The Years Back - 9, The Unquiet Ocean (Episode Nine)

The Years Back was a documentary series that used archive footage and interviews to survey New Zealand’s 20th century history. This episode details events in the Pacific during World War II, from Japan’s 1941 attack of Pearl Harbour through to mid 1944. Japan’s aggressive thrust into South East Asia threatened New Zealand and Australia (“any day now it’ll be us”), and forced the countries into war close to home. Veterans and commanders recall sea battles, rallying of air defences and jungle warfare, from New Caledonia to New Guinea.The series was made by the National Film Unit. 

Strong words, but with an almost total lack of arms, they and bombastic defiance was almost all we had.

– Narrator Bernard Kearns, on Prime Minister Peter Fraser’s reaction to the fall of Malaya

Key Cast & Crew

Conon Fraser

Editor, Research

David H Fowler

Producer

Derek Wright

Writer, Director

Samuel Grau

Studio Camera

Wayne Borden

Sound

Val Federoff

Sound