History
From Small Beginnings
The late John McDonald had a business in Whanganui, with which he either sold movies or hired them out. John Bell had a home cinema in Wellington and had been introduced to John McDonald through a mutual friend and they soon realised they had much in common. John McDonald suggested that because of this, it would be a good idea to meet each other and talk about their interest in movies. The meeting took place on a Saturday in December 1983 and finished on the same evening. Because they had such a great time, they decided to repeat this in a year’s time. After meeting again the next year, John McDonald suggested to John Bell that because they were enjoying these get togethers so much, maybe other like minded enthusiasts would like to join in. Through John McDonald’s business, he had come to know a number of people with an interest in movies and of course John Bell with his cinema did too and so on Saturday the 3rd of November 1984, twelve people gathered at John Bell’s cinema for the first meeting as a group. Sharing a common interest, friendships were founded, film and equipment bought and sold, ideas swapped and knowledge shared. Again, a great time was had by all and by mutual agreement, a club was formed which would eventually be called the Film Buffs Association (later this was changed to the New Zealand Film Buffs Association) and a decision was made to host these meeting twice a year. It was agreed that May and November would be a suitable time for these.
During the intervening years, all twelve of the original members would be granted Life Membership.
Noel Ruscoe became the first President, with John McDonald in the role of Secretary/Treasurer. After a few years at the helm, Noel Ruscoe stepped down.
Some years after this, a suggestion was made that a Patron was needed for the club and the obvious choice was John Mc Donald who was happy to take on this role. He would remain in this position until his death in April 2003. He was succeeded by John Bell, our current Patron.
The next President was John Bell with Philip Croft as Secretary/Treasurer. They produced seven newsletters between January 1987 and May 1988.
When Philip Croft stepped down, Max Martin took over this role. Max would remain in this position until his death in February 1998 and was then succeeded by Rob Fulton.
In November 1988, David Turnbull became President with Max Martin as Secretary/Treasurer. They produced thirty seven issues between December 1988 and December 1997.
Rob Fulton became Secretary/Treasurer in time to produce the March 1998 edition of the magazine. David Turnbull and Rob Fulton continued on through the years until 2008 when both decided to step down. By this time, David had served 23 years as President and Rob 10 years.
They were succeeded by Ian and Bev Fisher, the current President and Secretary/Treasurer respectively.
In the beginning, information was sent to members on typed sheets which later on were put into booklet form. Then in 1989, Max Martin and David Turnbull decided to expand the booklet and it became a much more informative magazine and continues to this day.
The club became Incorporated in 2010 and is now known as the New Zealand Film Buffs Association Incorporated.
