well as my usual Christmas gift of the TumbleStone 2023 Calendar for family this year, I am giving some polished stones. The calendar itself features stones from Slope Point and Kakanui – see here for information on the calendar and on the two beaches. This year, I am also sending stones from the same beaches through the mail, or giving in person, alongside the calendar. It’s not always easy to give away stones I have personally collected and polished, but I have accumulated quite a few by now, and find that as long as I have photos of them, it is ok. Note that the photos posted in this two-Post Series include “close-up” zooms that are sometimes brightened to bring out aspects of the details. The original photos were taken in bright sunshine, and viewing the stones themselves in bright sunshine best brings out their colours and patterns.

This Post features the Slope Point stones I have given away (the next Post features the Kakanui stones). Slope Point is right at the bottom of the South Island. There are three or four small beaches there that fossickers visit. The main attractions are the stones of rhyolite and petrified wood, and some breccia as well (stones consisting of small fragments of other stones). The following are the 15 Slope Point stones given away by me this Christmas. The first two are petrified wood:

Light coloured petrified wood, Slope Point.
Other side of stone
Darker coloured petrified wood, Slope Point
Other side of stone

The varieties of rhyolite among the next 13 stones (below) are reflected in the diversity of photos on Mindat.org, the world’s largest open database of minerals and rocks and the localities they come from. Some have orbs or “flowers”, including the chrysanthemum variety), others are flow banded. Some of the stones appear to be volcanic breccia, consisting of sharp edged fragments bound together in a fine matrix, though sometimes this can be hard to distinguish from stones with crystals within them that have formed as the volcanic rock has slowly cooled.

“Chrysanthemum” rhyolite
Other side of stone
Slope Point rhyolite.
Other side of stone
Slope Point rhyolite
Other side of stone

Slope Point rhyolite
Other side of stone
Slope Point rhyolite.
Other side of stone, with some flow banding
Flow banded rhyolite, Slope Point
Other side of stone
Flow banded rhyolite, Slope Point
Other side of stone
Slope Point stone
Other side of stone
Slope Point rhyolite or breccia?
Other side of stone
Slope Point breccia
Other side of stone
Slope Point stone, maybe breccia
Other side of stone
Slope Point stone, could be breccia
Other side of stone
Slope Point stone, maybe breccia
Other side of stone

The second Post in this Series features the Kakanui stones given by me as Christmas gifts this year.

“A Warm-Hearted Leftie who Relentlessly Pursued his Vision of a Better World” – Ten Kakanui Stones in Memory of David

David and I on my wedding day, 28 March 2014
https://deaths.waikatotimes.co.nz/nz/obituaries/waikato-times-nz/name/david-neilson-obituary?pid=203142898#:~:text=NEILSON%2C%20David%3A,brother%20of%20Mike%20and%20Joanne.
The 10 Kakanui stones I sent to David’s family
Some of the first Kakanui stones I tumble polished, left in David’s family holiday home, August 2020
Kakanui’s Seadown Beach, August 2020

David Neilson died on 2 November 2022. He was my best friend when I was working at the University of Waikato. It was his wife Melissa who said of David that he was “a warm-hearted leftie who relentlessly pursued his vision of a better world” (from Richard Swainson’s article on David in The Waikato Times). David and I enjoyed each other’s company. We often had lunch together, discussing a wide range of issues about work and the world. His area of expertise was Political Economy and he especially enjoyed teaching courses in Labour and Trade Union Studies. I taught in Social Science Research. Our Programmes were amalgamated, along with others, in 1999, which was when we first got to know each other well. David was my “best man” when Petra and I got married in 2014. When I retired, I did not see much of David any more, especially after I moved away to Whanganui. Then, at the start of November this year, I got an email from Gemma, a mutual friend and colleague, that David had fallen ill and was not expected to live long. He died from stomach cancer and covid complications the next day. He was 65 years old.

David and I had a lot in common. We both grew up “south of the Waitaki”, David in North Otago and I in Eastern Southland. We both always identified as southerners, despite having travelled and lived elsewhere most of our adult lives. We were both “theorists”, interested in social theory and philosophy, which meant we sometimes had quite esoteric discussions that not a lot of other people would have been interested in. For example, we had both carefully read the writings of Karl Marx – David’s academic and lecturing work were significantly influenced by them, me less so. I was more influenced by various Christian approaches, but I too had put time into reading and understanding Marx. I gave some of my Marx books to David when I retired. An important point needs to be made about the significance of Marxism to David, again drawing on Richard Swainson’s article: David was not the type of academic to settle for words on a page: his philosophy was that the point of knowledge is to change the world. Such passion co-existed with personal warmth and humour. He was defined as much by a wide, oft-seen smile and laughter. His door and his mind were always open to others and their ideas. Also, as friend and colleague Tom Ryan put it, David was “more than a Marxist”, that he “engaged with Marx” but his philosophy was profoundly democratic. “David did not like autocrats of the left or the right.” David and I taught and supervised a number of students in common – I think I was much more structured in my presentation of lecture material than David, but he was much more inspiring and challenging.

Richard Swainson provides an interesting and well-written account of David’s life. For example: David Neilson wrote his PhD thesis under unique circumstances. The year was 1978 and as a student of the University of East Anglia David was, as ever, living his life by his democratic socialist principles. He was a crucial part of a collective which occupied 29 empty houses in Argyle St, Norwich, beginning a squat that was to last six years and involve 120 people. A New Statesman article described him as the “parish priest” of the collective. He wrote the original letter to the Norwich City Council announcing the occupation, which in turn led to negotiations that saw official recognition and permission to continue. The “Argyle Street Alternative Republic” was born.

A young David Neilson as a PhD student in England in the late 1970s. Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/130635899/squatter-professor-warmhearted-leftie-dr-david-john-major-neilson-19572022
From Newsletter of Sociological Association of Aotearoa NZ.
From Newsletter of Sociological Association of Aotearoa NZ.
Lori, Petra, John & David, 28 March 2014.
28 March 2014.
Melissa and David with John, 28 March 2014.

But Richard also points to the essential goodness of David’s character: At age 21, hailing from the other side of the world, David had the ability to inspire solidarity. Possessing infinite patience, his calm manner precluded fear or anger. Where others lost tempers, or were reduced to threats or profanity, the Neilson equanimity proved decisive. He would lend anyone his car, though always kept the tank near empty. He was generous but savvy with it.

Over four decades later, David’s colleagues and students at the University of Waikato wrote this about him: As a teacher and supervisor David’s deepest desire was to inspire his students to think, to relish the joy of learning and to embrace the journey. David supported his students on a discovery of knowledge, celebrating as students found their minds opening to the world. As a researcher David’s career was rising to new heights with a range of new collaborations, book offers and publications. In these recent publications, including the book “The struggle to make democratic socialism in the 21st century”, David’s purpose was to carve out new theory and inspire social change... As an academic David engaged with the theoretically complex and left a legacy of work that “hits them between the eyes”. Continually inspired by Marx’s thesis eleven, that the point of knowledge is to change the world, David never gave up hope that capitalism’s ills would be subjugated by conscious human will. In this sense David was a public intellectual committed to activism and often taking on additional service roles in the community. David fundamentally believed that we have the power to change the world, and his legacy and gift to all his students was to inspire them to use knowledge to change the world for the better.

Two people who knew David well, having lived with him, said this of him: A gentle and humble soul who we were honoured to have known. You touched the lives of many people and had a profound effect on ours. One of his students wrote this: David was one of my most supportive and greatest friends. His loss cuts deep, but I am trying to hold onto how lucky I was to have known him and had him as my friend. David was my PhD supervisor, and for that I was immensely privileged. I will miss our lunches and chats. As many others have said, David had an immense intellect coupled with a beautiful and gentle soul. He advocated for so many people. I last saw David just a couple of months ago when we had one of our frequent catch-ups. It is an enduring and precious memory for me now. Neighbours wrote: A beautiful man indeed. David was a gentle and exceptional person and we appreciated the years of friendship, conversation and neighbourhood fun we had with him and the family. A huge loss, too soon and too sad. [These quotes are taken from entries on The Waikato Times online obituary for David.]

David’s family have a holiday home in Kakanui. After I had taken up stone polishing, David had often said to me that I should visit Kakanui as he knew it had an interesting geology. He was also aware of fossils in the beach cliffs there. He encouraged me to check out the Kakanui beaches. At the end of May 2020, I did just that and discovered Kakanui’s Seadown Beach, now one of my top three favourites (see this Post and this Post). I spent a longer period at Kakanui in August that year, visiting all the nearby beaches, David arranging for me to stay at his family’s holiday home.

Looking over the estuary of the Kakanui River, towards the area where David’s family’s holiday home is located.
Petra on Kakanui’s Seadown Beach.
Seal on the beach just north of Kakanui.
Kakanui’s Seadown Beach.
Kakanui’s Seadown Beach, with seaweed.
The stones of Kakanui’s Seadown Beach.

Upon hearing of David’s death, I considered sending flowers to his family. But I decided to send ten polished Kakanui stones instead. These stones come from a place that was important to him, to his family and to me. They are a deeply personal gift, having been discovered personally during many hours of fossicking on the beach and then tumbled for weeks to bring out their beauty.

The 10 Kakanui stones I sent to David’s family
Kakanui quartzite, with tiny clear quartz crystals
Kakanui jasper, with traces of hematite (iron oxide)
Kakanui quartzite
Kakanui quartzite
Kakanui quartzite
Kakanui quartzite
Kakanui quartzite
Kakanui beach stone
Kakanui quartzite
Kakanui beach stone, probably quartzite
Kakanui quartzite, with tiny clear quartz crystals
Other side of stone
Kakanui jasper, with traces of hematite (iron oxide)
Other side of stone
Kakanui quartzite
Other side of stone
Kakanui quartzite
Other side of stone
Kakanui quartzite
Other side of stone
Kakanui quartzite
Other side of stone
Kakanui quartzite
Other side of stone
Kakanui beach stone
Other side of stone
Kakanui quartzite
Other side of stone
Kakanui beach stone, probably quartzite
Other side of stone

I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I’d see you again (James Taylor)

TumbleStone Calendar 2023 – “Beach Stones, Kakanui & Slope Point”

Cover of 2023 Calendar.
Cover of 2022 Calendar.
Cover of 2021 Calendar.
Cover of 2019 Calendar.

This year I have again produced a photo calendar, mainly to give to family and friends for Christmas. Above are photos of the covers of this year’s calendar and three previous ones. My 2023 calendar features polished stones from two South Island beaches, Kakanui’s Seadown Beach and Slope Point. I use Diamond Photo online to produce the calendar, though it is not the most user-friendly site.

For the calendar, each month’s format consists of one page for photos, just slightly smaller than A4 size, with another A4 size page below it containing the month’s dates. This year, 11 of the months feature a solitary stone, with December the only month featuring four.

June 2023.
July 2023.
September 2023.
December 2023.

The Cover features a shot of one of the Slope Point beaches, with fellow fossicker Oliver Simpson walking away, head down, a white plume of spray from a wave pounding onto the rocks in the background. January’s stone is from Kakanui, a pale yellow quartzite with some white patches, containing many tiny clear quartz crystals. Below is a scan of that month’s picture, plus three others. One is another Kakanui quartzite that appears in September, this one being more colourful. Two further Kakanui stones can be found in May and August, one a dark red brecciated jasper, the other a complex green stone which may also be a kind of quartzite.

Scan of January’s stone.
September.
Scan of May’s stone.
August.

A range of gorgeous volcanic stones can be found on Slope Point beaches. February, June and July’s solitary stones and December’s four stones are good examples. [Note: 12 December 2022: Oliver Simpson pointed out to me that the top left December stone actually comes from Gemstone Beach – he had found it there and I had polished it for him, and I later forgot these details, thinking it came from Slope Point.]

Scan of February’s stone.
June.
July.
December.

To show you two other months. April features a petrified wood stone from Slope Point, that has a couple of veins of what looks like agate. And October features a fossilised sea floor stone from Kakanui, that contains many tiny fossil shells and probably other tiny creatures.

April.
October.

Kakanui’s Seadown Beach lies about 12 kilometres south of Oamaru. The southern end of this beach is at the intersection of Thousand Acres Road/Beach Road and Seadown Road. To the south is a stretch of rocky cliffs, to the north is a sweeping sandy beach with lots of stones. See here for an introduction to the beach. More information on the beach and its stones can be found here.

Location of Kakanui’s Seadown Beach.
Kakanui’s Seadown Beach.
Tourist sign, Slope Point.
A Slope Point beach.

Slope Point is the southernmost part of the South Island, located about 70 kilometres east of Invercargill. Tourists are directed to a carpark from where they can walk across a windswept paddock to the top of high rocky cliffs looking out over a wild sea. Fossickers for beach stones have to drive a couple of kilometres further along a narrow gravel road before crossing paddocks down awkward slopes to reach their goal. See here for an account of a fossick at one Slope Point beach, and here for an account of another. Many of the Slope Point stones have arisen from Jurassic Era volcanic activity and debris flows, which also produced the petrified trees of nearby Curio Bay (see this brief introduction to the petrified forest of Curio Bay). 

Keeping in mind that this is essentially an amateur production, if you want to buy one of these 2023 Calendars for yourself, email me at john.tumblestone@gmail.com. To cover expenses, it will cost you NZ$25 (postage included, in New Zealand).

About my 2022 Calendar, see here, for my 2021 Calendar, see here, and for my 2020 Calendar, see here.