The Black Robin - A Chatham Island Story

In the mid 1970s, the Chatham Island black robin was the world’s rarest bird. With only two females and five males left, time was running out to save the bird from extinction. Eventually, conservationist Don Merton (who also rediscovered the kākāpō) and his NZ Wildlife Service team bought the bird back from the grave with their pioneering efforts. This award-winning documentary unites two earlier Wild South episodes (Seven Black Robins and The Robin’s Return) and updates the robin’s rescue story to 1987. After debuting on Christmas Day that year, it was modified for this 1989 edition. More info can be found here. 

I remember the nerves that came over them once they realised that they had that real black robin in their hands. Those guys changed, knowing what they were entrusted with and what was ahead of them ... Once they had that box with the bird in it, and secured it on his pack, he was just a different person. It was the awesome responsibility of getting that precious bird down that cliff and across.

– Cameraman Paul Donovan on transferring a rare black robin down a 200-metre cliff, en route to Mangere Island, in 1988 book Wild South: Saving New Zealand’s Endangered Birds, page 164

Key Cast & Crew

Peter Hayden

Narrator

Richard Thomas

Writer

Rod Morris

Director, Producer

Cathie Brumley

Research

Mike Lemmon

Camera Operator

Paul Donovan

Camera Operator