We are all immigrants to Marlborough
– or the children of immigrants.
Marlborough outwardly retains much of the characteristics and culture of the European settlers who arrived in the nineteenth century. But it has always been a surprisingly diverse region where people of different origins and cultures live together in safety and harmony.
The first of those immigrants arrived just 900 years ago, when the Polynesian ancestors of today’s Wairau Iwi settled at the Boulder Bank. The contribution of the two Treaty partners to the special nature of Marlborough has since been enriched by waves of migrants from many other places.
Bytesize-Aspire are proud to have the opportunity to complete this worthwhile heritage project.
“Making Marlborough – the immigrant story” 2021 (in production). 50 minutes.
Research, interviews, support camera, graphic design, Archive management, Co-direction.
The Marlborough Heritage Trust is working with the Marlborough Multicultural Centre and filmmaker Paul Davidson to tell our rich migrant stories in a new documentary film, generously funded by Marlborough District Coincil and The Ministry of Ethnic Affairs. Written by Paul Davidson, Presented by Steve Austin. Research and Design by Barbara Gibb, Narration Steve Austin
“Making Marlborough – the immigrant story”2021 (in production). 50 minutes. Premieres 2022.
Creative direction in collaboration with Paul Davidson of Bytesize Productions www.bytesize.co.nz
“Making Marlborough” will be presented by Steve Austin, the Chief Executive of the Marlborough Heritage Trust and Director of Marlborough Museum. A descendant of Chinese refugees, Steve is also a talented entertainer.
Steve will be joined on the project by experienced producer Paul Davidson. Paul’s qualifications include a Doctorate in Visual Arts, a Masters degree in Media Production and a significant number of film awards. His many New Zealand and Australian productions include several Marlborough heritage films, including histories of Ngati Apa iwi, Safe Air, Marlborough Wine Festival, “Once Were Whalers” and the intriguing “Kaikoura UFOs”.
Extensive archival images and some footage from Marlborough Museum, Te Papa collections, Archive New Zealand, Marlborough Library, and from personal archival collections. Research, oral histories, interviews, digital archives and data wrangling is a large part of Aspire Design’s contribution in this project.
Paul Davidson, Barbara Gibb with Fiona Kidman and Te Papa staff, filming a sequence about Betty Guard’s comb, from the museum’s collection, while shooting the film “Making Marlborough – the immigrant story” 2021 (in production).
Imagine Marlborough today without the influence of:
• The English, Scottish and European farmers who built our agricultural industry;
• Italian whalers, fishermen and chefs – names like Perano, Dalliessi, Rocco and others;
• Wynen, Brownlee, Redwood, Dillon and the pioneers who developed the region;
• Lebanese, Croatian and Irish winemakers who saw great potential here;
• Indian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Swiss, Middle Eastern and South American cuisine;
• The energy of the Dutch and European migrants who came after the turmoil of two World Wars;
• The diverse engineers, seamen and aviators who connected Marlborough by land, sea and air;
• The visionary people from afar – Ernie Hunter, Ivan Yukich, Daniel Le Brun, Almuth Lorenz, Edel Everling and others who built a world-famous wine region;
• The more recent newcomers from migration and seeking refuge.