Region Four Midwinter Function
On a wet cold midwinter Sunday afternoon on the 17 June the Region 4 IPA held its mid winter function with a film afternoon at the Time Cinema in Lyall Bay, Wellington.
The Time Cinema is a private movie theatre seating 40 people. It is a museum of movie projectors and cameras and move relics. Pin ball machines, cell phones and movie posters from years ago. The owners John and Margaret Bell have many archival films, advertisements and news clips on almost any subject you would like to mention.
The afternoon began with drinks and nibbles. Once everyone was seated in the theatre everyone was welcomed by the Region 4 IPA chairman Clint Libby. John Bell, whose father was a police officer, outlined the films he had in store for us.
The show began with the usual advertisements but from years gone by. How advertising and New Zealand society has changed. Then there was the standing for The Queen which was the requirement many years ago in movie theatres that we ‘old’ people still remember.
The first movie was black and white and was a New Zealand National Film Unit look at Police in the 1960s. How the Police were trained and what the Police did then in our society. Some things which were seen as state of the art then now seem very quaint and in some cases quite amusing. There was a cartoon of the ‘Keystone Cops’ and then another National Film Unit view which followed the distribution of the new decimal currency through out New Zealand for 10th July 1967. There were many clips of the Police escorting the trains and the trucks throughout the country ensuring that the distribution of the new decimal notes and coins arrived safely at the various towns and their banks.
Then another National Film Unit view of the Police in 1977. This was in colour and many of the people involved, although much younger, were instantly recognised. The uniforms have changed and the hair styles totally different than today but an interesting reminder of how we were and what we used to do.
A young John Clark, a long standing IPA member, explaining the role of the Criminal Records Branch was included too. The filming took place mainly in Wellington but included clips from Christchurch and Auckland.
Afterwards it was tea, coffee and food and much talking about the “good old days”.
John Bell suggested that we do it again sometime. He has a lot of unedited and unseen footage of the 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand. Although the film was taken commercially it has no sound. Still worth a look. Next time! And there will be a next time as it was a great nostalgic trip back into our past