Mr Lowther Broad, writing from the Arrow c.1865
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY JOE MURDIE
"I have visited the Motatapu Valley, proceeding by way of the Cardrona and Wanaka Lake, and returning via the Twelve Mile, Arrow."
- Lowther Broad, c1865
Logline
Drawn from the captivating writings of Otago Goldfields Warden Lowther Broad, penned during his time in the Arrow, this quiet portrait captures one man's solitary dance with time, toil, and the unforgiving beauty of Otago in the 1860s.
Set in Otago in the mid-1860s, this film is an atmospheric, observational work based on the actual writings of Warden Lowther Broad — a key figure on the Otago goldfields — penned during his time in the Arrow from 1863 to 1869.
Offering a poetic window into a forgotten life, the film follows a solitary man moving through the relentless routines of survival: searching, digging, struggling, enduring. With minimal dialogue and richly textured visual storytelling, the film traces his intimate relationship with the land, the weather, and the weight of time.
A meditation on solitude, labour, and the unforgiving beauty of 1860s Otago.
Synopsis
The valleys, rivers, and mountain passes described in Lowther Broad’s writings aren’t abstract ideas to me — they’re places I’ve walked, worked, and filmed for many years. They’re home.
As a working cinematographer and filmmaker based in Wānaka, I’ve been part of countless productions where Otago is dressed up to look like somewhere else — the American frontier, Nordic wilderness, or a generic backdrop to international stories. While I’m proud of that work, I’m increasingly drawn to the stories that let Otago be Otago.
That’s what excites me about this film. Through Lowther Broad’s actual words, written during his time in the Arrow in the 1860s, we get an unvarnished account of life in this place at a raw and formative moment in its history.
It’s about memory, landscape, and the kind of stories we often overlook — stories that don’t need Otago to be anything other than itself.
Directors Statement
© 2023 Bunker Street Film Co. Wānaka, Aotearoa.