Off the Ground - 1, The First to Fly

Do it yourself flyer Richard Pearse aptly leads off this three-part 1982 series on the history of aviation in New Zealand. Presented by pilot Peter Clements, the survey of the pioneers of the "birdman’s art" covers daredevil balloonists, World War l fighter pilots, flying bishops, and frontrunners like the Walsh bros and George Bolt. A forgotten silver treasure from the archives is footage of Percy Fisher’s monoplane, filmed on a hand-cranked movie camera in the Wairarapa in 1913. The series was made for TV by veteran director Conon Fraser and the National Film Unit.

One wonders what Pearse might have achieved had he lived closer to civilisation and the available technology of the time, instead of working away in a rural backwater and then later in Christchurch in a small and isolated country. Unfortunately the world of aviation overtook him. He worked for years, in secret, on this amazing later machine …

– Peter Clements

Key Cast & Crew

Dell King

Editor

Brian Shennan

Sound Mix

Tom Williamson

Producer

Peter Clements

Presenter, Original Series Idea

David Dry

Camera

Conon Fraser

Director, Writer