Bethells' Lasting Effect

It isn’t just Bethells Beach’s spectacular scenery that keeps filmmakers from all over the world coming back. For over 35 years a group of longstanding locals have worked with council, the community, Waitakere protection societies and Iwi to ensure that the show really does go on. By Carolyn Brooke.

Bethells Beach is a filmmaker’s heaven, with locations including sand dunes, lakes, beach, forest, farmland and native bush within minutes of each other. Added to the attraction is knowing that filming can be done around the area without too much hassle.

Filming started there in the late 1970s and is still going strong today. This success has not been by chance. Hard work by many locals including the Wheeler, Bethell, Hooker, Worley and Robert families, who all own considerable amounts of land in the area, has ensured it. All the families descend from the area’s founder John Neale Bethell (aka Pa Bethell) who moved there in the 1860s after migrating to NZ from England. Back when it was truly the rugged and wild west, when West Coast Road was nothing more than a track.

Managing large amounts of land for filming activities around Bethells Beach is no easy task. The time required for maintenance is huge, as is the money needed for upkeep, rates, weed control, driveways and infrastructure. Then there are the logistics of navigating tough terrain to enable access to locations. Throw in ongoing council regulations, opening up parts of the land for public use and upholding protection of the natural environment. Of course, this is all while keeping the neighbours happy.

Community support has always been vital to filming activity in the area. Over the years the families have become darn good at the tricky task of balancing this with the commercial realities of giving productions user-friendly experiences. Filming is never treated like a one-off gig, as the families rely on the money to keep their land.

Simon Wheeler grew up on the family farm at Bethells Beach and says just like traditional farming, there are good years and bad years in providing filming locations. Unlike farming though, the environmental impact on the land from filming isn’t huge.

Generating some income without harming the landscape was always the aim of Wheeler’s mother Ibby (Elizabeth) and late father Hap (Edward) when they first allowed filming on the family farm.

Children of Fire Mountain was the first major project shot around Bethells Beach. The 13-part kids TV series was largely filmed on sets near Lake Wainamu. The show’s designer Selwyn Ferry had heard about the place and approached Hap and Ibby.

“Children of Fire Mountain was the introduction for our family and a lot of the locals into the filming industry and it all grew from there,” Wheeler says.

It didn’t take too long for word to spread of this amazing location in outer Auckland. TV shows Black Beauty, Xena, Hercules and Power Rangers were all ongoing series that were later filmed around Bethells Beach, along with countless films and television commercials. Kiefer Sutherland, Shania Twain, Mia Farrow and Bryan Brown are among the stars who have worked on projects there.

The pilot for US TV show Forbidden Island was filmed in various locations around the lake and the beach in the late 1990s. The Aaron Spelling production was about a plane crash on a deserted island and was a forerunner to the hit TV series Lost. A replica house was built on the sand dunes as part of the set.

“Queen Palms were brought in to make the place look tropical, like it was an island in the Pacific as they eventually ended up shooting a lot of it in Hawaii,” he says.

Wheeler says one of the best things about filming activity is that it’s temporary. Productions come, they pay and they go, whereas tourism or heavy farming is constant.

“Filming is low-impact and when a job is finished the area is reinstated, usually it is actually enhanced.”

Weed control is a big issue and there are strict rules about what can be brought onto the property. A lesson was learnt on the early 1980s film Trespasses when Onion Weed was planted for a graveyard scene.

“For years afterward we were out there having to pull it out and spraying it, we eventually got it all but that one little oversight was a huge learning curve for us.”

Rules and processes help to avoid too much disruption to the local community. Filming on summer weekends is discouraged as lake and beach goers already put pressure on the area. There are also strict rules around noise and lights on night shoots.

Trucks are asked leave set at the same time so any noise and traffic is contained. Safety on the windy roads out to Bethells Beach is another key consideration and a safety reminder is included on all call sheets.

If helicopters or explosions are involved in filming then letter drops are done.

“It helps to keep the locals informed with what is going on otherwise they don’t know if someone has actually been injured which of course can cause undue anxiety.”

Sometimes locals are employed to help with security on jobs or donations are made to the surf life club or fire brigade for their assistance.

There certainly have been frustrations working with the council over the years around consents but Wheeler says issues have always been worked through. Often it involves explaining filming activities and the lay of the land to council staff.

“You are meant to get resource consent to cross our riverbed but we had to explain to council that this is part of our driveway and we’ve been crossing it for generations,” he says.

“It is a sandy bottom here and it copes really well with traffic, there is no impact on it.”

Ibby, Hap and the production crew of Children of Fire Mountain put in hard yards in the early days too. They worked closely with the Waitakere Ranges Protection Society and the council. Strong relationships with local Iwi have always been important too.

“It started very early on with Pa Bethell’s relationship with Te Kawarau and we wanted to keep that.”

Wheeler has purpose-built trucks and vehicles to cope with the land’s unique terrain including the sand dunes. Accessing filming locations varies between seasons with tracks more accessible in summer with drier, warmer weather. Rivers can flood in winter and become impassable.

“In winter it is hard for the crew, there might be lighting guys head to toe in mud carting around cables while the unit guys are trying to wheel the tea trolley around all while keep the cups clean,” he says.

“On a windy day up on the dunes there is sand everywhere and it can be a nightmare for camera crew.”

Ibby, 87, still lives in the family homestead on the property. Wheeler’s brother Jim also lives there and operates two luxury camp sites.

Wheeler counts many crew among friends and says it is a privilege to live and work on the land.

“Dad used to say there was gold in these mountains and it is filming that has been the gold,” Wheeler says.

“It’s just a shame that my father didn’t get to see the result of the vision he had back in the late 1970s, when he was just trying to find a way of keeping the family farm.”

Jed Hooker also works with productions on his land around Bethells Beach and says that solving logistical issues early saves headaches later.

“We try to see potential pitfalls and work around them, sometimes it may be suggesting another location to a production or sometimes a different time,” Hooker says.

Hooker says a combined understanding of how the film industry works and how the land works is the key to providing a long-term service.

“We all grew up together and we are great mates,” Hooker says.

“We’ve all been out here our whole lives so we understand local conditions, the beach, the tides and any other issues that come up.”

Solid relationships have also been built with local scouts and production crew. Most jobs come through word of mouth or repeat business. It helps a lot that a number of locals also work in the industry.

“We are very careful that we treat filming like something that is going to come back and so you make an extra effort to keep everyone happy – the return visits keep us going,” Hooker says.

“The great thing with the long running shows like Power Rangers returning is it feels like you have old friends back.”

Vicky Bethell is the widow of Ross Bethell, Simon and Jed’s late cousin. She now runs the Bethell property. Parts of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon II are being shot there and she says it has been good to test out recent improvements including new locations, access, facility areas and crew accommodation.

“You do what you need to do, you’re hands on coordinating transport and camera crew,” Bethell says.

“Ross always used to say it’s a lot more than just writing an invoice.”

Director Toa Fraser’s yet to be released film The Dead Lands, starring Boy’s James Rolleston, is among her favorite productions shot there. Techos Leon Narbey, Grant Major and Barbara Darragh are among those who worked on the project. She says everyone involved had respect or connection to the land and its heritage. Crew were happy to be returning and a bunch of them joined her at Ross’ memorial at Raekiaki point overlooking Wigmore's Bay at the end of the shoot.

“There was a karakia every morning before filming began and many crew remembered Ross and were glad to remember him with me.”

The low-budget feature film required a big compromise in fees, which all the families do at times. Supporting the industry, film students and new graduates is important.

“It is not always about the income for us, it’s about supporting the wider industry as a whole.”