Heartland, Lyttelton

Heartland grew out of the success of a one-off 1987 collaboration between presenter Gary McCormick and director Bruce Morrison. Raglan By The Sea was a gently affectionate ramble through a well loved landscape. Its stories were brought to life by a number of native personalities interacting with McCormick. He was less the expert host than a stand-in for armchair travelers. Raglan was an early production credit for Finola (An Education) Dwyer.

The show rated well, and a series was pitched to TVNZ. Morrison was the overall series director, but other directors worked on the show too, notably Sean Duffy.

Heartland became a touchstone for urban New Zealand's romantic nostalgia for the small or faraway corners that epitomized something of the nation's soul.

The series ran from 1991 to 1996, and totaled 43 x 46 minute episodes.

Each show was a picturesque cocktail of fondly rehearsed facts, legends, and common truisms about a given community; leavened with very occasional surprises.

At its best, Heartland's blend of preparation and 'on the hoof' film making was effective. The strengths of the programme were twofold. McCormick's easy charm and unflappable presenting skills were key (occasional presenters Annie Whittle, Maggie Barry, and Kerre Woodham were similarly genial). But so was the ability of the format to allow individual subjects to shine.

Every episode had its 'characters', but few would argue that Chloe of Wainuiomata made the most indelible impression. With her vaguely alien demeanour Chloe amply justified the nickname, 'Wainui-o-martian', given to residents of this suburb.

Paradoxically, she also projected a genuine sense of struggle. Her values and dreams were so intrinsically Kiwi, if a heartland could be located in a person and not a place, then Chloe was us, tiger slippers and all.

Heartland was the winner of a World Gold Medal 1995 and Bronze Medal 1993 at the New York Film Festivals. It won Best Factual Series at the New Zealand Film and Television Awards in 1994 and 1996.

A book on the series by McCormick and John McDermott was published by Moa Beckett in 1994.