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The Enduring Land - Green Velvet
Television (Full Length Episode) – 1990
The cultivation of pastures in Aotearoa has been a long and winding road, influenced by major technological advancements and two world wars. This episode of farming documentary series The Enduring Land explains the major highs (aeroplanes, universities and feminism) and lows (rabbits, recession and soil exhaustion) of preparing the whenua for agriculture. Presenter Ruud Kleinpaste talks about intensive farming, the benefits of going organic — and how the Kiwi invention of aerial topdressing created a worldwide farming revolution. Extensive archival material helps bring this history to life.
Early settlers released rabbits everywhere, in the fervent hope that they would breed and multiply. In the 1850s a gentleman called Ruck Keene released 12 rabbits in the Nelson area. Twenty years later he was a ruined man, surrounded by rabbits.– Presenter Ruud Kleinpaste
Key Cast & Crew
See all 19 credits
Acknowledgements
Made with funding from NZ On Air
Categories
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