Spills & Thrills: From Highlander milk to Burt Munro

The Film Archive are celebrating the Invercargill launch of their medianet network by holding a special free screening of a selection of films, which show the hijinks of life in Southland between 1915 and 1973.

The free “Spills and Thrills” screening will present a selection of historic films from the Southland region. From spilt milk to spills of the more daredevil variety, the films all express the vitality of life in Southland. Films will range from a 1915 film on the manufacture of Highlander milk, to a 1973 documentary on speedway racer Burt Munro, and much more in between.

The silent films will be accompanied by local pianist Craig Rodmell.

The programme for the night includes the classic 1928 film shot by New Zealand film maker Rudall Hayward, "A Daughter of Invercargill" - a community comedy starring Alma Walters, Neil Jack, W.R. Coburn, the Invercargill Fire Brigade, “Southland’s Wild-Ridin’ Cowboys” and hundreds of Invercargill citizens.

While the focus of the programme is on Invercargill, the "capital of Southland," other films feature events in Underwood, Oreti Beach, Bluff, Tiwai Point, Stewart Island and Gore.

When planning the “Spills and Thrills” screening Medianet Project Developer Diane McAllen sorted through a range of tourist holiday movies, films of local industry, and documentation of community events - such as A&P shows and Queen Elizabeth’s visit in 1954. “Needless to say it was a challenging job to whittle this all down to a 70 minute screening programme,” says McAllen. “The good news is I have been able to upload more of this onto medianet - which means that anyone can access it at any time, to look back at Southland, the way it was, and compare it to the way it is today.”

More on Medianet

Southland has been an inspired setting for a wide range of films, from the silent era, through until today. Medianet, the New Zealand Film Archive’s digital video resource, will enable the Southland public to revisit some of its cinematic history. The Film Archive is delighted to be returning the films to the localities where they were produced.

In June the Film Archive welcomed two new partner institutions onto our Medianet network - both based in Invercargill.

Medianet is available at the Invercargill Public Library on Dee Street. Members of the public can browse the collection of over 800 videos including NZ documentaries, feature films, short films, television advertising and a fair sprinkling of historic films from south of the Clutha. The entire Archive catalogue of over 110,000 films can be searched, and we always welcome requests for titles to be added to the collection onsite. Medianet can be accessed on the first floor computers - just look for the icon on the desktop, or ask a librarian. The library will offer a complete list of local films available for browsing.

The Southern Institute of Technology also offer Medianet facilities at their “Downtown” Campus, which are readily accessible for students studying arts and digital media. Content will be tailored to meet the needs of teaching staff and hopefully we will also get a few new deposits from our next “up-and-coming” New Zealand film makers. So watch this space.

The new Invercargill Medianet branches are the collection’s most southern point of access.

The Archive will officially launch Medianet, with Mayor Tim Shadbolt, on Thursday 8 November from 5pm, at the Invercargill Public Library. An interactive session on using Medianet will take place in the Library (1st Floor) on Friday 9 November, from 11am-1pm.

Medianet can be found in Invercargill at:
Invercargill Public Library, 50 Dee Street, www.ilibrary.co.nz
Southern Institute of Technology, Downtown Campus, Don Street, www.sit.ac.nz