We use cookies to help us understand how you use our site, and make your experience better. To find out more read our privacy policy.
Play

00:00

/

00:00

Full screen
Video quality

Low 0 MB

High 0 MB

HD 0 MB

Captions
Volume
Volume
Hero image for Auckland City of Sunlight

Auckland City of Sunlight

Short Film (Full Length) – 1946

This National Film Unit travelogue, produced for the NZ Government Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, finds post-war Auckland basking in sunshine. Flowers bloom in parks and gardens, city streets bustle and public swimming pools are packed. Trams and flying boats are a reminder of a by-gone era in the city's transportation while a rug factory is a colourful if unexpected inclusion. Last stop is a visit to Kawau Island — home of Governor Grey's Mansion House — where the sun also shines and aquaplaning, sports and bush walks are the order of the day.

Last, loneliest, loveliest, exquisite, apart.
– Rudyard Kipling on Auckland, in his poem The Song of Cities

If you liked this, you might also like...

Collection
Collection image for Auckland

Auckland

This collection celebrates Auckland onscreen. Reel...

Collection
Collection image for New Zealand Tourism Films

New Zealand Tourism Films

‘Don’t leave town till you’ve seen the country’ was the...

Thumbnail image for Queen Street

Queen Street

A later look at Queen Street

Thumbnail image for Auckland City Centenary – Last, Loneliest, Loveliest

Auckland City Centenary – Last, Loneliest, Loveliest

Auckland a quarter of a century later

Thumbnail image for New Zealand Grand Prix

New Zealand Grand Prix

More sunshine and water-skiing in Auckland

Thumbnail image for Islands of the Gulf - Waiheke

Islands of the Gulf - Waiheke

Another island in the Hauraki Gulf

Thumbnail image for 1950 British Empire Games

1950 British Empire Games

Another look at post WW2 Auckland

Thumbnail image for The Governor
Series

The Governor

Epic historic series on Governor Grey

Thumbnail image for Johnstone's Journey - Settling for Suburbia

Johnstone's Journey - Settling for Suburbia

Auckland’s 1970s sprawl

Thumbnail image for Children of the Sun

Children of the Sun

More NZ chasing of surf and sun

Thumbnail image for The Years Back - 13, The State of the Nation (Episode 13)

The Years Back - 13, The State of the Nation (Episode 13)

Post war New Zealand

Thumbnail image for This Auckland

This Auckland

A later summery look at Auckland

Thumbnail image for C'mon to New Zealand

C'mon to New Zealand

A 1969 promo selling New Zealand to Australian tourists

Thumbnail image for Pictorial Parade No. 98 - Expanding Auckland

Pictorial Parade No. 98 - Expanding Auckland

A later NFU visit to Auckland

Thumbnail image for New Zealand Is Yours - Oldies

New Zealand Is Yours - Oldies

Promoting New Zealand New to elderly Zealanders

Thumbnail image for Pavlova Paradise Revisited - Episode Three

Pavlova Paradise Revisited - Episode Three

British politician Austin Mitchell looks at Auckland in 2002

Thumbnail image for Pavlova Paradise Revisited - Episode Three

Pavlova Paradise Revisited - Episode Three

British politician Austin Mitchell visits Auckland in 2002

Thumbnail image for Here is New Zealand

Here is New Zealand

More of Auckland in the 1940s

Thumbnail image for Four Shapes for Four Spaces

Four Shapes for Four Spaces

International sculptors visit Auckland in 1971

Thumbnail image for Gateway to New Zealand

Gateway to New Zealand

Images of Auckland in the following decade

Thumbnail image for The Top End of New Zealand

The Top End of New Zealand

Another look at Auckland