Children of Fire Mountain

While convalescing downunder, Brit Charles Pemberton (Terence Cooper) schemes to build a thermal spa in the town of Wainamu. Conflict ensues as the spa's planned location is on Māori land. The action is seen through the eyes of youngsters: hotelier’s son Tom, and Pemberton’s granddaughter Sarah Jane; who — alongside an erupting volcano — will ultimately teach Sir Charles a lesson about colonial hubris. The 13-part series was a marquee title from a golden age of Kiwi kidult television. Locally it won multiple Feltex awards, and its overseas sales included a 1980 screening on the BBC. Director Peter Sharp writes here about going on location with mud, children and a mysterious waka.