Ted(Edwin) Coubray
- Camera
- Sound
Ted Coubray was one of Aotearoa's earliest filmmakers to sustain a full-time career. In the 1920s he began filming local events for screenings in town halls around the Manawatū. He went on to shoot a number of feature films, including his own hit Carbine's Heritage. When sound hit the film industry in the late 20s, the inventive Coubray pioneered his own sound on film system, Coubray-Tone. He died on 10 December 1997. Image credit: taken from Geoff Steven documentary Adventures in Māoriland
Screenography
Biography
Edwin Coubray was born at Eastern Bush, Southland, on 19 October 1900, the third of four sons of Nicholas Coubray and his wife, Minnie Flowers. His father was a railway labourer and the family moved often. Edwin, known as Ted, was a six-year-old schoolboy at Orepuki, near Riverton, when he saw his first picture show; this was the beginning of a lifelong fascination with cinema.
“... [Carbine's Heritage] attracted capacity audiences, screening simultaneously in three Queen Street cinemas. With only one print, opening times were staggered, and film reels were biked from place to place to keep the three screenings running. The negative of the film was melted down to make belts during the Second World War, and only a poster and publicity stills are known to survive. ”