A sporting life behind TV camera’s lens
Geoff Clements watched more matches than most sports-mad Kiwis – but almost all of it behind a television lens.
Clements, who received a Queen’s Service Medal in the New Year Honours of 2010 for services to the television industry, was described as a father figure of cameramen in New Zealand, where he plied his craft for some 50 years.
Clements, who died suddenly last month at his Christchurch home just three years after he retired from behind the viewfinder, was known as ‘‘The General’’.
That was because he had basically been the head cameraman from television’s infancy in Canterbury at what was initially known as CHTV3 and set a national standard with the quality of his work.
Clements was involved early on in such local productions as The
South Tonight (the Canterbury news segment), Popco (a musical show) and On The Mat (a wrestling extravaganza).
‘‘Geoff was an inspiration for those coming into the role,’’ friend and colleague George Smith recalled at his funeral.
‘‘He was an ideal mentor training you, getting you to practise the skills and dissecting your performance in a gentle way afterwards.’’
Cricket was Clements’ chief sporting passion, despite covering a multitude of sports during his career – rugby, football, league hockey, bowls, golf, basketball, swimming, netball, and squash among them.
He covered his first cricket match at Lancaster Park in 1965-66 when a touring Australian XI visited.
Coverage in those early days was a far cry from the hi-tech of today, with just three cameras compared with the 30-odd now showing every angle.
‘‘I still remember my first day,’’ Clements told the Otago Daily
Times, covering his final test match at University Oval in Dunedin in
2016 between New Zealand and South Africa.
‘‘It was the 17th of February,
1966.’’
Australia toured New Zealand that year and played a warm-up match against Canterbury. Clements manned one of the three cameras.
‘‘One of my best mates from the St Albans cricket club, Ken Ferries, was playing in that game. That was the first game and I remember very little about it except I know I had a beer with Ken later in our clubrooms.’’
One of the games that was particularly exhilarating to cover as a cameraman was the test when Black Cap Nathan Astle blasted 222 against England in Christchurch in
2002.
‘‘I think that was pretty special for him. But from my point of view he hit so many bloody balls in the air,’’ which made the ball hard to track.
There have been many other marvellous players, but two in particular stood out in his memory.
‘‘Well, the first one who sticks out is Nawab of Pataudi, the 1968 Indian captain, who had one eye. He was a wonderful batsman.
‘‘A superb cover driver and I said to one of the guys afterwards, ‘How can that joker hit everything so well?
‘‘Greg Chappell I thought was wonderful too,’’ he told the ODT.
Smith believed Clements set a broadcasting standard that rippled throughout the industry in New Zealand.
His work and easy-going personality were warmly admired by many, including television personality Jason Gunn, who also paid tribute at the funeral.
Starting out as a nervous teenager, Gunn said ‘‘GAC’’,
Clements’ initials, enabled him to talk to the nation by his manner and ideas.
Sky TV’s reputation for producing some of the world’s best sports pictures is another tribute to the hard-working types such as Clements behind the lens.
In cricket, he put up with the stiffest of southerlies that Wellington could summon, often perched high atop some shaky scaffolding at the Basin Reserve.
Down in Dunedin, the chill could set in and multiple clothing layers were required.
Then there was the heat and humidity of Hamilton and Auckland, where you couldn’t take a break, because you were saturated in sweat.
‘‘The number of towers he rigged was remarkable, and I’d never seen anyone tie knots with tarpaulin like he did,’’ Smith recalled.
Sky rugby commentator Tony Johnson also paid tribute publicly to Clements’ ability, relaying fond messages of sympathy from Japan, where he is part of the New Zealand television team covering the Rugby World Cup.
Off the park, Clements was keen on bowls, being an active member of the Redcliffs/Mt Pleasant Bowling Club, and he also took up coaching in his later years, guiding the Canterbury women’s development team.
When Clements retired, he determined to watch more cricket on TV, play bowls and follow his passion for music – he was a staunch Beatles fan. To that end, mourners sang Let It Be at his farewell.
He leaves a wife, Trish, and two daughters, Charlotte and Vanessa. – By Geoff Longley
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