This eight-part miniseries from the Australian Broadcasting Commission was based on the trilogy of novels by Eleanor Dark – an epic story that begins in a pre-contact Aboriginal Australia and tells the story of the early days of British settlement and the impact on one Aboriginal man in particular – Bennelong (David Gulpilil) – and his family.
The series was based in New South Wales between 1788 and 1811 and depicted the lives of convicts and settlers as they established the new colony.
Viewers saw the hardships of the first unwilling settlers, convicts and soldiers; the terror caused by the Aboriginal tribes; the struggle for day to day existence; the prostitution, despair and punishments – Convicts were flogged, bare-breasted wenches caught the eye in the first two minutes, and there was much moaning about the shortage of food, livestock, medicine and other supplies.
Michael Craig starred as Stephen Manion, a wealthy Irish free settler, with Nicola Pagett (previously Elizabeth Bellamy from Upstairs, Downstairs) as Conor, his free-spirited pixie-faced bride.
Angela Punch McGregor was superb as Ellen, a young convict mother who kept house for them on their property, Beltransa (and did much more for Mr Manion) and who was forced to prostitute herself to one of the soldiers for a pound of flour. Sadly, worse lay ahead for her.
Adam Garnett and Chris Haywood – in Ginger Meggs wigs – both played her rebel son, Johnny, who befriends the Aborigines.
Later we met the free settlers and the Governors who carved their niche in Australia’s history as fictional characters intermingled with the factual, including Governor Phillip (Peter Collingwood); the villainous Major Ross (Trevor Kent); Lord Sydney (Ric Hutton); Captain Macarthur (Robin Stewart) and Governor Bligh (an over-acting Ray Barrett).
The Timeless Land was well-photographed, lavishly costumed, grand in scale and ambitious in intent with faultless production values. It was sold to Paramount Pictures in the US for a record $1 million, the highest fee for an Australian series at the time.
The ABC launched the series by showing the first two episodes back-to-back as a 100-minute block on Thursday 4 September 1980.
Stephen Mannion
Michael Craig Mrs Conor Mannion
Nicola Pagett Bennelong
David Gulpilil Governor Bligh
Ray Barrett Governor Phillip
Peter Collingwood Patrick Mannion
Peter Cousens Ellen Prentice
Angela Punch McGregor Captain John Macarthur
Robin Stewart Johnny (as a boy)
Adam Garnett Johnny
Chris Haywood Major Ross
Trevor Kent Lord Sydney
Ric Hutton Anne King
Heather Christie Billalong
Athol Compton Finn
Ralph Cotterill Rev. Marsden
John Cousins Byrne
Max Cullen Mark Harvey
Patrick Dickson Chaplain
Gary Duggan George Crossley
John Faasen Governor King
John Frawley Cunningham
Vincent Gil Robert Campbell
John Hamblin Captain Johnston
Brian Hinzlewood Captain Kemp
Robert Hughes Abbott
Vic Hunter Evans
Johnny Johnstone Gregory Blaxland
Peter Kowitz Doolan
Don Mamouney Lynch
Clive Marshall Winden
Bill McCluskey Mary Putland
Kirrily Nolan Mrs Blake
Kate Parker Emily
Geneviève Picot Collins
Noel Trevarthen Sarah
Anna Volska
Episodes
A Ship with White Wings | Unsuitable Company | The Fabric of Liberty | Double Standards | Smell of Rebellion | A Declaration of War 1806 | A Prisoner at the Bar 1807 | A New Order
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