00:00
/
00:00
Taupō Fires
Short Film (Full Length) – 1946
Rush-released, this Weekly Review special shows efforts to battle a Taupō forest fire which got out of control in February 1946. Scenes include an RNZAF plane flying the NFU cameraman over the flames, and a family readying to evacuate: “Where it is strongest, little can be done. Only rain can end it.” A drought and strong winds saw the fire spread across 250,000 acres, leap the Waikato River and threaten Taupō. Seen as a national disaster, the fire destroyed 30,000 acres of pine forest as NZ was rebuilding post World War II; it led to the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1947.
Where it is strongest, little can be done. Only rain can end it.– From the narration
Key Cast & Crew
Categories
More Information
If you liked this, you might also like...
Weekly Review
The National Film Unit was set up in 1941 to publicise...
The Young Giant Kāingaroa
A 1966 doco on the North Island pine forest
Weekly Review No. 232 - Māori Battalion Returns
The preceding Weekly Review newsreel
These New Zealanders - Taupō
Selwyn Toogood visits Taupō
Solo
A film about a pine plantation pilot
Pictorial Parade No. 23 - Pumicelands
Another transformation of the Central Plateau
Hot Earth
A look at the geology of the region
Burning Yearning
An animated short about firefighting
Sportsmen's Playground New Zealand
Also shot by Roger Mirams
Jo Seagar's Easy Peasy Easter
More from Lake Taupō
Making New Zealand - Forestry
Documentary on the history of the NZ forestry industry