The tale of the striking necklace, played out over more than 30 years and involved a deceased Māori carver and the New Zealand government.
Australian philanthropist David Thomas, who sold his Queenstown property last year for what was believed to be more than $10 million, has had the necklace in his possession for more than 20 years.
But Mr Thomas, who kept a low profile while living in the resort, has left Queenstown and now lives in Queensland.
To get the necklace across the Tasman he has to apply for a marine mammal concession which would ultimately be approved by the Minister of Conservation.
The application for the permit outlines the story on how it got made and the trail on how it is going to end up across the Ditch.
A wasekaseka necklace is a sperm whale tooth necklace which is part of Pacific Island culture.
It all started in 1994 when a sperm whale washed up dead on the island of Foula in the Shetland Islands. The latest British census showed the island had a population of 17.
The jaws of the whale were sent to the British Museum.
Māori carver Major H Woods, who worked with the museum, was to carry out carvings from whale bone for the museum.
He sent the jaws back to New Zealand in 1999 as he was planning to come back here. But he died before that could happen.
The whale jaws were passed on to artist Chris Charteris, in Auckland, who was also a Māori carver.
Mr Thomas, who could not be contacted, and Mr Charteris met and a necklace design was decided upon.
In evidence for the permit, Mr Charteris wrote to Mr Thomas and his wife Barbara outlining the process of how he made the necklace in 2000.
Mr Charteris went to the Auckland Museum to study the necklaces and described how he used five medium to large-sized whale’s teeth. He said "it took me a few weeks to get up the courage to cut them up".
The fibre used in the necklace was from young coconuts, which gave the necklace its light colour.
Mr Charteris also sent the dust and offcuts from the whale’s teeth to the new necklace owners as the tradition was they would be returned to the sea. It was not known whether this was carried out.
Mr Thomas kept possession of the necklace but, as he now lives in Queensland, wanted it back in his home country. He was intending to give it to the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane.
Mr Thomas is a leading philanthropist, having made his money from wine-selling business Cellarmasters.
Mr Thomas’ application for the permit was granted in perpetuity by the Minister of Conservation last week.
