First NZ-made 'talkie' screened

Coubray-tone News, the work of the inventive Ted Coubray, had its first public screening at Auckland’s Plaza Theatre. When ‘talkies’ arrived in New Zealand in early 1929, Coubray began experiments to make his own sound-on-film system.

Six months and £3000 (equivalent to more than $280,000 in 2016) later, the Coubray-tone sound system was operational. This entirely New Zealand-made enterprise was the first of its kind in Australasia. Filmed on location, the footage included ‘The Romance of Maoriland’, which captured poi and haka performances, and a waiata, ‘Under the Maori Moon’.

Image: Coubray Films sound truck (Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision)