As the New Year kicks off with a mixed bag of weather, NZ On Screen’s Nicky Harrop tries to keep on the sunny side, with some classic Kiwi summer screen moments.
It seems there are a few unspoken rules when it comes to filming a New Zealand summer. No sunburn, no holiday traffic, definitely no rain, just beaches, baches, and the occasional barbeque allowed. Delivering in (buckets and) spades, the following NZ films, TV shows and music videos capture the elusivesun-drenched Kiwi holiday.
The End of the Golden Weather
Set over Christmas 1935, Bruce Mason's long-running solo play The End of the Golden Weather was based on the summers of his Auckland childhood. The film adaptation sees the shores of fictitious township Te Parenga played by Te Muri and Takapuna beaches.
Takapuna Beach also provided inspiration for another summer hit, Hello Sailor's Lyin' in the Sand. Recorded for the band's debut album, the song was written by guitarist Harry Lyon after observing how residents of the North Shore suburb took it for granted. After all, who wouldn't "just want to lie, lie, lie, lie in the sand..."
Children of the Sun
A Kiwi-style Endless Summer, 60s surf movie Children of the Sun follows a group of pioneering longboard riders from Piha to Noosa. The classic surfing scenes - some filmed from an onboard camera housed in a DIY perspex case - are cut with great footage of 60s beach culture. Not a surfwear sponsorship to be seen.
A Summer Place
Documentary A Summer Place offers a beautifully-shot history of the great New Zealand bach. Maggie Barry tracks their evolution from workers' cottages to a fully-fledged icon in danger of extinction. Bach enthusiasts interviewed include Sam Hunt and Keri Hulme.
The Topp Twins - The Beach
The Topp Twins hit the beach, in these clips from their debut TV series. Arriving at Mt Maunganui, Lynda talks a local lifeguard into applying her sunblock ("keep your eyes on the beach and your hands on me"), while Camp Leader takes on a Tauranga triathlon, resplendent in jelly sandals.
The Black Seeds - So True
Released in 2005, the music video for The Black Seeds So True is a veritable smorgasbord of Kiwi summer delights. Barnaby Weir, Daniel Weetman and early band member Bret McKenzie (yes, from Flight of the Conchords), road trip to the Coromandel, finding Pohutukawa rope swings, mussels on the barbie, beach cricket and more, before making a pitstop at the Tararu Store for a Fruju on the way home.
