Against the Wind (miniseries)
| 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 origin | Australia |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Bronwyn Binns Ian Jones Hector Crawford. |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Seven Network |
| Original release | 12 September – 31 October 1978 |
Against the Wind is a 1978 Australian television mini-series. It is a historical drama portraying both the British rule of Ireland, and the development of New South Wales and Australia.
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.
A soundtrack was also released, topping the charts in Norway and reaching the top 10 in Australia and Sweden.
Set in Australia's colonial era (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 Jonathon Garrett grow, 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.
The series was the idea of Bronwyn Binns, who had grown up in Castle Hill. She 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.
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.
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