In 1865, Wellington became the Kiwi capital. In the more than 150 years since, cameras have caught the rise and fall of storms, buildings, and MPs, and Courtenay Place has played host to vampires and pool-playing priests. Wind through our Wellington Collection to catch the action, and check out backgrounders by musician Samuel Scott and broadcaster Roger Gascoigne. 

Made in an era before “coolest little capital” and Absolutely Positively Wellington, the title of this NFU promotional film — Promises, Promises — nods to the capricious charms of the harbour city. A reflective narration is scored by a saxophone soundtrack as the film tours from the stock market, school fair, and swimsuit shopping, to Trentham and up hillside goat-tracks. The opening of Parliament is cut together with a Lions versus France rugby match at Athletic Park, while Scorching Bay is jam-packed with sun-seekers (it must have been filmed on a good day).

“For three days, Wellington, New Zealand will become the Monte Carlo of the South Pacific”. Monaco Monza Macao Wellington follows a champion saloon car team (BMW Schnitzer M3) racing in 1989's Nissan Mobil 500 Wellington street race. From their arrival from Macao, to crashes, dramatic victory and a Coromandel wind-down, the documentary goes behind the scenes of a race team on the international circuit. Features interviews with team manager Charlie Lamm, drivers (Emanuele Pirro, Roberto Ravaglia), and a young Jude Dobson as interviewer.

This Queer Nation episode, presented by Max Currie, is an overview of the capital city's queer history. The literary demimonde is first up: Katherine Mansfield's lesbian affairs and a scandal involving Norris Davey (aka Frank Sargeson). Then the role is explored of the Dorian Society (1962-1986) and its subgroup the Homosexual Law Reform Society, which paved the way towards decriminalisation in the 1980s. The programme also introduces viewers to NZ’s most famous trannies: Carmen and then-MP Georgina Beyer. Interviews and archive material spice up the history.

Nightly magazine-style show Town and Around played on New Zealand screens during the second half of the 60s. Hosted by Peter Read, this end-of-1968 special from the Wellington edition showcases highlights from over 500 items that year. The concentration is on lighter material, most famously a hoax piece on a farmer who puts gumboots on his turkeys. In another piece reporter John Shrapnell discovers that locked cars in the city tend to be the exception. Also featured: an interview with entertainer Rolf Harris, and an impromptu Kiwi street-Hamlet.

It's now been more than 40 years since pioneering soap opera Close to Home first beamed into Kiwi living rooms. For just over eight years, the life and times of Wellington’s Hearte clan screened each Monday and Tuesday night. Toast the Heartes with the first and final episodes, plus a special com...

Honoured with a Knight Companion of the NZ Order of Merit, renowned architect Sir Ian Athfield and his Wellington practice won over 100 awards from 1968. 'Ath' was involved in the Christchurch rebuild, and designed Devonport's new library. This Spotlight collection presents screen souvenirs from ...

Without food life would not only be boring, but impossible. Television networks obviously agree: scan the TV listings, and cooking programmes are visible everywhere from My Kitchen Rules to Masterchef and Come Dine with Me. This Spotlight collection offers the chance to look back to a kinder, les...

Katherine Mansfield was born in Wellington on 14 October 1888. She died of tuberculosis at age 34, after writing a series of short stories that would later be seen as a major advance in the medium. This Spotlight collection is based on some of the screen images Mansfield has inspired. A Portrait ...

Kiwi screen vampires garnered international attention in 2014, with mockumentary What We Do In the Shadows. From Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi and a roster of Kiwi comedic talent, the film documents the travails of a flat of vampires in modern day Wellington. We shine the Spotlight into the shad...