Against the Wind (miniseries)

Last updated

Against the Wind
Written by Bronwyn Binns
Ian Jones
Peter Kinlock
Tony Morphett
Paul Davies
Cliff Green.
Directed by George T. Miller
Simon Wincer
Starring Mary Larkin
Jon English
Country of originAustralia
No. of episodes13
Production
ProducersBronwyn Binns
Ian Jones
Henry Crawford.
Running time50 minutes
Production companies Seven Network
Pegasus Productions
Original release
Network Seven Network
Release12 September (1978-09-12) –
31 October 1978 (1978-10-31)

Against the Wind is a 1978 Australian television miniseries. It is a historical drama portraying both the British rule of Ireland, and the development of New South Wales and Australia.

Contents

Jon English won the Logie Award in 1979 for "Best New Talent" for his role in the miniseries as "Jonathan Garrett". It was the first major Australian TV production to be broadcast in the United States. [1]

A soundtrack was also released, topping the charts in Norway and reaching the top 10 in Australia and Sweden.

Plot

Set during Australia's colonial era over the period 1798–1812, the series follows the life of Mary Mulvane, a daughter of an Irish school master. At 18, she is transported to New South Wales for a term of seven years after attempting to take back her family's milk cow which had been seized by the British "in lieu of tithes" to the local proctor. She endures the trial of a convict sea journey to New South Wales and years of service as a convict before her emancipation and life as a free citizen. During the journey out she makes a lifelong friend of fellow Irish convict, Polly, and in the course of the series we see their friendship continue, Polly's relationship and life with taverner Will Price develop, and Mary's relationship with Jonathan Garrett grows, leading to eventual marriage when both have served their term. Together they face the difficulties of establishing a farm and a young family in the new country, and must deal with the tyranny of the corrupt military running the colony. It is based on factual events of the Garrett Family (as stated in every episode) and the last episode recites what became of the Garretts: they had 5 children and now have many descendants.

Cast

Episodes

  1. "The Seeds of Fire": Ireland in 1796–97 is seething with rebellion and suppression. Mary is arrested and convicted of theft. She is sentenced to seven years of transportation to New South Wales. [note 1]
  2. "The Wild Geese": February 1797—Mary departs Cork for Sydney, meets Polly and survives the long journey to Sydney.
  3. "A Question of Guilt": May 1797—Mary arrives at Westbury Farm near Parramatta. Polly takes up with Will Price in his country pub.
  4. "The Flogging Parson": June 1797—Polly prospers with Will. Mary moves up in the farm pecking order.
  5. "An Agreement Between Officers and Others": The officers conspire to remove the head overseer and retain free use of convict labour.
  6. "A House on the Hill": There are many events but the most important one is the marriage of Mary and Jonathan.
  7. "The Tree of Liberty": Disgruntlement against the NSW Corps and government is rife among the convicts and freed settlers.
  8. "When Kings Go Forth to Battle": The Battle of Vinegar Hill near Parramatta ends badly for the rebels. Martial law is established.
  9. "The Farmer's Friend": A farm is foreclosed upon. Martial law is suspended.
  10. "A Matter of Life and Death": Mary gives birth amid much drama. Jonathan goes to jail.
  11. "The Spirit of Enterprise": Jonathan struggles to profit from his harvest, but Will comes up with a solution.
  12. "The Whip Hand": After the illegal still is discovered, Polly must give evidence against Will.
  13. "The Windfall Summer": Polly and Mary both struggle while Jonathan and Will serve time.

Production

The series was the idea of Bronwyn Binns (née Fackerell), who had grown up in President Road, Kellyville, New South Wales, where she had found old convict remnants on the family land. [2] Kellyville is not far from the site of the colonial Vinegar Hill uprising also known as the Castle Hill convict rebellion. Bronwyn worked as a researcher at Crawford Productions and had developed the project over a number of months, She teamed up with Crawford's colleague Ian Jones and presented it to Channel Seven, who agreed to finance a series. [3]

The series was filmed at Old Sydney Town (near Gosford), and at Belgrave Heights, Warrandyte, Colac, Geelong and Emu Bottom. It had a budget of over a million dollars and was the first Australian mini series for a number of years. [4]

Reception

The series was a large ratings success, being the second most popular show on Australia that year, being seen by 2,174,000 people in four cities. [5] The series got a 45% viewing share. [6]

It ushered in the cycle of Australian mini series. [4]

It was also broadcast and very popular in Czechoslovakia under the name Proti vetru (Against the Wind) with dubbing in Czech. The series was broadcast in Iran as well, where it was dubbed in Persian with the title "Dar barabar-e bad" (در برابر باد) (Against the Wind) and became very popular.

Music

A soundtrack was released by Polydor Records. "Six Ribbons" was released as a single, peaking at number one on the Norwegian charts in 1981.

Other media

The complete series is now available on DVD in Australia, Norway, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands in PAL format. It is also available in North American format.

Episodes 1, 8, and 13 were published in book form in 1978. [7]

Notes

  1. ↑ Transportation was in reality a lifetime of exile from the United Kingdom. Although set free at the completion of their terms, ex-convicts were on their own for support. The Transportation Acts made return to the United Kingdom a capital offense.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Hill, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Castle Hill is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, located 34 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 9.5 kilometres north of Parramatta. It is within the Hills District region, split between the local government areas of The Hills Shire and Hornsby Shire.

The New South Wales Corps, sometimes known as The Rum Corps was a regiment of the British Army, formed in England in 1789, to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, which had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. In the Colony of New South Wales, the New South Wales Corps gained notoriety for its trade in rum and mutinous behaviour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Western Sydney</span> Region in New South Wales, Australia

Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions within Sydney's metropolitan area and encompasses 13 local government areas: Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Hills Shire, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Wollondilly. It includes Western Sydney, which has a number of different definitions, although the one consistently used is the region composed of ten local government authorities, most of which are members of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC). Penrith, Hills Shire & Canterbury-Bankstown are not WSROC members. The NSW Government's Office of Western Sydney calls the region "Greater Western Sydney".

D'Arcy Wentworth was an Irish-Australian surgeon and the first paying passenger to arrive in the new colony of New South Wales. He served under the first seven governors of the Colony, and from 1810 to 1821, he was "great assistant" to Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Wentworth led a campaign for the rights and recognition of emancipists and for trial by jury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hills District, New South Wales</span> Region in New South Wales, Australia

The Hills District is a region of Sydney, within the northern part of the Greater Western Sydney region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Stretching from the M2 Hills Motorway in the south to the Hawkesbury River in the north and Old Windsor Road in the west to Pennant Hills Road and Berowra Creek in the east, its constituent suburbs are located in the local government areas of The Hills Shire, and parts of Hornsby Shire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pemulwuy</span> Aboriginal Australian political leader (born 1750)

Pemulwuy, also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan, was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in the area of Botany Bay in New South Wales, Australia. One of the most famous Aboriginal resistance fighters in the colonial era, he is noted for his resistance to European colonisation which began with the arrival of the First Fleet in January 1788.

Ian Edward Swainson Jones was an Australian television writer and director and an author specialising in the history of notorious outlaw Ned Kelly and his gang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Hill convict rebellion</span> 1804 Australian revolt in New South Wales

The Castle Hill convict rebellion was an 1804 convict rebellion in the Castle Hill area of Sydney, against the colonial authorities of the British colony of New South Wales. Led by veterans of the United Irish Rebellion of 1798, the poorly armed insurgents confronted the colonial forces of Australia on 5 March 1804 at Rouse Hill. Their rout in the resulting skirmish was hailed by loyalists as Australia's Vinegar Hill after the 1798 Irish Battle of Vinegar Hill, where rebels in Ireland were decisively defeated. The incident was the first major convict uprising in Australian history to be suppressed under martial law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanhope Gardens, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Stanhope Gardens is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Stanhope Gardens is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of City of Blacktown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rouse Hill, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Rouse Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rouse Hill is located in the Hills District, 43 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 19 kilometres north-west of the Parramatta central business district. It is in the local government areas of The Hills Shire and City of Blacktown. Rouse Hill Town Centre is at the heart of the suburb, which contains a busy Town Square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon English</span> Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor (1949–2016)

Jonathan James English was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He emigrated from England to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Sebastian Hardie but left to take on the role of Judas Iscariot in the Australian version of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar from May 1972, which was broadcast on television. English was also a noted solo singer; his Australian top twenty hit singles include "Turn the Page", "Hollywood Seven", "Words are Not Enough", "Six Ribbons" and "Hot Town".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Price (rugby)</span> Australia dual-code international rugby footballer

Raymond Alan Price is an Australian former dual-code international rugby union and rugby league footballer. He was nicknamed “Mr Perpetual Motion” for his hard, intimidating style of play in league at lock forward. Price played rugby league for Sydney's Parramatta Eels club, with whom he won four NSWRL premierships, a Dally M Medal and a Rothmans Medal. He also played in State of Origin for New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Dwyer</span> Irish Nationalist

Michael Dwyer was an insurgent captain in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, leading the United Irish forces in battles in Wexford and Wicklow., Following the defeat and dispersal of the rebel hosts, in July 1798 Dwyer withdrew into the Wicklow Mountains, and to his native Glen of Imaal, where he sustained a guerrilla campaign against British Crown forces.

James Squire, alternatively known as James Squires, was a First Fleet convict transported to Australia. Squire is credited with the first successful cultivation of hops in Australia around the start of the 19th century. First officially brewing beer in Australia in 1790; James later founded Australia's first commercial brewery making beer using barley and hops in 1798, although John Boston appears to have opened a brewery making a form of corn beer two years earlier.

Martin Mason was a surgeon, magistrate and commander who is notable as a pioneer settler of Australia, and also as a supporter of Captain Bligh following the 1808 Rebellion at Sydney, New South Wales.

The Battle of Parramatta was a battle of the Australian Frontier Wars which occurred at Parramatta in March 1797. In the conflict, Aboriginal resistance leader Pemulwuy led a group of Bidjigal warriors, estimated to be up to 100, against armed British settlers and soldiers of the New South Wales Corps. One Britisher was wounded and five Aboriginal people were killed with many others wounded. Pemulwuy himself was wounded and placed into custody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merriville House and Gardens</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Merriville House & Gardens is a heritage-listed residence at Eire Way, Kellyville Ridge, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1817 to 1855. It is also known as Hambledon Cottage, Hambledon and Maryville. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Oak Inn, Rouse Hill</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

The Royal Oak Inn is a heritage-listed hotel located on the corner of Windsor Road and Commercial Road, in Rouse Hill in The Hills Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1829. It has also been known as the Queens Arms Inn, and is currently known as the Fiddler Hotel. The property is privately owned and was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

Richard Rouse was an Anglo-Australian public servant who was active during the Colonial development of New South Wales as the Superintendent of Public Works and Convicts at Parramatta under the direction of NSW Governors William Bligh and Lachlan Macquarie. He is attributed as the designer of Rouse Hill House in Rouse Hill, that was his family home from 1819 until his death in 1852.

The Toongabbie Government Farm Archaeological Site is the heritage-listed site of a former convict government farm at Goliath Avenue, Winston Hills, City of Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. The farm was built by convict labour from 1791 to 1813. Its site includes areas today known as Palestine Park, Oakes Reserve and Settlers Walk and is also known as the Toongabbie Government Farm Convict Site. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 11 December 2012.

References

  1. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (1981). Television 1970–1980. San Diego: A.S. Barnes and Company. ISBN   0-498-02577-2.
  2. ↑ Personal recollection of the contributor whose family were neighbours during Bronwyn's early years.
  3. ↑ "The story of 'Against the Wind'". The Canberra Times . 29 October 1978. p. 7. Retrieved 11 August 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  4. 1 2 Albert Moran, Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series, AFTRS 1993 p 46
  5. ↑ "Australian TV shows top ratings". The Canberra Times . 30 December 1978. p. 3. Retrieved 11 August 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ Sadlier, Kevin. "Death of the Australian mini-series". Sydney Sun Herald. p. 47.
  7. ↑ Binns, Bronwyn; Jones, Ian (1978). Against The Wind. Australian Theatre Workshop Series (#19). Richmond, Victoria: Heinemann Educational Australia Pty Ltd. ISBN   0-85859-196-0.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.