Meet New Zealand

Short Film (Full Length) – 1949 Promotional Documentary

Start video player

Part one of two from this full length short film.

Part two of two from this full length short film.

This post-war film was made to showcase New Zealand to UK audiences. Directed by Michael Forlong, the NFU film is a booster’s catalogue of contemporary NZ life. The message is that NZ is a modern pastoral paradise: open for business but welfare aware. Nature is conquered via egalitarian effort; air and sea links overcome the tyranny of distance; and science informs primary industry. Māori are depicted assimilating into the Pākehā world. Sport, suburbia and scenic wonder are touted, and an NZSO performance shows that the soil can grow culture as well as clover.

Key Cast & Crew

Briton Chadwick

Narrator

William Austin

Narrator

Selwyn Toogood

Narrator

See all 6 credits

Where the pioneer penetrated tediously with pack horse or bullock sledge, wings pass without effort.
– From the narration

Produced by

The National Film Unit

Source

Archives New Zealand

Availability

For requests to re-use this title, contact Archives New Zealand.