Motion pictures from overseas were shown in NZ from 1895, & NZ films were first produced from 1898 as documentaries

(Image: Enos Pegler whose 'The World’s First Lady Mayor' (1900) is the oldest complete NZ film that has been found)

First fiction film shot in NZ was the short comedy 'A message from Mars' (1903) & 1st feature film was 'Hinemoa' (1914)

Copies of both films have not been found. (Image: Film programme for ‘Hinemoa’ which was shot around Rotorua)

From 1920s, Govt dpts began producing films to promote tourism which led to National Film Unit (NFU) forming in 1941

NFU produced 'Weekly Review' (1942-50) & 'Pictorial Parade', (1952-71), & private firms also began using its facilities

From 1937 - early 1970s, the National Anthem was played for King George VI & then Queen Elizabeth before start of movie

During Queen Elizabeth's reign, the audience stood when 'God save the Queen' was played

Movies also became popular with cinema projectionists & those who sold or hired out movies

(Films were originally sent to NZ for viewing, & projectionists had kept them when too costly to ship them back.)

Movie lovers began collecting & showing movies at home cinemas or lending to others; & movie clubs were formed

In 1984, the movie club 'The Film Buffs Association' was formed in Wellington to preserve history of film & equipment

Following the official launch of television in 1960, cinemas no longer had a monopoly on film-viewing

New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (later TVNZ) formed in 1962 & led to increased use of NFU's processing facilities

In 1976, the New Zealand Film Commission was formed as a Crown entity to assist filmmakers to grow the NZ film industry

The popularity of 'Sleeping dogs' (1977) directed by Roger Donaldson led to a wave of movie-making in NZ

On 27 March 1981, New Zealand Film Archive was registered as a charitable trust to collect, preserve & catalogue films

(Image: Interview with Lynne Reed, NFU colour grader from 1984-1990)

In 1996, 100 years of New Zealand film was celebrated with two short promos screening in cinemas

Content included National Film Unit newsreels & clips from 'Goodbye Pork Pie', 'An Angel at My Table' & 'Braindead'

Oldest complete NZ film held is 'The World’s First Lady Mayor' (1900) by Enos Pegler for Zealandia Living Picture Co.

The re-enactment of a speech by Elizabeth Yates (elected Mayor of Onehunga in 1893) was shown in July 1900 (1:10min)

Rare overseas films were uncovered in 2009 including 75 U.S. silent movies which included John Ford's 1927 'Upstream'

The films were originally sent to NZ for cinema viewing & at the time it was decided it was too costly to ship them back

In 2011, 3 reels of Alfred Hitchcock's earliest surviving film 'The White Shadow' (1923) were discovered

The reels were part of a collection owned by film buff & former Hastings projectionist Jack Murtagh gifted in 1989

In Sept 2010, the 'Saving Frames' 4-year project with $2m funding was announced for c.2500 films & newsreels

The films to include Rudall Hayward's 'Rewi's last stand' black & white film shot on nitrate film in 1940

From 2013, nitrate or acetate film was copied onto polyester film; then digitisation techniques began in 2023

Image: Archives NZ video (12 Oct 2021): A tour of the Film Preservation Lab used from 2013-June 2023 (3:58mins)

On 29 Nov 1895, Alfred Whitehouse was first person to exhibit motion pictures in NZ by using Thomas Edison's kinetoscope

Whitehouse had 4 machines at William Bartlett's studio in Queen St until Feb 1896; then toured Nth Is. until Jan 1897

Edison's kinetoscope allowed a loop of film to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole viewer window

Admission was charged (1s: Adult & 6d: Child) to see series of 4 short scenes, eg 'Annabelle's graceful butterfly dance'

The kinetophone - a combination of the kinetoscope & the phonograph - was then introduced by Whitehouse

The viewer could also listen through 2 rubber tubes connected to the machine, eg Watch & hear Annabelle dancing to music

In 1895, the Lumière brothers Louis & Auguste invented the Cinématographe which enabled the public screening of films

It was used as a motion-picture camera, film processor & projector. The term 'cinema' is derived from invention's name.

On 13 Oct 1896, first public film screening on a large screen in NZ was on the Cinématographe (also named Kinématograph)

Short 35mm films from overseas were part of show by Charles Godfrey’s Vaudeville Company held at Auckland's Opera House

Films shown included 'Sandow the Strong Man" (German strongman, circus performer & athlete) produced 1894

Cinématographe also toured Thames, Paeroa, Wellington, Christchurch & Dunedin. (Image: Evening Post advt, 12 Dec 1896)

In 1903, the first non-documentary short film shot in NZ was "A message from Mars" & copies not known to have survived

The film by Franklyn Barrett was based on a comedy play by Richard Ganthony touring NZ (Image: Article on the play)

In 1914, NZ's first feature movie was released - 'Hinemoa' - of which copies have not been known to have survived

The silent movie was previewed on 17 Aug 1914 at the Lyric Theatre, Auckland; then toured around NZ & exhibited overseas

Interview (1962) on making of 'Hinemoa' with director George Tara & Hera Rogers who played Hinemoa (11:33 mins)

Hera & her husband Rua starred as Hinemoa & Tūtānekai in the movie shot over 8 days around Rotorua on £50 budget

In 1926, films were mainly imported from US (£192,802), followed by Gt Brit (£16,894), & Australia (£5493)

Imports also included Germany (£1306), France (£967), Canada (£216), & Austria & Switzerland (their quota was £114)

By May 1927, NZ cinematographic films were released weekly: six copies to Australia, four to England, and two for NZ

Plans were being made to also release to the US

In 1923, a Publicity Office attached to Dept of Internal Affairs began producing scenic shorts & travelogues for tourism

A private company 'Filmcraft Ltd' was contracted to produce the films & it built the Miramar Film Studios in 1928

In 1930, the Publicity Office became part of the new Dept of Industry and Commerce, Tourist & Publicity

In 1938, the Dept bought Filmcraft's Miramar Studios after leasing it for 2 years

The Miramar site became the Government Motion Picture and Advertising Studios

The Dept funded the sound film 'One Hundred Crowded Years' to celebrate NZ's 1940 centennial

The movie with re-enacted scenes from 1840s onwards first screened in the Tivoli Theatre, Wellington on 28 Nov 1940

In Feb 1940, NZ Labour Govt invited John Grierson (Canadian Govt Film Commissioner) to discuss having a state film unit

Grierson. who'd helped the British Govt to produce documentary films, also addressed a Film conference in Wellington

In 1941, the short film ‘Country Lads' about the war service of NZ soldiers was produced by Stanhope Andrews

The film's success at local cinemas helped the Govt to advocate reorganising its filmmaking to publicise NZ's War effort

In Aug 1941, National Film Unit (NFU) formed by the Labour Govt to provide updates on war effort overseas & home front

The National Film Unit's studio was administered at Miramar by the Dept of Industry and Commerce, Tourist & Publicity

Initially, NFU produced training films for troops; & then filmed them overseas in battle & at rest to share back in NZ

In Oct 1942, NFU began producing the 'Weekly Review' of European & Pacific campaigns which screened in NZ cinemas

(Image: The 1 st episode which was numbered 60). Each episode was 10-min long & usually had 3-4 topics.

‘Weekly Review’ continued after the war & depicted NZ's social & economic changes & development of a national identity

In 1946, the NFU became part of the Information Section of the Prime Minister's Department

Following the 1946 general election, the Labour party led by Peter Fraser had retained power

As well as the 'Weekly Review', the NFU began making documentaries on national topics & for other Depts

Video (3:07 mins) shows the work of the NFU at the Government Film Studios, Wellington in 1947

In July 1950, the NFU became part of the Publicity Division of the Dept of Tourism & Publicity

In 1949, National Party defeated Labour Party which governed since 1935. (Image: NFU film on the Whanganui River, 1950)

In Aug 1950, 'Weekly Review' cancelled after Ep.459, due to budget, production time, & its focus on entertainment

Due to £50,000 loss in 1949 with few overseas sales, NFU to focus on Dpts & Publicity's reel films for overseas cinemas

In 1952, the monthly 'Pictorial Parade' began with national & international news & produced 250 episodes until 1971

10 min episodes were distributed as 35mm & 16mm prints to cinemas, embassies, community groups & film libraries overseas

The NFU also made films; produced documentaries for other Depts; & allowed private companies to process work at Miramar

The NFU film ‘Snows of Aorangi’ (1955) was nominated for an Oscar in 1959: "Short Subject - Live Action"

This was the first New Zealand film nominated in any category. (It was 20min documentary by Brian Brake of 3 skiers)

‘Amazing New Zealand’ (1963) received 5 film prizes between 1963-1968, & was viewed by over 80 million in 47 countries

First award: Venice Film Festival 1963: Bronze Medal of St Mark. (The 5 awards are accessible the NZ On Screen's link)

‘One hundred and forty days under the world’ (1964) nominated for an Oscar in 1965: "Documentary: Short Subject"

The documentary (33:15 min) explores the work by NZ scientists in the Ross Dependency, Antarctica over Summer 1963/64

Prior to the movie starting, the National Anthem would be played & the audience would rise from their seats to stand

Playing the National Anthem began in 1937 with King George VI, followed by Queen Elizabeth until early 1970s

Movie buffs also developed amongst movie projectionists & those who sold or hired movies

(Films were originally sent to NZ for viewing, & projectionists began to keep them as it was costly to ship them back.)

Some movie buffs began collecting films & shared them in their home cinema or lent to others

The popularity of 'Sleeping dogs' (1977) directed by Roger Donaldson led to a wave of movie-making in NZ

It was the first feature-length 35 mm film produced entirely in NZ & launched Sam Neill's acting career

In 1978, the National Film Unit moved to a new studio at Avalon in Lower Hutt & officially opened on 18 Oct

Its former Miramar site was redeveloped in 2005 by Park Road Post Production (owned by Peter Jackson's WingNut Films)

The NFU continued to produce films & increasingly offered commercial services to the private sector

The NZ Film Archive was registered as a charitable trust on 27 March 1981

It's purpose was to collect, preserve and make accessible New Zealand's film & television history

Trust Board's 6 members included David Fowler representing the Film Commission who became the Chairman from 1981 - 1984

Image: Fowler (2d row on left) was the former Manager of the National Film Unit from Nov 1973 - May 1980

Other Board members included Chief Archivist Judith Hornabrook (see image)

Federation of Film Societies was represented by Ron Ritchie, & National Film Unit by its Manager Doug Eckoff

Film-maker John O'Shea (see image) represented the Minister for the Arts

Minister of Education was represented by Frank Mahoney & Television New Zealand by its Head of Film Services Ken White

Jonathan Dennis was appointed as the NZ Film Archive's Director & sole employee

In 1979, he'd gone overseas to train as a film archivist & studied in East Berlin & at the National Archives in England

On 1 April 1981, the National Film Archive began operating in Courtenay Place, Wellington

It shared the same building as the NZ Federation of Film Societies (Image: View along Courtenay Place)

NZ Film Archive began largely using British preservation techniques to preserve old nitrate & acetate films

(Image: Press release for lecture by Jonathan Dennis on locating & preserving early Auckland film, 1981)

In 1982, Jonathan Dennis sought out Witarina Harris (Ngāti Whakaue) who'd acted in silent film 'The Devil's pit' (1929)

He'd informed Witarina (b.1906) that a copy of the film might be available for repatriation to NZ

Witarina became the NZ Film Archive's kaumatua & assisted Dennis with incorporating Māori practices & protocols

Both also attended Māori film screenings in the US, London, Munich & Italy where she provided context for scenes

In 1987, Koha's episode 'Nga Pikitia Māori' looked at the Māori feature film industry (NZ On Screen: 13.57 min)

Covers from the pioneers of silent era to Merata Mita's 1988 movie 'Mauri' & includes interviews with Witarina & others

In 1988, Merata Mita (1942-2010) became the first woman in NZ to solely write & direct a dramatic feature film 'Mauri'

NZ Film Archive's collection grew & within 10 years over 10,000 titles were kept in 7 buildings in Wellington

Image: Interview (1982) with DennIs includes visit to old nitrate film decaying in a former ammunition bunker (8:24 min)

In March 1990, Jonathan Dennis resigned & Frank Stark became NZ Film Archive's Chief Executive

Image (1991): Dennis (left) on the occasion of receiving Queen's Service Medal Public Service award for NZ Film Archive

In 1992, Frank Stark launched NZ Film Archive's 'The Last Film Search' to locate early NZ films

Aim was to locate nitrate film stock so as to preserve & copy the film (Image: 1997: Advertising poster)

The campaign led to the acquisition of over 7000 films in the next 7 years

Image (1994): Screening of some of c.500 films donated during 3 week search in Hawke’s Bay & Gisborne regions in 1993

On 1 Aug 1995, the Film Centre opened near the waterfront to store & display movies, & its space was full after 3 years

(Image: 'Once were Warriors' poster (1994)

1996: Interview includes the role Film Archive in collecting, storing & preserving film material & Māori film deposits

By 2000, the collection had grown to 40,000 titles which were cared for by 32 staff in Wellington & Auckland

In 2002, the Film Centre's collection moved from Courtenay Place to 84 Taranaki St for more storage space

Building's 6-levels had 107-seat cinema, Jonathan Dennis research library, media library, offices & technical facilities

In Dec 2006, at its 25th Anniversary, NZ Film Archive presented Witarina with Taiki Ngapara lifetime achievement award

(Image: In 2004, a film by Peter Wells about Witarina & Dennis' friendship released at NZ International Film Festival)

The rare films included 3 reels of John Ford's 1927 'Upstream' which was subsequently re-screened in NZ & in the US.

The film was preserved with aid of Park Road Post Production located in Miramar

Article (3 Aug 2011): 3 reels of 6 of Alfred Hitchcock's earliest surviving film 'The White Shadow' (1923) discovered

The reels were part of collection owned by film buff Jack Murtagh gifted in 1989. Copies were given to Britain & US.

RNZ interview (7 Aug 2011) with Frank Stark from NZ Film Archives on rare films (7:54 mins)

Discusses how many more rare films might be lurking in the vaults after the discovery of Hitchcock's film

In 2010, research report on using digital technology published by Frank Stark when a Winston Churchill Fellow

Ttile: 'The use of digital technology for the preservation and public use of New Zealand’s moving image collection'

On 13 Sept 2010, 'Saving Frames' 4-year project was launched by the NZ Film Unit for c.2500 films & newsreels

RNZ interview (27 Sept 2010) with Frank Stark about the $2m project funded by Ministry for Arts, Culture and Heritage

NZ Film Unit partnered with Park Road Post Production to use photochemical processing & digitisation

(RNZ interview (16 Dec 2010) during a tour around the the old film unit equipment still in use)

1st endangered feature film selected for restoration was 1940s movie 'Rewi’s Last Stand (aka 'The Last Stand')

The black & white sound film was written, directed and produced by Rudall Hayward

2011: The restored silent film 'Upstream' made by American director John Ford had its first screening in NZ since 1927

In June 2013, Park Road Post closed down its film processing lab as the result of switching to digital cameras

The lab took film from cameras and made it usable for projecters

From 1 Oct 2012, the management of Sound Archives was split from Radio New Zealand & amalgamated with NZ Film Archive

Its collection contains 70,000 recordings dating from 1930s which will still be owned & housed by RNZ

On 4 March 2014, NZ Film Archives announced that old nitrate films are now kept in Wellington in a specialised vault

The collections were held in other buildings including bunkers, with the majority being held in the north Wairarapa

On 21 May 2014, Government announced negotiations to amalgamate TVNZ Archives with NZ Film Archives on 1 Oct 2014

On 1 July 2014, the NZ Film Archive was renamed Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision & officially launched on 31 July

Full name: New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua Me Ngā Taonga Kōrero

On 1 Aug 2014, guardianship of the TVNZ Archive transferred from TVNZ to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage

(Image: Archival record of staff and production work of DNTV-2 television station, which operated in Dunedin from 1962)

Day-to-day management of TVNZ Archive was awarded by the Ministry to Ngā Taonga to digitise & provide online access

(RNZ: Interview (22 July 2018) on Ngā Taonga becoming involved in digitising TVNZ Archive & the progress made)

The TVNZ Archive collection is held in TVNZ's buildings at Avalon which were sold to the Crown

The Ministry holds Memorandums of Understanding with DIA & Ngā Taonga to permit the latter to occupy Avalon

Since 23 Sept 2018, the head office has operated from the National Library building on Molesworth St, Wellington

A preservation facility is located at Motutawa  Avalon in Lower Hutt

New Archival building is scheduled to open in 2026 next to National Library on corner of Aitken & Mulgrave Sts

Will house facilities for staff from National Archives, Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision, & the National Library

Currently, over 800,000 items are held, including film & television, sound & radio recordings, dating from 1894

The films include commercially released, government-produced, and amateur productions, e.g. home movies

The collection includes NZ's oldest surviving black & white films from the 1900s

Image: Black & white film of the American fleet at Auckland (1908)

The black & white films include silent movies

Image: "The devil's pit" (1929) which starred Witarina Harris (centre)

The collection includes NZ's first "talkie" films from 1935 onwards

Image: 'Down on the farm' film (screened 2 May 1935) is considered NZ's earliest sound feature of which excerpts survive

The collection also holds NZ's earliest colour films produced in the 1910s

Image: 'Coasts of New Zealand' (1910): Colour tinted film on tourists' modes of transport around NZ in early 1900s

Rare overseas films held include seventy-five U.S. silent films & a British silent film by Alfred Hitchcock

Image: The silent film "Upstream" by American John Ford which was rescreened in NZ in 2010

Material includes NZ Broadcasting Service Mobile Unit collection & a project began in 2015 to digitise & describe it

(In 2014, it was listed by UNESCO on its "Memory of the World" register as a national treasure of documentary heritage)

The formats of film & video include 70mm, 35mm, 16mm, 8mm, video tape, & digital projection files

Image: Video of 'Task Force arrival', 1949

The collection also has over 120,000 audio items - audio cassettes, digital audio tapes, & discs