Writer’s documentary premiers in Matakana

Winston Cowie has kept his love of history alive while adding documentary making to his list of achievements.

Winston Cowie Author

The rugby player come lawyer come marine biologist come author has been working on a 50-minute documentary film about possibly New Zealand’s earliest shipwreck.

Mystery at Midge Bay – New Zealand’s Oldest Shipwreck will change the way Kiwis view the history of the country, he says.

Mr Cowie, originally from Matakana but now living in Manly, says he got the idea for the documentary from watching the New Zealand Maori rugby team, in particular the red-headed Paul Tito.

He became interested in the early Spanish influence in New Zealand.

Investigations led to teaming up with film- maker David Sims.

‘‘We’ve made this with no budget but it’s technically very good and we’re hoping that TV – both nationally and internationally – will buy it and commission us to make two more because we still have a fair bit up our sleeves.’’

The film investigates three shipwrecks, particularly one in Midge Bay at the mouth of the Kaipara Harbour, for which they obtained scientific evidence that he says was previously missing.

And Mr Cowie says the revelations are surprising.

There will be two premiers of the film – at Matakana Cinemas on November 14 and at Dargaville on November 17, both starting at 6.30pm.

There will also be a meet and greet at both cinemas at 5.30pm.

Mr Cowie is a former Mahurangi rugby player and an environmental law policy and science consultant, specialising in the marine field.

Earlier this year, Mr Cowie published his first book, A Flame Flickers in the Darkness, a novel set amid the New Zealand wars of the 1860s.

For the full article, which appeared in the Rodney Times on 8 November 2012, click here.

You can get your own copy of A Flame Flickers in the Darkness, a New Zealand historical fiction novel or book based on the New Zealand Wars or Maori Wars or New Zealand Land Wars of the 1860s, from Whitcoulls, independent bookstores and online on PublishMe and Fishpond.

Cheers

Winnie

(Winston Cowie)

11 November 2012

Blog topics: New Zealand Wars, New Zealand History, New Zealand Land Wars, Maori Wars,  Marine Science and Policy, Fishing (rod and spear), Surfing, Maori Wars, Diving, Rugby, Underwater Heritage, Tramping, Winston Cowie, Tuatara, Oxford University Rugby Football Club.