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Episode 1: The Reverend Traitor
After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, troubles continue in the colony. Hone Heke keeps chopping down the flagpole as a gesture of defiance against the Government and war develops. Missionary Henry Williams attempts to mediate. The new governor, George Grey arrives intending to make New Zealand a true democracy. He marches against Heke and his allies and later seizes Te Rauparaha, imprisoning him for 18 months. Williams is charged with treachery, loses his land and is dismissed from the church.
The Television One/NFU series The Governor is “Six spectacular self contained films for television based on the life and times of Sir George Grey - one time Governor of Australia and South Africa, and the man who became the most powerful force in the making of 19th century New Zealand. At the age of 28, Captain George Grey was handed the Governorship of New Zealand - a beautiful but lawless land, inhabited by natives given to cannibalism. The few Europeans who had dared to settle were struggling to survive. The story of a man of ambition who was given power, which hadn't been known since the days of the Roman Empire.” — National Film Library Catalogue
The 6-part series The Governor won the 1978 Feltex Award for Best Drama
Episode 4: He Iwi Tahi Tatou (Now We Are One People) won the 1978 Feltex Award for Best Script.