YOU'VE SEEN
IT BEFORE BUT YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT LIKE THIS.
LOST
FOOTAGE, DARING YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN IN HOMEMADE FLYING MACHINES, A GREAT
RIPPING YARN AND AN UNTOLD STORY OF DERRING DO.
MARK
CRYSELL WITH THE REAL STORY ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF BUNGEE IN NEW ZEALAND AND THE
UNSUNG PIONEER WHO FIRST THREW HIMSELF OFF A BRIDGE TIED TO A RUBBER BAND.
HOLD YOUR
BREATH... COUNT TO TEN ETC
Chris upsot
3..2..1...
Geronimo!
music montage
Archive upsot
Bungy
man!
HE COULD
BE, SHOULD BE WORLD FAMOUS IN NEW ZEALAND.
Chris
¤W0 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:08:37:11
It was easy
to do anything in those days,
Chris upsot with fisherman
Can we
jump?
you know
there was no restrictions.
Chris upsot
Thank You!
BUT CHRIS
SIGGLEKOW IS THE GREAT KIWI PIONEER YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF.
Chris
¤W1 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:10:13:09
I kind of
have this idea that it's better to, to walk the walk, than talk the talk, yeah
THE FIRST
PERSON IN THIS COUNTRY TO TAKE A PLUNGE THAT STARTED A BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY.
LONG BEFORE
AJ HACKETT THERE WAS CHRIS SIGGLEKOW.
Mark
¤W2 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:18:14:00
So that
jump in 1979, as far as
you're concerned that was the first ever jump, bungy
jump in New Zealand?
Chris
Oh totally,
absolutely no question,
music montage
1979, ROB'S
IN THE BEEHIVE, MAGGIE'S AT NUMBER 10 AND ON APRIL FOOL'S DAY OXFORD
UNIVERSITY'S DANGEROUS SPORTS CLUB THROW THEMSELVES OFF A BRIDGE IN ENGLAND.
THE FIRST
MODERN BUNGEE JUMP.
upsot
Oxford
what's the
idea behind it?
I don't
know it's crazy
Chris
¤W3 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:00:36:15
it just lit
something up in me and I went this is a great idea,
BACK IN NEW
ZEALAND CHRIS SIGGLEKOW WAS 28 YEARS OLD AND UP FOR A CHALLENGE.
Chris
¤W4 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:00:36:15
I realised
that the falling would be fun, but the coming back would be the ride of a
lifetime.
HE WAS
DETERMINED TO HAVE A CRACK.
ABOUT
HALFWAY BETWEEN CHRIS'S HOMETOWN NELSON AND BLENHIEM LIES THE PICTURESQUE
PELORUS BRIDGE
Chris
¤W5 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:03:37:24
I mean it
was sorta like 65 feet, maybe a bit more depending on
water levels and stuff. And I thought
well even if it all goes pear shaped I'll survive, I might, I'll get a smack,
but I should be fine.
Mark
You weren't
thinking about wheelchairs or the, you know -
Chris
Oh hell no.
OBVIOUSLY
HE WOULD NEED SOME RUBBER.
Chris
¤W6 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:03:37:24
I went
scouting around all the sports shops in town.
And found this big fat spear gun rubber, you know the brown stuff?
NOW CHRIS
SIGGLEKOW MAY BE FEARLESS BUT HE'S ALSO SMART.
Chris
¤W7 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:06:40:02
I did
physics, physics 101 or whatever it was at university. And I had, I had a book, so then I just
refreshed myself in terms of harmonic motion.
You know, potential energy and potential energy in a, in a, in a spring,
hook
ANY RISK
NEEDED TO BE CAREFULLY CALCULATED.
CHRIS
SOUGHT ADVICE FROM AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY'S ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.
¤W8 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:03:37:24
I got an
appointment with this prof, an old guy actually, and I said oh I'm gonna
jump off a bridge using rubber, and I bring out this, this piece of brown
rubber. And he, he goes well if you use
that you're an idiot (laughter)
(laughter)
he says
what you need is latex rubber, and that was a game changer.
CHRIS WENT
BACK INTO TOWN AND BOUGHT SOME BUNGEE ROPE - THE KIND OF STUFF NORMALLY USED
FOR LASHING LOADS.
Mark
¤W9 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:02:40:22
this is the
original reel?
Chris
Yes. I dont know whoever made it.
HE THEN
WENT TO WORK.
Chris
¤W10 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:01:36:00
I'd get a piece like this and laboriously cut
it like that... like this ... you see a sharp box knife cutter is needed. but
after, you know, a couple hundred metres you're pretty much sick of doing this
AFTER TWO
DAYS OF CUTTING CHRIS HAD ENOUGH FOR A BUNGEE AND HE HEADED UP TO PELORUS
BRIDGE WITH A NERVOUS MATE.
CILLA, THE
MOTHER OF CHRIS'S TWO KIDS GEORGIE AND REUBEN, CAME ALONG AS WELL TO TAKE
PHOTOS.
Cilla
¤W11 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:00:59:18
I remember
not wanting to get out of bed and go, and even the night before when Chris rang
and said he wanted the kids there I thought oh, do I have to (laugh).
BEFORE HE
JUMPED, CHRIS THREW A SACK OF ROCKS ATTACHED TO HIS BUNGEE OFF THE BRIDGE AS A
TEST.
Chris
¤W12 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:10:55:13
all
of a sudden I hear, I see pop, pop, pop, and
I'm thinking what's, what's that all about?
And I, and then the, all the rocks had fallen out, so then we're looking
like this, and all of a sudden there's there giant shanghai coming at us -
(laughter) (laughter)
And we're like whoa, and then it's
shit, straight up in the air (laughter)
THAT WAS
ENOUGH FOR HIS MATE.
Chris
¤W13 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:12:18:22
turned to
me and says well I'm having nothing to do with this and just walked off the
bridge. And I said to him, you know well
fuck you (laughter), I'm doin it (laughter).
Cilla
¤W14 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:00:59:18
Georgie was
so concerned, her little face, about her father jumping off the bridge. It just, she didn't think it was right at
all.
UNDETERRED
CHRIS SUITED UP IN AN OLD PARACHUTE HARNESS ATTACHED TO HIS HOMEMADE BUNGEE.
THERE WAS
NO GOING BACK.
Chris
¤W15 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:13:37:11
it was a 1,
2, 3, 4 and let myself go, and straight down, hit the water big time, straight
in, right past my head. And I'm thinking
that didn't work (laughter) this
is not good.
Cilla
¤W16 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:24:14:09
honestly
we, we, it was touch and go there for a while for us, wondering if he was going
to reappear (laugh).
Chris
¤W17 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:13:37:11
and then
all of a sudden I'm out of the water again and I'm
thinking God it works, it's great.
CHRIS WOULD
JUMP THREE MORE TIMES THAT DAY BUT THIS WAS THE BIRTH OF A MOVEMENT.
ONE THAT
WOULD SWEEP THE WORLD
Chris
¤W18 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:15:01:15
I saw a glimmer of something really good, and
it was one of those things I could see, that if I made that bungy
even stiffer at a future date, the recoil could be immense..
WHEN WE
COME BACK.
IT'S THE
80S,
STUBBIES,
MULLETS AND BUNGEE.
TAKING IT
TO THE ABSOLUTE LIMIT ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE AUTHORITIES.
Chris
¤W19 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:26:49:19
It's kinda not illegal if you're the first person to do it, it
only gets illegal after the laws come in
PART TWO
CHRIS
SIGGLEKOW'S ROLE AS THE PIONEER OF MODERN BUNGEE IS ONE OF OUR GREAT UNTOLD
STORIES.
upsot
go... whoo-hoo!
AND HE HAS
THE FOOTAGE TO PROVE IT.
Chris upsot
¤W0 44 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
1inch 5D
COMPILE 01:30:19:05
vaguely
familiar (laughs)
IT'S 1986
AND CHRIS IS NOW WORKING IN TV IN AUCKLAND EDITING DOCUMENTARIES.
Chris upsot
it'd be
nice to get the (2 shot) the wide shot really
Chris
¤W1 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:17:22:15
I was
thinking God I should do one myself, and then I thought what I'll do is I'll do
one on this bungee thing that I did a few years ago.
upsot
Did you get
it Chris? Certainly did!
THE
PICTURES CAPTURE THE GOLDEN SUMMER BEFORE THE ADRENALINE RUSH OF BUNGEE BECAME
A BIG BUSINESS DASH FOR CASH.
upsot
this is all
going down on film too. I know, hey mum
BUT THE
DOCO WAS NEVER MADE
upsot
who-hoo! I can't do it man!
AND CHRIS
DIDN'T LOOK AT THESE IMAGES AGAIN FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS.
Chris upsot
¤W2 45 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
1inch 5D
COMPILE
01:24:30:13
ah it's
brilliant isn't it, it's brilliant what people do
IT HAD BEEN
SEVEN YEARS SINCE HE'D MADE THE FIRST BUNGEE JUMP IN NEW ZEALAND AND THIS TIME
HE WASN'T GOING IT ALONE.
Chris
¤W3 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:48:36:09
my sister
Suzie knew AJ and he's, he was a speed skier and I thought yeah
he's, he's made of the right stuff.
AJ WAS AJ
HACKETT - THE NAME THAT'S NOW SYNONYMOUS
WITH BUNGEE.
CHRIS HAD
FOUND HIS PARTNER IN CRIME.
Chris
¤W4 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:31:37:13
you just
know that no one else is doing this, there's a sense of specialness about it.
Cilla
¤W5 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:11:28:20
their total
commitment and enthusiasm and passion was quite awe inspiring, because they, they'd
just look at each other and their eyes would light up as they thought of
something else that they were going to do.
THEIR FIRST
JUMP TOGETHER WAS AUCKLAND'S GREENHITHE BRIDGE.
upsot
VHS
¤W6 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:16:04:01
it's bungy man! haha.. woo hoo!
Chris
¤W7 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:51:09:04
it had one
problem in the fact that it had a huge under hang. So there was times you'd
jump and as you came up you'd have to fend yourself off the bridge.
GREENHITHE
LIT A FUSE - THEY WANTED TO GO HIGHER AND HIGHER.
CHRIS
SIGGLEKOW AND A MERRY BUNCH OF MATES SPREAD OUT ACROSS THE NORTH ISLAND
SEARCHING FOR STRUCTURES TO HURL THEMSELVES OFF.
Chris
¤W8 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:24:36:03
magical, absolutely magical. I
mean we were just poring over maps, and looking for bridges,
CILLA AND
THE KIDS WERE ALONG FOR THE RIDE.
Cilla
¤W9 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:08:42:03
they were basically family weekend outings
with a bit of adrenalin thrown in.
upsot
are we
allowed on the bridge? sure
CENTRAL
HAMILTON, THEN CAME THE RAILWAY BRIDGES.
NEW ZEALAND
RAIL AN UNWITTING ACCOMPLICE.
Chris
¤W10 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:25:09:02
I'd ring up
and I'd look I'm, I wanna go and, I'm a real train
nut and I've heard that there's some wonderful bridges down in Taihape, and where are they, because I just, I just wanna just go and check them out?
HIGHER AND
HIGHER - THE MAKATOTE VIADUCT JUST OUTSIDE OHAKUNE..
Chris
¤W11 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:54:21:10
we kind of
knew what we were doing by that stage. we realised that if we did so many
strands and we made it this short there's a good chance that it will work. So
we threw the, threw the sandbag off and it worked fine
upsot
that looks
brilliant doesn't it. whoo!
Chris
So then we
were just all over it like a rash, jumping and yahooing and stuff like this.
UNTIL THEY ACTUALLY STOPPED A TRAIN.
Chris
¤W12 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:26:10:09
So
we stop everything and sort of kind of pretend we're doing nothing, and the
train stops, and the train driver looks down on us and says you shouldn't be,
what are you doing? And we said we're
jumping off the bridge, no this is, you shouldn't be doing this, I'm ringing
someone or whatever (laughter). But in the end he chugs off
and we carry on jumping.
Mark
¤W13 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:26:49:19
Was what
you were doing illegal?
Chris
It's kinda not illegal if you're the first person to do it.
Cilla
¤W14 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:15:50:04
We knew it
was illegal because we had to make sure that nobody saw us all the time, it was
very Secret Squirrel. And that was part of the appeal too, you know, it was
very, very covert operations.
BY NOW
CILLA TOO HAD ENTERED INTO THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES.
Cilla
¤W15 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:13:05:09
I can only
remember that before, before standing up there and going, going off the bridge
it was absolutely excruciatingly terrifying. // you've just got to commit to,
to going
upsot
321 WHOO! yahoo!
SOUTH
RANGITIKEI VIADUCT FOLLOWED BY NORTH RANGITIKEI - THE HIGHEST ON THE NORTH
ISLAND'S MAIN TRUNK LINE - AN 80 METRE JUMP.
Chris
¤W16 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:54:21:10
And then, then we almost run out, we're
finished, there's nothing higher (laugh). Damn.
THERE WAS
ONE CHALLENGE LEFT.
IT WASN'T
HIGHER BUT IT WOULD DEFINATELY MAKE A BIGGER SPLASH.
Mark
¤W17 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:27:58:14
this was
the end of the golden summer?
Chris
This was
it, and it finished just over here. in the centre span
Mark
¤W18 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:28:06:06
the
Auckland harbour bridge
Chris
yeah
AJ HACKETT
WAS LEAVING TO GO OVERSEAS - WHAT BETTER WAY TO SEND HIM OFF.
THE HARBOUR
WAS STILL ON A BEAUTIFUL FEBRUARY DAY IN 1987.
Chris
¤W19 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:28:08:04
early in
the morning we hopped on a small truck and went up there and as soon as we get
to the top we stopped... waited to make sure there were no sort of vehicles
behind us or ahead of us, then jumped straight down and hid. and got all our
gear off and waited for the dawn to come
Mark
¤W20 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:28:30:14
highly
illegal i would think?
Chris
no! (laughs).
Not highly.
Cilla
¤W21 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:16:28:01
climbing up
in the dark, again being very covert, with the bottles of champagne of course
that needed to be toasted under the bridge.
CILLA AND A
MATE JUMPED FIRST.
upsot
whoo!
hahah!
BUT THIS
TIME THEY WERE NOTICED.
upsot
the boys in
blue
Chris
¤W22 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:29:38:18
the
dee-a-dah had turned up.
Mark
The police
launch?
Chris
Yeah, the
old Police launch. great boat.
And they were all sitting on the back of it, standing on the back of it,
looking up and going "whatever you're gonna do,
don't do it" (laughs)
Mark
¤W23 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:30:45:09
so
what'd you say?
Chris
we just
turned around to each other and sort of said - did you hear that? and it was
like - nah... and away we went.
upsot
woo! hahah! woo! ripper!
IT WOULD BE
THE LAST TIME CHRIS AND AJ WOULD BUNGEE JUMP TOGETHER.
AND THEY
ENDED THEIR DAY IN A POLICE STATION.
Chris
¤W24 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:32:26:04
they
treated us really well actually. Basically they were
like - so what is this bungy thing, and what does it
feel like and um... you shouldnt have drunk all that
champagne.
¤W25 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:32:58:20
so
no charges, no smack over the hand, no - you boys defied us and went ahead and
did it anyway?
No, we got
off scott free.
Cilla
¤W26 27 ]] C2.5 G 0 [[
00:19:55:05
the feeling
of being involved in something at the outset that was so exciting and so
different and so new, yeah that part of it was all over
upsot
two of the jumpers say this is
definitely not a sport for amateurs
BUNGEE MADE
THE SIX O'CLOCK NEWS.
AJ HACKETT
WENT TO FRANCE, JUMPED OFF THE EIFFEL TOWER... AND ADVENTURE TOURISM GREW
RAPIDLY INTO A BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY
HE SPOKE ON
SUNDAY ABOUT IT LAST YEAR.
01/ 01.09.00
(OFF JOHN HUDSON STORY)
after
jumping from the Eiffel Tower it was kind of a media
frenzy and it really opened it up, and they focussed a lot on me.
SO MUCH SO
THAT AJ HACKETT IS NOW THE BIGGEST BRANDNAME IN THE BILLION DOLLAR ADVENTURE
TOURISM INDUSTRY.
Cilla
¤W27 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:19:55:05
It became
very normalised after that, and I mean people still get a big kick out of it,
and lots of adrenalin, but never that, that feeling of the pioneering days.
AND
SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE CHRIS'S ROLE IN KICK STARTING THE WHOLE SHEBANG WAS
OVERTAKEN BY THAT BUNGEE JUGGERNAUT.
Mark
¤W28 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
01:19:14:16
Does part
of you feel like you missed out?
Chris
¤W29 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:38:44:03
there's a
lot of people that say to me that, you know, why aren't you better recognised
and stuff like this.
Chris
¤W30 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:36:57:24
I'm lucky,
I've got a great family, I'm, I, you know I can travel overseas. I've got a bike in Italy that I go touring
on. What else do you want?
Mark
¤W31 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:36:57:24
Millions of
dollars?
Chris
Some people
do, but I don't think it's the be all and end, end all of life. You know, I think it's more about taking
chances and, you know, making sure that you don't think I wish I had.
BUT THE
THING WITH GREAT UNTOLD STORIES IS THAT THERE'S ALWAYS SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO
TELL THEM.
Alex
¤W32 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
21:27:40:19
it's kind
of up there with, you know, pavlova and all the other things, isn't it, with
all the other kind of supposed Kiwi trophies. And yeah, I think it is, I think
it is fair enough to give him a round of applause for it, absolutely. He put
his body on the line for it. (Laughter).
ALEX
SUTHERLAND IS A FILM MAKER WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE CHRIS'S SON IN LAW.
REMEMBER
CHRIS HAD SHOT HOURS OF FOOTAGE OF THE GOLDEN SUMMER.
Alex
¤W33 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
21:33:17:07
I think
those, those one inch tapes are an absolute cultural treasure, yeah. Taonga (laughter)
Alex
¤W34 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
21:11:33:00
even he, I
think, had even lost track of how much there was and what there was.
THE TAPES
HAVE BEEN CLEANED UP AND ALEX HAS PRODUCED A SHORT DOCUMENTARY OF CHRIS'S STORY
AS PART OF THE LOADING DOCS SERIES.
HE'S IS
ABOUT TO RELEASE A SHORT FILM ON THE VERY FIRST JUMP AT PELORUS BRIDGE.
upsot
if you're gonna kill yourself, might as well help ya
Mark
¤W35 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:46:12:03
What did
you think of the guy that played you?
Chris
He's pretty
good looking (laugh).
ALEX IS NOW
WRITING A FEATURE FILM BASED ON CHRIS'S ADVENTURES.
Alex
I think its one of invention, ADVENTURE, INGENuity,
science, bravado. it's a kind of mixture of all those things really, yeah. it's
like that first version of risk takers.
upsot
it's been
great doing this eh?
Alex
before
extreme sports, before any of that happened.
A TIME THAT
IS VERY UNLIKELY TO BE REPEATED.
Chris
¤W36 27 ]] C2.5 G 0
[[
00:56:42:09
I think
it's sad actually the laws are starting to close us
down, you know, and, and I, I think people, kids have got to express
themselves. They've got to take chances,
they've got to enjoy the freedom of being their own person and, and people
saying oh you can't climb this mountain, or you shouldn't do this, or this is
too risky, what a load of cobblers