Just Across the Tasman - Your South Island Holiday

Short Film (Full Length) – 1952

This 1952 tourism film promoted New Zealand as a destination to Australians. In the 1950s the Kiwi tourist industry lacked accommodation and investment. But new opportunities were offered by international air travel — like the Melbourne to Christchurch route shown here, flown by TEAL (which later became Air New Zealand). Produced by the National Film Unit, this promo touts the South Island as an antidote to crowded city life in Melbourne and Sydney. Road trips offer glaciers, lakes, snow sports, motoring, angling, racing, and scenic delight aplenty.

Just across the Tasman is a country that only has two million people altogether, and these two Melbourne friends have ideas about a holiday that'll really get them away from crowds.
– From the narration