Spectrum

An iconic documentary series which captured the essence of New Zealand from 1972 to 2016.

Stories from 1972 to 2016

Red, blue, orange, green and yellow fractions of light are framed on the upper left and bottom right corners with a dark section on the other diagonal across the middle. The text 'Spectrum' is in bold and white, with the year numbers '1972' and '2016' underneath with a radio waveform in between the two numbers.

RNZ exclusive

This podcast is only available on the RNZ website and apps, ad‑free and uninterrupted.

Riverside Communuty (2005)

All episodes:

To Have an Ordinary Life (Part 3)

Mike Gourley looks at the support available for disabled people making the transition from school to further training or work.
Anita Kendrick

To Have an Ordinary Life (Part 4)

Mike Gourley critically examines the latest government foray into disability issues - The Enabling Good Lives initiative.

Burning Fires: The Waipapa Hui

The Waipapa Hui Waipapa Marae was built on the edge of Auckland University staff and students following progtests by the Māori students association during the University's centennial year in 1983. Almost a decade later, in May 1992, several Māori writers gathered to sing, laugh and cry as they spun their tales to one another.

Burning Fires: The Tapu Te Ranga Hui

Tapu Te Ranga Marae in Island Bay Wellington was built by playwright, TV and short story writer Bruce Stewart and others. In April 1992, several Māori writers gathered at the marae, Bruce's home, to read their stories and reveal the creative spark which animates each of them in their writing.

The Battle for Arnhem

Aspects of the famous Second World War battle recalled in 1977 by former Allied soldiers and Dutch civilians who survived the battle and came to live in New Zealand.

The Imperial Wizard (1976)

A portrait of Ian Brackenbury-Channel, Wizard of Christchurch.

The Acceptable Rebel (Part 1) (1975)

John A Lee returns to Parliament. He walks the corridors and sits in his old seat in the Chamber he last knew forty years ago. Lee also reminisces with politicians old and new including the father of the House, Sir Keith Holyoake.

The Acceptable Rebel (Part 2) (1975)

In 1975, 32 years after he lost his seat, John A Lee returns to Parliament. He reminisces with Bert Walker, Lance Adams-Schneider and Keith Holyoake, now in opposition after Norman Kirk's Labour Party won the 1972 election.

The Korowai Makers (1977)

Alwyn Owen talks with Rangimarie Hetet and Digger Te Kanawa, famous for artistry in cloak making.

Rangers Of The Gulf (1976)

The daily work of Hauraki Maritime Park rangers.

In the footsteps of Alexander Whisker and Hone Heke

In the early 21st century, Mike Gourley revisits scenes of the Northern New Zealand Wars of the 1840's recorded by his great, great, great grandfather - a British Infantryman - in his personal diary and meets up with the descendants of those his ancestor fought in the Bay of Islands.
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How to record your Grandfather

History is not only a written record of events, it also resides in people's memories. Through the audio recorder, this resource of memory can be preserved for today's and future generations. Over a period of years, the Spectrum team developed techniques for recording oral history and many of these can be applied by the amateur within, or without, the circle of family and friends. Here, then, is a kitset from Alwyn Owen and Jack Perkins of the Spectrum Team.

Man Of The Bush (1977)

Artist Rei Hamon talks to Alwyn Owen about his early life, his Māori ancestry, and feelings for the bush which influenced his famous drawings.

So Cruel To Land Like This (1978)

Prolonged winter rains and a sudden very dry spring in 1977 left the Douglas's Wairarapa hill country farm bare of growth and vulnerable to the long summer drought which followed.