A blessing of the taoka (treasured) pounamu Manawawera was conducted by kaumatua Hinerangi Ferrell-Heath and Huata Holmes, both of Puketeraki marae.
The ceremony was attended by almost 30 distinguished representatives of southern runanga, from Moeraki to Oraka Aparima, and Doc staff, including Otago conservator Marian van der Goes, at Doc's revamped Queenstown Regional Visitor Centre.
Doc Wakatipu area manager Greg Lind opened the ceremony with a greeting and spoke about the significance of the occasion and the pounamu to the Wakatipu.
Department personnel sang a waiata, followed by a waiata by iwi representatives.
The two kaumatua then performed their blessing of the unveiled stone.
Dunedin artist Malcolm Murchie, of Kai Tahu Kati Mamoe Ngati Raukawa, gave a talk about the symbolism of his carved beech plinth.
Those attending gathered for informal refreshments in the Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa where Doc-iwi liaison Matapura Ellison, of Karitane, gave a farewell.
The pounamu Manawawera was one of 13 greenstones retrieved by Doc staff and Ngai Tahu personnel on a hikoi to the Dart River last year.
The stone weighs about 28kg and measures more than 50cm in length.
Mr Murchie said the main challenge when carving the plinth was to keep it stable under the weight of the pounamu, while making it small enough so as not to overpower the stone.
It was fashioned from one of Dunedin's oldest trees which had reached the end of its life.
The timber was given to the artist in late 2009.
Mr Murchie said the plinth took 200 hours to create.
He used a chainsaw, adze, Abitech blade and chisels, before the staining and lacquering.
The face of Waitaiki, from the legend of Poutini, was carved on the front.
"I hope that it will spark interest in people who see it and want to know some of our stories and history," Mr Murchie said.
The placing of the touchstone on its plinth by the entrance coincided with the completion of Doc's $250,000 redesigning and construction of the Queenstown Regional Visitor Centre, on Shotover St.
