We use cookies to help us understand how you use our site, and make your experience better. To find out more read our privacy policy.
Play

00:00

/

00:00

Full screen
Video quality

Low 0 MB

High 0 MB

HD 0 MB

Captions
Volume
Volume
Hero image for Earthquake!

Earthquake!

Television (Full Length) – 2006

The Hawke's Bay earthquake still ranks as New Zealand’s worst civil disaster. More than 250 people died following the 7.8 magnitude quake on 3 February 1931. Director Gaylene Preston (miniseries Hope and Wire) gathered eyewitness accounts from survivors, including kuia Hana Lyola Cotter, who has never forgotten joining the rescue effort as a teen. The documentary also includes eye-opening newsreel footage of the damage. Earthquake! was nominated for Best Popular Documentary at the 2006 Qantas Television Awards; the sound team took away gongs at that year's NZ Screen Awards. 

We didn’t realise what really it was like till we got there. Oh gosh, we thought it was the end of the world.
– Hana Lyola Cotter recalls the scene, after arriving in Napier the day after the quake

Key Cast & Crew

Generic Profile image for Whena Owen

Whena Owen

Line Producer, Archive Research

Generic Profile image for Raewyn Humphries

Raewyn Humphries

Editor

Generic Profile image for Polly McKinnon

Polly McKinnon

Sound Editor

Generic Profile image for Melanie Graham

Melanie Graham

Sound Editor

Profile image for Michael Hedges

Michael Hedges

Sound Mix

Profile image for Gaylene Preston

Gaylene Preston

Director, Producer

See all 22 credits

Acknowledgements

Produced in association with Hawke's Bay Museum (now MTG Hawke's Bay)

Made with funding from NZ On Air
Presented with thanks to the NZ Film Heritage Trust – Te Puna Ataata

Music

'Button Up Your Overcoat' performed by Jack Hylton and his Orchestra

More from the NZ Disasters Collection...

Thumbnail image for Shipwreck - The Wreck of the Orpheus

Shipwreck - The Wreck of the Orpheus

Thumbnail image for Tarawera

Tarawera

In June 1886 Mt Tarawera spectacularly erupted, and...

Thumbnail image for Earthquake!

Earthquake!

The Hawke's Bay earthquake still ranks as New...

Thumbnail image for Christchurch Fire

Christchurch Fire

The Ballantynes' Department Store fire of 18 November...

Thumbnail image for Spring Flames

Spring Flames

The Ballantynes' Department Store fire in November...

Thumbnail image for The Truth about Tangiwai

The Truth about Tangiwai

On Christmas Eve 1953 a volcanic eruption caused a...

Thumbnail image for Tangiwai - A Love Story

Tangiwai - A Love Story

Christmas Eve 1953: Cricketer Bob Blair (Ryan O'Kane)...

Thumbnail image for Then Again - Strongman Mine

Then Again - Strongman Mine

Mid-1980s series Then Again revisited high...

Thumbnail image for Descent from Disaster - Strongman Mine Disaster

Descent from Disaster - Strongman Mine Disaster

Thumbnail image for NZBC Classics - Wahine Disaster

NZBC Classics - Wahine Disaster

On 10 April 1968 the Lyttelton–Wellington ferry...

Thumbnail image for Wahine Day

Wahine Day

The focus of this short film is a memorial service on...

Thumbnail image for Flight 901 - The Erebus Disaster

Flight 901 - The Erebus Disaster

On 28 November 1979, an Air New Zealand DC-10 crashed...

Thumbnail image for Mikhail Lermontov

Mikhail Lermontov

On 16 February 1986 a Russian cruise liner, the...

Thumbnail image for Destination Disaster: The Sinking of the Mikhail Lermontov

Destination Disaster: The Sinking of the Mikhail Lermontov

This award-winning documentary is an account of the...

Thumbnail image for Cave Creek: The Full Story of a National Tragedy

Cave Creek: The Full Story of a National Tragedy

On 28 April 1995, the collapse of a viewing platform...

Thumbnail image for Sunday - Daniel Rocks

Sunday - Daniel Rocks

This Sunday item is based on an...

Thumbnail image for The Women of Pike River

The Women of Pike River

Thumbnail image for Dreams Lie Deeper

Dreams Lie Deeper

In November 2010, 29 miners died in the Pike River...

Thumbnail image for When a City Falls

When a City Falls

Gerard Smyth's acclaimed documentary about the...

Thumbnail image for Five Days in the Red Zone

Five Days in the Red Zone

On the evening after the Christchurch earthquake of 22...

Thumbnail image for Media7 - Series Seven, Episode 13

Media7 - Series Seven, Episode 13

This 2011 episode of the Russell Brown-fronted media...

Thumbnail image for A Shocking Reminder - Part Two

A Shocking Reminder - Part Two

The second half of this documentary following the...

Thumbnail image for The Day that Changed My Life

The Day that Changed My Life

Blown away by "the...

Thumbnail image for Chimney Book

Chimney Book

Chimney Book takes rubble from the...

Thumbnail image for New Zealand Stories - Battle at the Basilica

New Zealand Stories - Battle at the Basilica

This documentary follows the fight to save...

Thumbnail image for Aftermath - Triumph of the City (Episode Five)

Aftermath - Triumph of the City (Episode Five)

The fifth episode in this series about the...

Thumbnail image for The Art of Recovery

The Art of Recovery

The Art of Recovery documents "one of...

Thumbnail image for Aftershock

Aftershock

This award-winning telefilm imagines the effects of a...