Bub Bridger

Erua tells the story of an intriguing friendship between artist Toss Woollaston and a young Māori boy Erua who modelled for him each Wednesday evening in Greymouth, in the early 60s. Woollaston had seen the boy playing "like one dark bead shaken in a tray of pale ones". The image made him curious to find what Erua was like, and to try to draw "that".

While playing at the beach with their grandmother, two children witness an Elvis-like man walk out of the sea. They believe he's the "fishman" lover of a female taniwha, Hine Tai. Meanwhile their parents (played by Kirk Torrance and Nancy Brunning) are busy falling apart, and the mysterious man offers words that are either wise or dangerous. Set in a small seaside town, this magical realist fable was written by Briar Grace-Smith (Cousins) and directed by Peter Burger (What Really Happened - Waitangi). It got six nominations at the 2002 NZ TV Awards, and won for Best Drama, and for James Cowley's cinematography.