Shirley Maddock

Shirley Frances Whitley Maddock (7 December 1928 – 10 October 2001) was a New Zealand producer, television presenter, author and actress. After early work in theatre and radio, she became a pioneering figure in early New Zealand television. She produced and presented a number of award-winning documentaries, including New Zealand's first ever locally produced television documentary series, ''Islands of the Gulf'' (1964). Later in her career she wrote a number of non-fiction books about New Zealand's history and landscapes, worked as a book reviewer, and continued to make appearances on television and radio throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life and career

Maddock was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to Philip and Grace Maddock. Her father was the general manager of Metro Goldwyn Mayer New Zealand. She grew up in Wellington and attended Samuel Marsden Collegiate School.

Maddock travelled to London in 1947 and spent three years in British repertory theatre. She also had a bit-part in the film ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' (1951). In 1952 Maddock returned to New Zealand and joined the New Zealand Broadcasting Service (the predecessor of the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation) and worked on women's radio programmes as a scriptwriter, announcer and researcher. She also worked briefly at the Alexander Turnbull Library and developed an interest in New Zealand's colonial history.

In order to gain experience with the new medium of television, which had not yet arrived in New Zealand, Maddock moved to New York City in 1958 and worked on television documentaries. At the same time she continued to work as a radio correspondent, sending reports back to New Zealand; her work included covering the Queen's visit to Virginia in 1957.

New Zealand television career

With the arrival of television in New Zealand in June 1960, Maddock returned to New Zealand and became New Zealand's first television news writer, first television interviewer and first female television producer. At that time New Zealand's first TV channel, AKTV2, had just started broadcasting, and she was the second of five employees initially hired by the station. In an interview for a women's magazine, Maddock said:

In 1983, TVNZ said that her programmes were always well-researched and well-received by the public. One of her more unusual successes was discovering Graham Kerr, who became one of the world's first celebrity chefs.

One of Maddock's early documentaries for the NZBC was ''The Distant Shore'' (1963), about the landing at ANZAC Cove at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. She used contemporary photographs, narration, sound effects and music to bring the story to life. ''The Distant Shore'' was awarded Best Documentary at the inaugural 1964 New Zealand National TV Awards.

Around this time, Maddock also wrote a novel called ''With Gently Smiling Jaws'' (1963). The novel was based on her own experiences as a young New Zealand woman travelling to New York City to work in commercial television.

''Islands of the Gulf''

Maddock is best-known for producing and presenting New Zealand's first ever locally produced television documentary series, ''Islands of the Gulf'', in 1964. The documentary involved Maddock (with photographer Don Whyte) exploring the Hauraki Gulf