Greenstone (1999)

Greenstone is an 8-part miniseries set in the beautiful South Pacific. It's a majestic tale of drama, love, mystery and the clashing of cultures. From a native perspective, it focuses on a beautiful Maori princess and her desire for prosperity in an ever-changing world. The country is New Zealand, it's the early 1800's. English colonies were settling in the South Pacific. Trade routes were being set up and the South Seas were being charted. Australia had been firmly established and they were making their mark. But to the British Colony, the jewel in the crown was New Zealand. In their eyes, it was a new frontier full of unlimited riches. "Greenstone" follows the story of Marama and her love for an English Lord who abandons her for the sake of his status as she leaves to return to New Zealand with her father. Her struggles for self follow her country struggles for it's own identity. Marama had been promised at birth to another chief, but falls in love with Sir Geoffrey. She tells her betrothed that she will be with him, but that her heart belongs to someone else. He rejects her. As allegiances change, her father, Chief Te Manahau, betroths her to Sam Markham, a pakeha (white) gun seller, in hopes of securing the allegiance of Sam and keep him from supplying guns to Manahau's enemies. This is the story of their lives as the struggle between Maori and pakeha plays out in New Zealand's lush landscape.