THE TE KOOTI TRAIL

Rights Information
Year
1927
Reference
F1491
Media type
Moving image
Item unavailable online
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Rights Information
Year
1927
Reference
F1491
Media type
Moving image
Item unavailable online
Place of production
New Zealand/Aotearoa
Categories
Feature
Duration
1:43:03
Production company
Whakatane Films
Taonga Māori Collection
Yes
Credits
Rev J Winslow: Jasper Calder
Alice Winslow: Billie Andreasson
Eric Mantell: Arthur Lord
Geoffrey Mantell: Eric Yandall
Sir Richard Mantell: Edward Armitage
Te Kooti: Te Pairi Tu Te Rangi
Jean Guerrin: H Redmond
Erihapeti: Mary Kingi
Monika: Tina Hunt
Taranahi: A P Warbrick
Barney O'halloran: J Tennant
Jules Vidoux: J Warner
Gilbert Mair: Tom McDermott
Te Rangihiroa: Arapeta Tuati
Baker Mclean: Tipene Hotene
Te Kooti’s Right Hand Man: Albert Oliphant Stewart
Director: Rudall Hayward
Producer: Rudall Hayward
Script: Rudall Hayward
Script: Frank Bodle
Photography: Rudall Hayward
2nd Camera: Oswald Caldwell
General Assistants: Oswald Caldwell
General Assistants: R L Lees
General Assistants: The Citizens Of Progressive Whakatane

THE TE KOOTI TRAIL is set in the Bay of Plenty in 1864 and is a dramatisation of events that occurred at Mill Farm, a small settlement at Te Poronu. The film is based on a newspaper serial written by Frank Bodle which is heavily indebted to the account given by historian James Cowan in Volume Two of The New Zealand Wars.

The narrative begins with a prologue set in England in which a young British officer, Eric, is accused of a crime he has not committed. He is told to go "to the colonies or to the devil." After an emotional parting with his sweetheart, Alice, he heads for New Zealand and becomes a member of the Corps of Guides led by Lieutenant (later Captain) Gilbert Mair.

The film concerns the peace-loving Ngāti Pūkeko who have been given a mill by Sir George Grey as a reward for their industry and friendliness to the British. The mill is attacked by a taua (war party) of one hundred men, sent by "the great military genius" Te Kooti. The miller, a jolly Frenchmen called Jean Guerrin, is killed, as is his wife’s sister, Monika, who refuses to tell the whereabouts of hidden ammunition. An attempt by Gilbert Mair to prevent the tragedy is not successful and Mair spends another year attempting to defeat Te Kooti, before finally succeeding in an attack near Rotorua.

By the end of the film Alice has proved Eric’s innocence and travelled to New Zealand to be with him.

Shows Whakarewarewa Guide Tina Hunt.