How Chief Te Ponga Won His Bride is a 1913 New Zealand silent feature film directed and produced by Gaston Méliès. Principal photography took place in New Zealand.[1] He shot three other films in New Zealand in 1912-13: Hinemoa, Loved by a Maori Chieftess and The River Wanganui. Méliès sent his film to the United States for post-production treatment, so it is doubtful if any were shown in New Zealand.
Plot
The story is set in the Waikato where two Māori tribes are at war, with the story of the love between the young chief Te Ponga and the beautiful Puhuhu, daughter of the rival chief, similar to the legend of Hinemoa and Tutanekai.
Cast
The film was shot in Whakarewarewa, Rotorua with local Māori as cast, including Maata Horomona. No details of the cast survive, although they are probably the same actors as used in the other two films shot by Méliès at this time.
References
New Zealand Film 1912-1996 by Helen Martin and Sam Edwards p22 (1997, Oxford University Press, Auckland) ISBN019 558336 1
