Tracking Shots
Flashbacks: New Zealand History on Film
Giff Vivian and the 1937 NZ Cricket Tour
At the age of 25, all rounder Giff Vivian travelled to the British Isles as a member of the 1937 New Zealand cricket team with a 8mm camera tucked into his luggage. By the tour's end he had taken close to 2,000 feet of film and captured the smiles and grimaces, delights and disasters of a group of young players playing for their country for the first time.
Such exalted names as Walter Hadlee, Martin Donnolly, Merv Wallace and Jack Cowie were on the tour alongside three men who were to later (or had already) played for New Zealand at rugby, Eric Tindill, Bill Carson and their captain, Milford "Curly" Page. Each one of these players become characters in their own right during the course of Vivian's films, playing, practicing and socialising as the tour takes them from Scotland to Ireland to Lord's in London.
The coronation of King George VI coincided with the tour and the team found their passage to the isles shared by Prime Minister, Michael Joseph Savage who joins in the onboard games. The Coronation plays its part in one of the more amusing moments of Vivian coverage, the great Walter Hadlee falling dead asleep whilst the seemingly endless parade files past the team as they sit on bleachers in Hyde park!
- Personal Record, Vivian, Giff. Panama (1,700kb)
- Personal Record, Vivian, Giff. Arrival England 37 [Excerpt 1] (1,200kb)
- Personal Record, Vivian, Giff. Arrival England 37 [Excerpt 2] (756kb)
Please note: These videos are in the QuickTime format. You will need to have the QuickTime player installed in order to view these files.
