Frank - South Island Stories

The newly-rebuilt centre of Christchurch is made up of rank upon rank of apartments. But where are all the people?

Dunedin has New Zealand’s richest heritage building legacy, but holding onto that heritage is not easy.

When there are 25,000 rugby fans to feed, there’s no doing things by halves–but Christchurch’s new stadium has managed to keep its food catering proudly local.

Beneath the veneer of a shiny new Christchurch lies a hidden wound–homelessness.

Birdlings Flat, on the southern side of Banks Peninsula, is a place where taonga of all kinds end up.

Trees don’t just line our city streets, they frame our lives, says Brad Cadwallader, an organiser of the Tree of the Year Competition, which celebrates the stories of some of our most notable trees.

The Waitaha river hydro scheme, its supporters say, will bring energy resilience to the West Coast. But is it worth draining one of the world’s last remaining wild rivers for?

For over a century, New Zealand wrestled with the idea of banning booze. The moonshining McRaes of Southland were having none of it.

The Pākehā carver who, rightly or wrongly, made Māori designs his own.

When Afghani refugee Fatima left her homeland, she had no chance to say goodbye to her parents.

Contorta pine trees were meant to be our friend.

“If it wasn’t for this place, I’d probably be dead.”

With the Christchurch mayoral elections around the corner: Frank Film sits down for lunch with candidates Phil Mauger and Sara Templeton.

The wingless bird that ruled the roost.

Between the ski fields and the sea – why Selwyn has become New Zealand’s fastest growing district