50 Years of New Zealand Television: 4 - Winners and Losers

Television created visual memories for us. Prior to televisions, people read about sports events, or they went and saw sports events, but that was the only memory they could retain for the rest of their lives.

– Sports writer Ron Palenski

Will live [rugby] matches ever be shown on TV?

– A 1966 report on news and current affairs show Compass

Some churches put up TV sets in the foyer of the church, so that the congregation could watch the event.

– Keith Quinn on coverage of John Walker's Olympic 1,500m final in 1976

In the 60s and 70s families sat down and they switched on this new box in the corner of the living room. On came the flickering images for outside of New Zealand, and they were really excited: there was the black shirt of the Olympic Games or the All Blacks or the rugby league team or the cricketers in their creams doing well, and we loved it as a nation. We saw us, a little country, making a splash via sport, via television.

– Broadcaster Keith Quinn

I think the rowing eight videotape played first, on New Zealand television, about five days later. And [yet] people have this vivid memory of the event.

– Broadcaster Keith Quinn on delayed footage from the 1972 Olympic gold-winning race of the NZ men's rowing eight

They [Australia] had done this dreadful mischief to us and they had to be revenged.

– Mark Richardson on Australia's underarm cricket incident in 1981

How do you take an event that takes place well offshore into exciting television?

– Narrator John Leigh, on how technical innovation transformed yachting coverage

I think it has had a big impact on foul play..the dark arts.

– Rugby player turned writer Greg McGee, on the TV cameras catching foul play in rugby