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. 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 used contemporary photographs, narration, sound effects and music to bring the story to life.

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 at a time when the islands of the Gulf were isolated from the outside world. The first episode was about the Great Barrier Island. The series was followed by a best-selling non-fiction book, Islands of the Gulf (1966), based on the documentary. It was re-printed many times, including in 2017.

Maddock was not initially permitted by the NZBC to use the title "producer". In a 1993 interview with Jim Sullivan for Radio New Zealand, Maddock explained that "the hierarchy of broadcasting in those days didn't think that producer was a suitable title for a woman", and accordingly the credit line she was allowed to use was "written, devised and arranged by" or "written and presented by". These Antipodes: A New Zealand Album (1979), The Waikato (1984), and A Pictorial History of New Zealand (1988). These Antipodes was described by The Press as "her most ambitious book to date", and a "rich and rewarding study, filled with fascinating detail". In 1971, Maddock wrote a play called Prospect from the Park, to mark Auckland's 150th anniversary.

In 1980, Maddock and her husband Michael Easther co-authored a book called A Christmas Garland: A New Zealand Christmas Album, 1642-1900. A review in The Press said it was a "charming book" and a "nostalgic look at antipodean Christmases". The book was also made into a half-hour television programme, which Maddock presented.

In 1983 Maddock presented a fifty-minute documentary revisiting Islands of the Gulf and commenting on the changes that had taken place since the 1964 programme. She continued to make other appearances on television and radio throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including guest appearances on television shows such as Hudson and Halls, Master of Arts and Beauty and the Beast. Islands of the Gulf was re-screened by TVNZ in 1997. In later life she reviewed books on National Radio and for newspapers including the Waikato Times.

In the 1999 New Year Honours, Maddock was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to broadcasting. One of those who recommended her for the honour, radio broadcaster Sharon Crosbie, said Maddock was an inspiration for other women: "She broke through and proved herself, making programmes that were a revelation. In so many ways she set the standards for those who followed". Judith Tizard, New Zealand's Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, called her "a trailblazer in New Zealand broadcasting", and said her contribution to broadcasting and literature "has increased our self-confidence as a nation, by presenting New Zealand's social history in an accessible way".

Personal life and family In 1965, Maddock married Michael Easther (a Hamilton general practitioner, a Waikato Times crossword designer, and long-time Hamilton Operatic Society member). her daughter Elisabeth played the role of Carla Crozier on television show Shortland Street from 1995 to 1996,