Skip to main content

Story: Otago places

Prelude to Aspiring

Video file

In 1949 the National Film Unit released the promotional documentary Prelude to Aspiring, in part paying tribute to the completion of the Aspiring Hut by Otago mountaineers high up in the Mātukituki Valley. The clip from the beginning of the film shows the approach to the valley.

Using this item

Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Prelude to Aspiring. National Film Unit, 1949

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Malcolm McKinnon, Otago places – Lakes Wānaka and Hāwea, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/22885/prelude-to-aspiring (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Malcolm McKinnon, published 19 August 2009, updated 1 July 2015.