Newsnight - Rastus the Cat

A Cat on a Motorbike

By Irene Gardiner 04/09/2024

When I produced Newsnight back in 1994, we were a small team putting together a half-hour programme every weeknight, so it was all hands on deck, and I used to find a lot of the stories myself. We covered such a wide range of topics, and I was always looking for stories that had that little extra something about them. They were pre-internet days, so a lot of my weekend time was spent reading the Sunday papers and women's magazines, and ripping out stories that looked like they were ripe for a TV version. Anything with a bit of quirky charm was a sitter for us. So when I was flicking through a magazine and spotted an endearing image of a handsome black cat riding on the handlebars of his owner's motorbike, wearing a natty red handkerchief and a tiny black helmet and goggles, I was sold. 

Newsnight reporter Ingrid Leary tracked Rastus' master Max Corkill down. The shots of Rastus on the bike with his nose out into the wind still make me smile. Our story increased Rastus' fame, and he and Max later featured in a commercial. They always donated the money to the SPCA. The Max and Rastus story came to a sad end in 1998, when both were killed by a drunk driver. I had never even met them, but shed a few quiet tears for them and the joy they had inspired. It's lovely that their little piece from Newsnight gets to have another life on NZ On Screen, and keeps their memory alive. 

- Irene Gardiner has been a journalist, producer, media commentator, and Head of Commissioning at TVNZ.