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Otago Daily Times
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
How a local TV station became a global powerhouse
By Eva Kershaw for Frank Film It's hard to compare Dunedin to Hollywood. However, for four decades, the small, academic city in New Zealand's deep south was home to a powerhouse of global documentary filmmaking. Born in Dunedin's TVNZ studios in the 1970s, Natural History New Zealand – known globally as NHNZ – developed from a government-run unit to an Emmy Award-winning international producer, reflecting not only the growth of an industry, but the evolution of New Zealand's place in global media and the emergence of a strong conservation movement. One of the unit's earliest series followed the critically endangered Chatham Island black robin out of extinction. There were only seven birds left. 'We came in at exactly the right moment to start telling these stories of hope,' says former frontperson Peter Hayden, 'and the audiences around New Zealand loved it.' It was new territory. Dunedin TV was known for children's programme production. TV audiences were not used to seeing their own natural environment on screen; and natural history was virtually unknown. Hayden, now 76, began working for TVNZ's Natural History Unit in 1980. 'Coming down here I thought I'd better go and buy a bloody book about natural history,' he tells Frank Film. 'I went to the Heinemann's Bookshop... and there was no such thing as a natural history section. 'That reflected the knowledge of New Zealanders at the time. We knew nothing.' On the team with Hayden were producer/director Neil Harraway, film-makers Rod Morris and Max Quinn, and the charismatic and committed Dunedinite, managing director Michael Stedman. '[Michael] was our leader,' says Harraway. 'Quite a stroppy little guy.' Using the hidden camera as a 'silent witness' to the natural world, the team put together personable documentaries of the wildlife of Aotearoa: rare footage of takahē and kākāpō, films on bats, sharks, locusts and a range of birdlife. In looking for a logo, they hit upon the kea, chosen for its intelligence, inquisitiveness, and adaptability – critical traits, says Hayden, for the company's survival. From 1981 until the early '90s, what was then called the Natural History Unit produced Wildtrack – a nature programme for both children and adults that won the Feltex Television Award for the best children's programme, three years running. In 1989, the unit produced Under The Ice, the first nature documentary to be filmed under the Antarctic sea ice. 'I don't know what we were thinking,' says Harraway. Under-water camera housing units were yet to be commercially available, 'so some of the local geeks climbed on in and whipped stuff up like this,' says former NHNZ technician Wayne Poll, gesturing to an early model unit kept in the basement of the company's Dunedin offices. Despite NHNZ's ingenuity, television was changing, and production in New Zealand was migrating largely to Auckland. In 1991, TVNZ closed its Dunedin studios. While the Natural History Unit escaped closure, its future was uncertain. Undeterred, Stedman began looking for new funding relationships overseas. Harraway recalls him picking up business cards from the floor and out of waste baskets at a Cannes event. 'Darwin said, it's not going to be the strongest or the most intelligent animal that survives on the planet, it's going to be the most adaptable,' says Morris. 'Michael sort of understood that intuitively, really, that adaptation was where survival of the unit rested.' And adapt they did. In 1992, in an early co-production with Discovery and Rai3, NHNZ produced the Emperors of Antarctica documentary – a pioneering film on Emperor penguins. 'I think Emperors of Antarctica sold to over 100 different territories around the world,' says Quinn, who devised a hand-made cover to insulate the moving parts of his camera in Antarctica's sub-50 degree temperatures. In 1997, the Natural History Unit was purchased by Fox Television, owned by Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch 'brought a bucket of money,' says Morris, and supplied the team with funding for equipment they desperately needed. Stedman forged co-productions in the USA, Europe, Japan, and China. As a fan of science communication, he helped build a post-graduate diploma in natural history film making at the University of Otago. 'We were into science, we were into health, we were into adventure,' says Hayden. As Stedman said in a 2001 TVNZ interview, NHNZ focussed on reading the market in order to make programmes that would appeal to their audiences, 'as opposed to a British system where they would make a programme that they wanted to make and then go and look for a market for it.' At its height, NHNZ had $50 million worth of documentaries in production. It was working on up to 20 films at any one time and employed 200 people. 'When it started, there was about five of us,' recalls Hayden. New Zealand was a hard audience to break into. 'I don't think New Zealanders were seeing a lot of these programmes,' says Hayden. 'I remember Michael saying, you know, you're selling to so many countries, but one of the hardest countries to sell to is your own country.' Internationally, NHNZ's reputation shone. Among numerous other awards, the company's films earned multiple Emmy nominations, and won Emmy awards in 1999 and 2000. In 2011, Stedman's health declined. 'The golden years were over,' says Morris. 'From Fox buying us in 1997, those fantastic years of growth and spreading its wings had sort of got to the end of its road,' says Harraway. 'The market had changed from the good film-making we liked. Reality kind of took hold.' Stedman resigned in 2013, and in the decade following, NHNZ scaled down. In 2022, a much smaller NHNZ was sold to Auckland-based Dame Julie Christie. With the company re-branded to NHNZ Worldwide, just three staff remain in Dunedin. With this month marking three years since Stedman's death in 2022, the original NHNZ team gather around a TV unit, watching a video of Stedman giving a speech. 'It sort of brings the dear old man back to life again,' says Quinn. 'He was an extraordinary person,' says Morris. 'He sponsored us for a period of time so that we could fulfil our dreams.'
Otago Daily Times
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
From Dunedin TV station to global powerhouse: the story of NHNZ
By Eva Kershaw for Frank Film It's hard to compare Dunedin to Hollywood. However, for four decades, the small, academic city in New Zealand's deep south was home to a powerhouse of global documentary filmmaking. Born in Dunedin's TVNZ studios in the 1970s, Natural History New Zealand – known globally as NHNZ – developed from a government-run unit to an Emmy Award-winning international producer, reflecting not only the growth of an industry, but the evolution of New Zealand's place in global media and the emergence of a strong conservation movement. One of the unit's earliest series followed the critically endangered Chatham Island black robin out of extinction. There were only seven birds left. 'We came in at exactly the right moment to start telling these stories of hope,' says former frontperson Peter Hayden, 'and the audiences around New Zealand loved it.' It was new territory. Dunedin TV was known for children's programme production. TV audiences were not used to seeing their own natural environment on screen; and natural history was virtually unknown. Hayden, now 76, began working for TVNZ's Natural History Unit in 1980. 'Coming down here I thought I'd better go and buy a bloody book about natural history,' he tells Frank Film. 'I went to the Heinemann's Bookshop... and there was no such thing as a natural history section. 'That reflected the knowledge of New Zealanders at the time. We knew nothing.' On the team with Hayden were producer/director Neil Harraway, film-makers Rod Morris and Max Quinn, and the charismatic and committed Dunedinite, managing director Michael Stedman. '[Michael] was our leader,' says Harraway. 'Quite a stroppy little guy.' Using the hidden camera as a 'silent witness' to the natural world, the team put together personable documentaries of the wildlife of Aotearoa: rare footage of takahē and kākāpō, films on bats, sharks, locusts and a range of birdlife. In looking for a logo, they hit upon the kea, chosen for its intelligence, inquisitiveness, and adaptability – critical traits, says Hayden, for the company's survival. From 1981 until the early '90s, what was then called the Natural History Unit produced Wildtrack – a nature programme for both children and adults that won the Feltex Television Award for the best children's programme, three years running. In 1989, the unit produced Under The Ice, the first nature documentary to be filmed under the Antarctic sea ice. 'I don't know what we were thinking,' says Harraway. Under-water camera housing units were yet to be commercially available, 'so some of the local geeks climbed on in and whipped stuff up like this,' says former NHNZ technician Wayne Poll, gesturing to an early model unit kept in the basement of the company's Dunedin offices. Despite NHNZ's ingenuity, television was changing, and production in New Zealand was migrating largely to Auckland. In 1991, TVNZ closed its Dunedin studios. While the Natural History Unit escaped closure, its future was uncertain. Undeterred, Stedman began looking for new funding relationships overseas. Harraway recalls him picking up business cards from the floor and out of waste baskets at a Cannes event. 'Darwin said, it's not going to be the strongest or the most intelligent animal that survives on the planet, it's going to be the most adaptable,' says Morris. 'Michael sort of understood that intuitively, really, that adaptation was where survival of the unit rested.' And adapt they did. In 1992, in an early co-production with Discovery and Rai3, NHNZ produced the Emperors of Antarctica documentary – a pioneering film on Emperor penguins. 'I think Emperors of Antarctica sold to over 100 different territories around the world,' says Quinn, who devised a hand-made cover to insulate the moving parts of his camera in Antarctica's sub-50 degree temperatures. In 1997, the Natural History Unit was purchased by Fox Television, owned by Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch 'brought a bucket of money,' says Morris, and supplied the team with funding for equipment they desperately needed. Stedman forged co-productions in the USA, Europe, Japan, and China. As a fan of science communication, he helped build a post-graduate diploma in natural history film making at the University of Otago. 'We were into science, we were into health, we were into adventure,' says Hayden. As Stedman said in a 2001 TVNZ interview, NHNZ focussed on reading the market in order to make programmes that would appeal to their audiences, 'as opposed to a British system where they would make a programme that they wanted to make and then go and look for a market for it.' At its height, NHNZ had $50 million worth of documentaries in production. It was working on up to 20 films at any one time and employed 200 people. 'When it started, there was about five of us,' recalls Hayden. New Zealand was a hard audience to break into. 'I don't think New Zealanders were seeing a lot of these programmes,' says Hayden. 'I remember Michael saying, you know, you're selling to so many countries, but one of the hardest countries to sell to is your own country.' Internationally, NHNZ's reputation shone. Among numerous other awards, the company's films earned multiple Emmy nominations, and won Emmy awards in 1999 and 2000. In 2011, Stedman's health declined. 'The golden years were over,' says Morris. 'From Fox buying us in 1997, those fantastic years of growth and spreading its wings had sort of got to the end of its road,' says Harraway. 'The market had changed from the good film-making we liked. Reality kind of took hold.' Stedman resigned in 2013, and in the decade following, NHNZ scaled down. In 2022, a much smaller NHNZ was sold to Auckland-based Dame Julie Christie. With the company re-branded to NHNZ Worldwide, just three staff remain in Dunedin. With this month marking three years since Stedman's death in 2022, the original NHNZ team gather around a TV unit, watching a video of Stedman giving a speech. 'It sort of brings the dear old man back to life again,' says Quinn. 'He was an extraordinary person,' says Morris. 'He sponsored us for a period of time so that we could fulfil our dreams.'
Otago Daily Times
30-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Governance about realising responsibility for ‘whole piece'
Accountant and governor Rachel McLauchlan answers questions at a lunch for women in governance in Dunedin this week. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON Being asked to join a board is a privilege and aspiring directors need to understand it is a huge responsibility that must be taken seriously, Rachel McLauchlan says. Since returning to Dunedin 14 years ago after a decade working in London, Ms McLauchlan has developed a strong interest in governance across various sectors including property, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), manufacturing, technology and education. Responsibility for board decisions sat with everyone. "It's about everyone realising they are responsible for the whole piece," she said. It was while working for a United States-listed company in London that the chartered accountant had the opportunity to see so many different aspects of such a huge organisation, including strategic decisions being made. Questioning the reasons behind those decisions started to whet her interest in governance. That was coupled with her brother's own prominent career in business and governance and him talking to her about what was going on in his world. Describing herself as a very proud Dunedinite — and also very proud mother-of-three — Ms McLauchlan grew up in the city, attending both school and the University of Otago, completing degrees in commerce and law. After graduating, she moved to Auckland, embarking on her professional career at KPMG where she had an "amazing time", with exposure to many different industries, businesses and sectors. She later travelled overseas with her husband and landed a role with the US-listed company in London. Shifting from practice into industry was a big step, she recalled. Returning to Dunedin was also a big step professionally, having been away for quite some time. But she was loving living and working in the city and being part of the community. Her first network connection was through the Institute of Directors, an organisation which people encouraged her to join. Former branch manager Vivienne Seaton suggested she do the governance development programme and she discovered a "fantastic network of people". While she was an accountant and also did consulting, she was interested in exploring the governance space and the institute had been very good at opening the pathway and giving her ideas on how to do that and what skills she needed. She has served on the board of Whitestone Cheese and is currently on the boards of Otago Innovation, Hillcrest Properties, Columba College board of governors and is a trustee for the Transition to Work Trust. Asked who had been instrumental in her governance career, Ms McLauchlan said she had "just clicked" with Queenstown-based professional director Sarah Ottrey whom she got chatting to during a coffee break at an Institute of Directors national conference. Over time, she was someone she would bump into and, once she got to know her, she was able to "pick her brain" and ask her for ideas. "Sarah is just wonderful, she gives up so much time for people. You need someone like that in your life you can pick the phone up or ask a question," Ms McLauchlan said. Flipping that around, she now tried to do that with other people. Another influential person had been her late father who was also involved in the business community in Dunedin and was a very positive person, something that she also endeavoured to be. Management did not sometimes understand what governance was there for and what a director actually did. Some people were "almost scared" of board meetings and directors and that was a real shame. "Directors are on the team of the business, they are just part of the organisation. They are the umbrella on top of everything." For those starting their governance career, it was a huge learning curve particularly when they joined their first board because they were trying to understand not only a business, but also the terminology which could be very specific to that business. So it was about listening, particularly in that first year, and being respectful of institutional knowledge — "sitting there and tapping into it as much as you can". When considering a role, it was important to do due diligence — "please understand the financials of any organisation" — get a feel of it and ensure it was the right fit. Directors needed to be clear about why they wanted to be on a board. Many governors started their career in not-for-profit roles and the experience gained there, whether on school boards or sports organisations, threw up a huge amount of governance issues. "I think you see it all, I think it's great preparation for going into that commercial space." There was a "very delicate dance" between governance versus management and the critical thing in any board and management relationship was a good relationship and alignment between the chairman and chief executive. "If that relationship is not strong, the organisation is not going to flourish." Asked what directors were thinking about at the moment, she said board succession was relevant and, with that, a skills matrix. When looking at a board, it was important to understand the skills of each board member. "Everyone brings something different to the table." Lately there had been government policy changes and discussion around how that was impacting organisations. Boards were also grappling with the "tariff world". "It's quite an unsettled world at the moment and people are quite unsettled. Being aware of that is really important," she said. Plus, everyone was talking about artificial intelligence. While there was a lot of debate around it, Ms McLauchlan said it was "just another tool to use". Asked how her own values had supported her, Ms McLauchlan said being someone who was trustworthy was very important. "Trust for me is critical. Feeling like people can trust you and you can trust in someone else is really important. If you don't have that, you have a problem." Building connections and relationships with those you worked with was also important and having integrity and showing respect — even if you did not agree with a point of view — was critical, she said. Asked about imposter syndrome, Ms McLauchlan said "the feeling of being completely out of your comfort zone" was common going into a new board setting, but that was normal. If she was feeling a little uncomfortable, she would ask lots of questions — not necessarily at a board meeting — and, if she was not understanding things, she would reach out to the organisation. There was no such thing as a silly question. When it came to culture, that could change very quickly and it did not take much to upset the culture of a board, particularly if strong personalities were involved. "For me, a lot of culture comes from that respect that everyone has for each other and that philosophy of supporting each other and being aligned with the purpose of the organisation and what you're there for. "When you've got a good culture, work really hard to hold on to it," she said.
Otago Daily Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Thriving communities sought by Greens candidates
Greens candidates (from left) Lily Warring, Alan Somerville, Mickey Treadwell and Rose Finnie are running in this year's local body elections. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH The Green Party says its Dunedin City Council candidates represent a "new generation". Video game programmer and part-time lecturer Mickey Treadwell, 33, is running for mayor as well as city councillor. Visual designer Lily Warring, 29, and support worker Rose Finnie, 26, are also looking for a seat at the city council table. Meanwhile, incumbent Otago regional councillor Alan Somerville, 64, is seeking his second term on the regional council. A statement from the Green Party yesterday said Mr Treadwell was a lifelong Dunedinite, who had worked in film and television, education technology, and now co-directs a videogame studio in South Dunedin while lecturing part-time at Otago Polytechnic. "Ōtepoti produces an incredible amount of innovative technology," he said. "This is not random, but the result of the city being safe, affordable and educated; it is the amenities and the culture of the city that fosters innovation — and that's what we need to protect." Ms Finnie, of Mosgiel, had worked in the disability sector for five years as both a support worker and an administrator, the statement said. "Prioritising accessibility and inclusion is necessary for producing thriving communities," she said. Aside from her graphic design work, Ms Warring was also an "active volunteer", the statement said. Her volunteer work included supporting creative pursuits at Aroha Kaikorai Valley and John's Sketch Club. "We must prioritise creative innovation to promote a resilient Ōtepoti," she said. "It's essential in creating a liveable city that works for everyone." The statement said Mr Somerville, over the last three years, had "worked to bring long-term thinking to council decision-making and planning". "Protecting Papatūānuku and making Otago a safe, healthy and prosperous place to live go together," Cr Somerville said. "Our rural and urban communities are full of goodwill and knowledge. "Our council can work with them to make Otago a better place to live right now and for future generations." Candidate nominations for this year's election officially open on July 4. — APL
