Marama Isabel Martin (née Koea; 3 April 1930 – 10 July 2017) was a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. She was the first person seen on colour television in New Zealand, and was the last person to appear on NZBC TV.

Early life and family

Born in

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

on 3 April 1930 of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

descent, Martin affiliated to

Te Āti Awa Te Āti Awa or Te Ātiawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with about 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in We ...

. She was the daughter of Teoti (George) Te Koea and Isabel Porahau Koea (née Falwasser). She studied at Ardmore Teachers' Training College, and then worked for a time as a teacher at a number of schools in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. She travelled to the United Kingdom for her

overseas experience Overseas Experience (OE) is a New Zealand term for an extended overseas working period or holiday. It is sometimes referred to as "The big OE", in reference to the extended duration of the travel: typically at least one year, and often extended far ...

in 1953, and had a role as an extra in the 1954 film ''

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk music, folk-influenced pop music, pop group originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the Unit ...

'', which was set in New Zealand.

Broadcasting

Returning to New Zealand, Koea resumed her teaching career in New Plymouth, before becoming a radio announcer there. In the early 1960s, she moved to

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, and in 1965 started continuity announcing on television. She was the second Māori television continuity announcer, following Tui Uru. From 1967, she appeared on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio programme ''

Family Favourites ''Family Favourites'' (remembered by its later name ''Two-Way Family Favourites'') was the successor to the wartime radio show ''Forces Favourites'', broadcast at Sunday lunchtimes on the BBC Light Programme, later BBC Radio 2 from 1945 unti ...

'', providing contributions from New Zealand. In 1968, she married Bert Martin in

. When colour television began broadcasting in New Zealand in October 1973, Marama Martin was the first person seen on screen, wearing a mauve dress. On 31 March 1975, Martin was the last person to appear on NZBC TV, before New Zealand's sole television channel at the time was split into TV One and TV2. She continued as a radio broadcaster on the YC stations until 1978.

Later life and death

Following her retirement from broadcasting, Martin resumed her teaching career at

The Correspondence School Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu or Te Kura (formerly The Correspondence School) is New Zealand's largest school with around 28,000 students enrolled each year, from early childhood to secondary level. It is headquartered in Portland Crescent in Thorndo ...

. In 1984 she became a director of Coast FM, the first commercial FM radio station in New Zealand. Marama and Bert Martin retired to the Gold Coast in Australia in 1987, but later returned to

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, where she lived until her death there on 10 July 2017, aged 87.

References

External links

Photo of Marama Koea, 1946

Photo of Marama Koea with her parents and sister, 1951

Marama Martin on the cover of the ''New Zealand Listener''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Marama 1930 births 2017 deaths Te Āti Awa people People from New Plymouth New Zealand schoolteachers New Zealand expatriates in England New Zealand Māori broadcasters New Zealand radio presenters New Zealand women radio presenters New Zealand television presenters New Zealand women television presenters

Early life and family

Broadcasting

Later life and death

See also

References

External links