Across the Mountain Passes of New Zealand

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One of a number of scenic films made by W Franklyn Barrett for Pathé Frères. It shows both the interest of New Zealand as an exotic subject for film-makers, as well as an early colour film process, Pathécolour.

"Barrett's filming tour through New Zealand attracted great interest and was reported in the local papers... and captures the intensity of the filming and the bubbling enthusiasm of the cameraman who is besotted by what he witnessed and filmed" (p.155)

"Across the Mountain Passes of New Zealand, New Zealand's earliest known surviving colour print, is a wonderful example of Barret's filming and Pathe's production and colouring techniques. It shows Newman's coach and horses in the rugged beauty of the Buller Gorge. The coach passes through the gold-mining settlement of Lyell carrying passengers and collecting the mail with 'diligence' along the banks of the 'glittering river'" (p.157)