Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

141
thought, because she was embarrassed by the mess, so for some time he did not realise
that she did not live alone. Her son, Niki, then aged forty, had been diagnosed as
paranoid schizophrenic, but there were a number of other explanations for his condition,
including that he had been thrown from a horse and landed on his head. 467 Niki had
spent some time in a mental hospital but was eventually released into the care of his
mother. His behaviour was problematic in that he rarely spoke (although he was able to
use his hands in an expressive way to communicate) and he suffered from occasional
outbursts of violence, which mostly took the form of smashing the floorboards of the
veranda with an axe. In addition, “Niki didn’t get along with many people in the
community because he got drunk easily and became aggressive, and would sometimes
sneak around the houses at night peering in the windows”. 468
Aims and Approach
The decision to make a film about the family was not made, according to Ward, until
after he had been living with them for four or five weeks. 469 Initially he did not see
Puhi’s “uneventful life” as being a suitable subject for his film. 470 Eventually he
realised that “it is seldom that we see a handicapped Maori person on film, and it
seemed important to record how this old Maori woman coped with this problem. The
delicate relationship between mother and son was soon to become my prime
concern”. 471 He moved into an old hut on a hill overlooking Puhi’s house and lived
there from mid July until late August of 1978. During this time, Ward got to know Puhi
and Niki well and was able to work out what he wanted to put on film. He spoke at a
number of community gatherings, attended several tangis and Ringatu church services,
and organised many of the practical details for shooting the film such as completing
film tests to decide on the film stock to be used, testing the cameras, and organising
accommodation for the crew. Lastly: “Most important of all, Puhi agreed to the making
of the film”. 472
467 According to Bay Takao, who looked after Niki for some time after Puhi died. (Lynette Read,
interview with Bay Takao, 16 April 2000.)
468 Ward, Edge of the Earth: Stories and Images from the Antipodes 12.
469 Ward quoted in Diana Ward, "That Personal Quality," Photo and Audio 1.11 (1980): 45.
470 Ward, Edge of the Earth: Stories and Images from the Antipodes 7.
471 Ward, “A Documented Account of the Making of In Spring One Plants Alone,” Section on Pre-
Production, Research period 20 January-11 July 1978.
472 Ward, “A Documented Account of the Making of In Spring One Plants Alone,” Section on Pre-
Production, 11 July-24 September 1978.