MaramaMartin
- Continuity announcer
Almost everyone in New Zealand over "a certain age" will remember Marama Martin. For 10 years from 1965 she was a continuity announcer on NZBC Television (when it was the only channel). She was there for the first network broadcast, and was the first person to be seen in colour on New Zealand television. Martin passed away on 10 July 2017.
Screenography
Biography
Born and raised in New Plymouth, Marama Koea's first love was teaching. She was one of the first students at Ardmore Teachers' Training College, near Auckland. After time teaching in classrooms around the North Island, she headed off for Europe and the UK, arriving in London a week before the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. She continued her teaching in the UK, but also landed a job as an extra in New Zealand-set adventure movie The Seekers, which featured Brit Jack Hawkins and Inia te Wiata. She remembered earning five pounds a day, a significant amount at the time.
“I didn’t even know what an audition was! I wasn’t looking for a job as an announcer.”