Guardians of the Light
Duration: 45 minutes
Year: 2008
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Rating: Exempt
Director: Howard Taylor
The days when lighthouse keepers sat up all night to keep the lights going are over – victims of automation.
In this documentary the men and women who lived on the isolated islands and craggy cliffs of NZ's manned light stations revisit their lights and talk about a lifestyle that ended last century.
Lighthouses have always held a special place in the hearts of New Zealanders. The scores of ship wrecks testify to the difficulties and dangers of navigating our long, exposed coastline. On many a storm-tossed night in a heaving sea, the distant flash of a lighthouse prompted a sailor to mutter a heart-felt prayer of thanks.
For almost 150 years lighthouse keepers tended those lighthouses. They were resourceful, pragmatic and practical individuals – as close to the romantic myth of the pioneer New Zealander as any. This is their story.
View excerpt from this title at NZ On Screen
Year: 2008
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Rating: Exempt
Director: Howard Taylor
The days when lighthouse keepers sat up all night to keep the lights going are over – victims of automation.
In this documentary the men and women who lived on the isolated islands and craggy cliffs of NZ's manned light stations revisit their lights and talk about a lifestyle that ended last century.
Lighthouses have always held a special place in the hearts of New Zealanders. The scores of ship wrecks testify to the difficulties and dangers of navigating our long, exposed coastline. On many a storm-tossed night in a heaving sea, the distant flash of a lighthouse prompted a sailor to mutter a heart-felt prayer of thanks.
For almost 150 years lighthouse keepers tended those lighthouses. They were resourceful, pragmatic and practical individuals – as close to the romantic myth of the pioneer New Zealander as any. This is their story.
View excerpt from this title at NZ On Screen
