Loose Enz - The Pumice Land

Our father who ought to be in heaven.

– Wesley (Geoff Murphy) touches on the complications of his cantankerous father

Some of us are pretty concerned about the way things are going, you know. Commies and pommies running the trade unions and now overseas interests buying the farmlands. What happens to the poor old Kiwi in the middle?

– Pub owner Jack (Roy Wesney)

Hell's bells — you'd think he'd get a proper band with that sort of money.

– Local cop George (Michael Haigh) on the band being invited to play at Frank's farewell

...we could take a vote to see if they get a vote.

– Milo (Sam Stewart) on whether the female band members should join the vote on changing the band's name

...I wouldn't drink his bloody watered whisky anyway.

– Austin (Derek Hardwick) has a showdown with the local barman (Roy Meares)

As far as I'm concerned you can lock him up for the rest of his unnatural life. The man's impossible.

– Frank (Bernard Kearns) talks about Austin (Derek Hardwick), over Austin's yells from a jail cell

...it all would have been different if Peggy and I had had youngsters ... if we had a son to leave the farm to, I'd have retired years ago.

– Frank (Bernard Kearns) on why he is selling the farm

...apparently they can, if the government thinks it's in the national interest. Look George, I'm simply selling my land to the highest bidder.

– Frank (Bernard Kearns) answers George's question over whether foreigners are allowed to own land in New Zealand

Listen, what's Austin up to in there? He's being nice as pie to Frank; I'm sure he's up to something.

– Pani (Marnie Morgan) to Ross (Kingi Morgan)

The most idiosyncratically 'local' plays of the series were Graham's Mum and the Goulden Tour ... and The Pumice Land, whose story centred on a cantankerous ex-farmer and jazz violinist.

– Writer Trisha Dunleavy on the Loose Enz anthology series, in her 2005 book Ourselves in Primetime - A History of New Zealand Television Drama, page 131