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Essington (film)

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Essington
Written byThomas Keneally
Directed byJulian Pringle
StarringChris Haywood
Hugh Keays-Byrne
Music byPeter Sculthorpe
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerAlan Burke
CinematographyLloyd Shiels
Running time103 minutes
Original release
NetworkABC
Release26 November 1974 (1974-11-26)

Essington is a 1974 TV film about a convict named Squires who arrives with a detachment of Royal Marines at Port Essington.[1]

According to the Canberra Times "it is both an historical narrative and an allegorical treatment of Australian history."[2]

Plot

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In the 1840s, the settlement of Port Essington is run by Governor Macarthur. The inhabitants include Macarthur's wife, Private Evans, and a convict, Bob Squires, who has good relations with the local aboriginal population.

Private Evans falls for an aboriginal woman and goes missing from the settlement.

Cast

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Reception

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Thomas Keneally won Best Script at the 1976 Logie Awards. Chis Haywood won Best Performance by an Individual Actor.[3]

Michael Craig called it "a wonderful script; macabre, funny, tragic and optimistic, and extremely well directed by Julian Pringle."[4]

Music

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The music score was written by Peter Sculthorpe with Michael Hannan and David Matthews. It was adapted from an Aboriginal melody "Djilile" (whistling-duck on a billabong) from a recording collected in northern Australia in the late 1950s. Sculthorpe further developed the music as a 15-minute, six-part piece titled "Port Essington" which was commissioned by Musica Viva Australia for the Australian Chamber Orchestra and first performed at the University of Queensland in August 1977.[5][6][7]

References

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  1. ^ Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p52
  2. ^ "COLOUR TV NEW SERIES OF ABC COLOUR PROGRAMS". The Canberra Times. Vol. 49, no. 14, 004. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 4 March 1975. p. 15. Retrieved 10 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ 1976 TV Week Logie Awards accessed 27 June 2013
  4. ^ Craig, Michael (2005). The Smallest Giant: An Actor's Life. Allen and Unwin. p. 183.
  5. ^ "Port Essington". Leichardt Land.
  6. ^ "Australian Biography: Interview with Peter Sculthorpe". National Film and Sound Archive.
  7. ^ Hannan, Michael (2011). "SCORING ESSINGTON: Composition, Comprovisation, Collaboration" (PDF). Screen Sound.
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