''Hector's Bunyip'', is a 1986 Australian

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...

about a young boy who is abducted by a

bunyip The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. Name The origin of the word ''bunyip'' has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia ...

.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p. 79

Synopsis

Six year old Hector in the youngest of three children in a poor foster family. His best friend is an imaginary creature he calls 'Bunyip'. One day a child welfare officer mistakenly deems the family home unsuitable for Hector, and makes arrangements for him to be placed in the care of an orphanage, but before the agency can follow through, Hector mysteriously 'disappears'. In reality, the family has hidden Hector, claiming he was taken by the 'Bunyip' - with the hope that in the meantime the counselor will change her mind.

Cast

Robert Coleby Robert Coleby (born 1947) is a British actor who has spent most of his career in Australia. Active since the 1970s, he has over 70 film and television credits to his name. Coleby has acted on stage in numerous productions for the Queensland The ...

as George Bailey * Barbara Stephens as Irene Bailey * Gordon Piper as Jack Benson *

Tushka Bergen Tushka Bergen (born 1969, in London, England) is an Australian actress who has worked in Australia, England, Germany and the United States. In 1988, she was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini Series for he ...

as Pandora Bailey *

Denise Roberts Denise Roberts, is an Australian actress, director, and founder of film and television acting school Screenwise in Sydney. She is known for her roles on TV in 1980s-90s medical drama '' G.P.'' and 2009 series ''Packed to the Rafters''. Career ...

as Gladys Glum *

Joan Sydney Joan Sydney King (5 September 1936 – 28 December 2022) was an English-born Australian actress, primarily known for her television roles in soap operas and serials and in theatre productions. Sydney started her career in local theatre before ...

as Maude Trembalt *

Joyce Jacobs Joyce Mary Jacobs (née Penn; 15 April 1922 – 15 September 2013) was an English-born Australian character actress, and comedienne who had a successful career on the small screen, in soap opera and serials, after emigrating there from her ...

as Ivy Clements *

Todd Boyce Todd Boyce (born July 1, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Stephen Reid in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1996–1997, 2007, 2022–2023). Career Boyce joined the Australian soap opera ''The Restless Years'' i ...

as Constable Gilbert Goode *

Syd Heylen Harold Sydney Charles Heylen (25 May 1923 – 4 December 1996), credited variously as Syd Heylen, Sid Heylen and Sydney Heylen, was an Australian character actor of radio, stage, television and film, comedian, and variety performer and soldi ...

as Chooka Morris *

Brian Moll Brian Percy Moll (19 May 1925 – 9 August 2013) was a British-born Australian comedian character actor of stage, television and film and director and producer who emigrated to Australia from his native England in 1950. Quitting his job as a pub ...

as Ernest Sister

Production

The film was shot in the lower

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia ."New Films That Don't Talk Down to Children", ''The Age'', 9 December 1985
accessed 12 July 2013 It was aired on ''

WonderWorks ''WonderWorks'' is a U.S. children's anthology television series which ran from 1984 to 1992 for eight years. Produced by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) along with Walt Disney Home Video purchased the home video rights to the series in 1 ...

''.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0091189
''Hector's Bunyip''
at Peter Malone's website
''Hector's Bunyip''
at

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature) is a national bio-bibliographical database of Australian literature. It is an internet-based, ...

Australian television films 1986 television films 1986 films 1980s English-language films