Hokitika gold-rush novel The Luminaries, by Eleanor Catton, is set to be made into a BBC TV drama series to be filmed on location in New Zealand. The BBC announced at the weekend it would begin filming a six-part adaptation next year.
Ms Catton’s novel, a Victorian mystery tale set in and around Hokitika and Kaniere during the 1866 gold rush, won the Man Booker Prize in 2013.
Ms Catton is writing the six-part adaptation for the BBC and insisted that if her book were to be adapted for the screen, it would have be filmed on location on the West Coast because of its unique flora and fauna.
Westland Mayor Mike Havill is just back from overseas, where he visited attractions such as the steam train in Scotland that featured in the Harry Potter film; the train is now booked out a year in advance.
He said the mini-series was a "grand" opportunity for Westland on the international stage, following on from the success of the book, which sold at least 600,000 copies worldwide.
"It was a really big deal winning the Man Booker Prize. If they make a quality drama series, it will be another string to Westland’s bow," Mr Havill said.
"I think it will be absolutely huge. I think a lot of people will come to Hokitika simply to see it and to see the setting, the background."
Heritage Hokitika chairman Rob Daniel said with filming to go ahead next year it was "very exciting" for Hokitika, particularly given the scope to utilise the natural setting unique to the novel.
Places such as Heritage Hokitika and the Westland Industrial Park could help the BBC replicate historically accurate film sets, Mr Daniel said.
Wider existing heritage resources such as Shantytown, the Hokitika Museum, Westland Industrial Heritage Park and even the Otira Hotel Clydesdales and stagecoaches could all be used.
- Brendon McMahon
