Kenneth Graham Ross (born 4 June 1941) is an Australian playwright, screenwriter, and lyricist best known for writing the 1978 stage play ''

Breaker Morant Harry "The Breaker" Harbord Morant (born Edwin Henry Murrant, 9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902), more popularly known as Breaker Morant, was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, bush poet, military officer, and war criminal who was co ...

'', that was based on the life of Australian soldier Harry "Breaker" Morant. With the support of the South Australian Film Corporation this play was later adapted by Ross into a film of the same name in 1980. The film was nominated for the 1980 Academy Award for the screenplay adapted from another source.

Early life

Family

Kenneth Graham Ross was born on 4 June 1941 in East Brunswick, Victoria. His great-grandparents were Hugh Ross (1807-1898), who arrived in Australia, as a free settler, at

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

in 1837, and Barbara Sutherland Ross (1832-1910), née McKenzie, who arrived in Australia, at Hobsons Bay, Victoria in 1851, and George Beckton (1826-1873), born in Scotland, and Elizabeth Beckton (1838-1900), née Peirson, born in Mansfield, Victoria. His grandparents were John Hugh Ross, Adelaide Eliza Ross, Leslie Sherlock Graham, and Queenie Nora Graham. His parents were Kenneth McKenzie Ross, and Alma Nora Ross. He has three children.

Education

Ross attended Caulfield Grammar School, in East St Kilda, Victoria, from 1951 to 1958, where one of his teachers recognised and strongly encouraged his creative writing talents. He also displayed strong

debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

skills whilst at school.

Athlete

Ross was a tenacious and courageous Australian rules footballer who played well above his weight, and was a superb

middle distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 15 ...

, excelling at the

880 yards The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...

(or half-mile), now the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

After school

After several years, already convinced that he had the skill to become a creative writer, he decided that he should travel to the UK and Europe, in order to gain experience of the world and, hopefully, determine what kind of writing to which he would devote his energies. To acquire sufficient funds to fund his explorations, he moved from Melbourne to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

towards the end of 1961, and worked for his parents at Mac's Hotel, in Bentinck Street, Portland.

To Europe

In May 1963, he left for Italy on the SS Galileo Galilei, and on that voyage, he met and was befriended by the experienced Australian professional actress, Elaine Cusick, perhaps best known at the time for her performance in ''

The One Day of the Year ''The One Day of the Year'' is a 1958 Australian play by Alan Seymour about contested attitudes to Anzac Day. Plot Alf’s son Hughie and his girlfriend Jan plan to document Anzac Day for the university newspaper, focusing on the drinking on Anz ...

''. She also acted intermittently as a mentor for Ross for many years. Once he had reached Italy, disembarking at Genoa, he set off across the continent, arriving in the UK some four months later.

Stratford-upon-Avon

By chance, Ross returned from the continent to England in October 1963, and had reached Stratford-upon-Avon on his UK travels just in time to see the Royal Shakespeare Company's first performances of John Barton's three-part adaptation of Shakespeare's historical plays, now generally known as ''

The Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

'', featuring, amongst others,

Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was deter ...

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, and

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. Although he had studied Shakespeare at school, it was not until he saw Barton's trilogy that he apprehended just how brilliant Shakespeare was; and the overall experience of Barton's writing and the performances of the RSC had such an impact upon him, that he decided there and then to become a playwright. He returned to London and immediately began writing short stories. In order, he thought, to gain inspiration for his writing career, he went again to Europe followed the pathway of

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

through France, and Spain, spending time in Paris, partaking in the Pamplona bull run (on 7 July 1964), etc.; and, whilst he gained a new understanding of Hemingway's literary accounts of his European experiences, he found himself wanting to go back to the UK, finish his business there, and return to Australia as soon as possible, work for a short while in his family's hotel in Portland, and then, having sufficient funds to do so, move to Melbourne, and earn his living as a journalist.

Adelaide

Having returned to Portland in 1964, he met a local girl, his first wife, Dawn Halliday (1943-), the daughter of

's Lord Mayor, local butcher, and greyhound trainer Reuben Herbert Halliday (1908-1989), and Bessie Albena Halliday (1909-1987), née Dean. They were soon married and he remained in Portland, working hard in his family's hotel, until 1972, when, he began to understand that he was not as ideally suited to the hotel business as he had once thought, and that he really wanted to become a writer, and that writing was far more important to him than operating the ever more lucrative family business. Despite the family's strong desire for him to stay in Portland and continue to operate the family's hotel business, Ross, along with Dawn, Kendal, and Kimberly, left for Adelaide and settled there. He was convinced that the isolation of knowing no-one in Adelaide, and the overall creative atmosphere that generally surrounded the Adelaide Festival of Arts, would allow him to pour all of his efforts into his writing. As he was finding his feet as a writer, he supported his family by working for Frank Brady at his enterprise, P.J. Brady Billiard Tables. With the congenial atmosphere of Adelaide, and the financial security of working for Frank Brady, Ross's writing began to take off. His first play, ''Don't Piddle Against the Wind, Mate'' was accepted (in 1977) by the Australian National Playwrights' Conference; and, at that conference, he met

Ray Lawler Raymond Evenor Lawler (born 23 May 1921) is an Australian actor, dramatist, and theatre producer and director. His most notable play was his tenth, '' Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' (1953), which had its premiere in Melbourne in 1955. The ...

, who invited him to breakfast, offered professional support, and introduced him to John Sumner. As a consequence of that introduction, John Sumner, soon agreed to direct Ross's second play, Breaker Morant.

Breaker Morant: Play into Movie

Ross's play, ''Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts'', which was first performed in Melbourne on 2 February 1978 by the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

, was such a commercial and artistic success, that work started immediately to convert the script of the play into a screenplay. Ross worked on the film as an advisor to the scriptwriters, and the film was entirely based on Ross's play. The film was a top performer at the 1980 Australian Film Institute awards, with ten wins. It was also nominated for the 1981 Academy Award for the Best Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium). He wrote the play about

. it was adapted by three other writers into ''

'', a film that received multiple awards and nominations. Among them, it was an Academy Award Nominee for the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for the screen writers: Jonathan Hardy; David Stevens, and

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. Beresford's notable films he has directed include '' B ...

. It was also a nominee for the David di Donatello Awards 1981 for the David, best Foreign Screenplay (Migliore Sceneggiatura Straniera), represented by Bruce Beresford. It is rated as one of the best

Trial film Trial films is a subgenre of the legal/courtroom drama that encompasses films that are centered on a civil or criminal trial, typically a trial by jury.Rafter, Nicole. 2001. "American Criminal Trial Films: An Overview of Their Development, 1930– ...

s of all time. It details a court martial of Australian soldiers, including Harry 'Breaker' Morant, by their British commanders in the aftermath of the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The film details the tribulations of the defense counsel and the defendants, as they try to throw a wrench into the administrative gears of Morant's court martial. Anticipating the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded m ...

and the defense of " superior orders", the soldiers' main defense is that they were doing their duty as they understood it, and following orders and policy from above. Nevertheless, this "

kangaroo court A kangaroo court is a court that ignores recognized standards of law or justice, carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides, and is typically convened ad hoc. A kangaroo court may ignore due process and come ...

" moves to its inevitable conclusion. The film was nominated for a number of

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

Legal action against Angus & Robertson

Once it became known that the film version of ''Breaker Morant'' was near release, the Australian publishing house '' Angus & Robertson'' re-issued an out-of-print, remaindered and not widely known 1973 novel, ''The Breaker'', that had been written by Kit Denton. It was issued with great gusto, with the original 1973 front cover, ''plus'' the factually incorrect announcement on the cover: "''Soon to be a major film''". This announcement was incorrect for two reasons: * it was Ross's play, not Denton's book, that was being made into a movie, and * Denton's book was never used to create any part of the film script (a script for which Ross had been one of the writing team from start to finish). In 1980, Ross took legal action against ''Angus & Robertson'' in the Supreme Court of South Australia for re-issuing the 1973 book with the factually incorrect announcement on the cover. With the support of crucial evidence provided by the film's director

, Ross won his case. Angus & Robertson withdrew the 1979 version of Denton's book from sale, and trashed all the remaining copies. Another, "revised" version of Denton's book (minus the cover announcement, and with a picture of actor

Edward Woodward Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career on stage. Throughout his career, he appeared in productions ...

on the cover) was issued by Angus & Robertson in 1980, which sold considerably more copies than his earlier, 1973 version. Ross's emphatic legal victory did not receive a lot of publicity at the time; and many people today still labour under the misapprehension that it was Kit Denton's 1973 book that was the source for the movie.

Denton's 1984 account

In a 1984 interview conducted by Barry Renfrew, the Sydney bureau chief for

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

, Denton directly addressed the issue of whether the screenplay of Beresford's movie had been based, in any way, upon his earlier work. The British-born Denton was most emphatic that in the process of his research in England for the project that eventually culminated in the publication of his novel, ''The Breaker'', in 1973, he had met so much resistance from War Office officials to all of his attempts to identify, isolate, and view the pertinent official records that were associated with Morant, the charges laid against him, his trial, and his execution, that "after weeks of futile waiting, he entondecided British officials were concealing the facts and he began to accept Australian claims that Morant had been sacrificed as a colonial subject". In despair, Denton returned to Australia, and began to work on a screenplay about Morant. No-one displayed any interest of any kind in developing Denton's proposed screenplay. However, the Sydney publisher, Angus & Robertson, suggested that some of his artistic effort might be rescued if he was able to re-work his screenplay into a novel. Denton substantially re-worked his screenplay into the book that was published in 1973. In the 1984 interview, Denton was most emphatic that (a) he himself, (b) his earlier draft screenplay, and (c) his later novel " erenot involved with the film f Beresford in any way.

Later work

After Ross had finished with his work as an advisor to the scriptwriters for the film ''Breaker Morant'', his services were commissioned on numerous occasions by interested parties in Australia and the United States to write

film treatment A film treatment (or simply treatment) is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detail ...

s on their behalf; however, quite a few of these otherwise promising potential projects did not proceed due to the effects of the

financial crisis of 2007–2008 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...

on the film industry and its backers. He wrote several scripts for episodes of the Australian television shows ''

Carson's Law ''Carson's Law'' is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Ten Network between 1982-1984. The series was a period piece set in the 1920s and starred Lorraine Bayly as progressive solicitor Jennifer Carson. The ep ...

'', and ''

Rafferty's Rules ''Rafferty's Rules'' is an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1991 on the Seven Network. The producers of the series were Posie Graeme-Evans (1987–1988), and Denis Phelen. The directors were Graham Thorburn, Mike Smit ...

''. He has also fully developed several other film scripts that have been purchased, but have not yet begun production; and, also, one of his fully developed film scripts (working title ''Sunburnt Heroes'') is in pre-production. He has also mentored several promising emerging writers, and has completed a manual for writers that is soon to be published. He has completed a novel, a spy thriller, ''To Skin a Cat'', which has been placed with a publisher; and as well, has returned to the stage, writing an entirely new play (working title ''L, V AND P''), concerning Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, and Peter Finch. For a number of years he was the South Australian representative of the Australian Writers' Guild

Works

Drama

* ''The Right Man'' (1977); Sheridan Theatre, North Adelaide, 1977. * ''Don't Piddle Against the Wind, Mate'' (1977); Jane Street Theatre, Randwick, July 1977; directed by John Tasker. * '' Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts'' (1978); Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne, January 1978; directed by John Sumner. :::''Breaker Morant'' was nominated for an

AWGIE Award The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previou ...

* ''You're Mine, Alice'' (1978);

Little Theatre, Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, February 1978. * ''Sound of Silence'' (1979); Balcony Theatre, Adelaide, July 1979; directed by John Noble. :::''Sound of Silence'' was nominated for an

* ''The Secret Life of Mr Gibney: The Fantasy Life of an Aging English Schoolmaster'' (1980); Nimrod Downstairs, Surry Hills, March 1980. * ''The Death of Danko: The Last Days of Maxim Gorky'' (1981); Space Theatre, Adelaide, April 1981; directed by Brian Debnam. * ''The Right Man; or, The Political Elevation Of Harold'' (1982); Phillip Street Theatre, Sydney, January 1982; directed by Gary Baxter. * ''Sorry, Sold Out'' (1982); Space Theatre, Adelaide, December 1982; directed by John Dick. * ''The World Of Mr Gibney'' (1983).

Musical play

* ''Norman Lindsay and his Push in Bohemia'' (1980) — "A rollicking new musical romp through the Bohemian life and times of Australian poet, painter and folk-hero, Norman Lindsay" — Performed as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts, at the Small Price Theatre, Adelaide, March 1980.

Screenplays (film) advisor

* ''

'' (1980) (directed by

)

Screenplays (film)

* ''Out of the Body'' (1989) (directed by

Brian Trenchard-Smith Brian Medwin Trenchard-Smith (born 1946) is an English-Australian filmmaker and author, known for his idiosyncratic and satirical low-budget genre films. His filmography covers action, science fiction, martial arts, dystopian fiction, comedy, ...

) * ''Dancing on Glass'' (1999

(directed by Kenneth G. Ross)

Screenplays (telemovies)

* '' The Schippan Mystery'' (1984); Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV; directed by Di Drew; first broadcast on 22 September 1984.

Other

* ''A Note from the Playwright'' (1979) * ''"Breaker" Morant – Posh Larrikin'' (1990) * ''The Truth about Harry'' (2002)Ross, (2002).

Notes

References

Victuallers' Licenses, ''The Argus'', (Tuesday, 18 October 1955), p.14.

Brissenden, R.F., "Funds squeeze is slowly throttling Literature Board", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (Wednesday, 15 April 1981), p.7.

Renfrew, B, "Breaker Morant: Hero or Ruthless Killer", ''Gainesville Sun'', No.354, (24 June 1984), p. 11F.
* Ross, K.G., ''Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts'', Edward Arnold, (Melbourne), 1979. * Ross, K.G., "'Breaker' Morant – Posh Larrikin", pp. 4–9 in Gorman, C. (ed), ''The Larrikin Streak: Australian Writers Look at the Legend'', Sun Books, (Chippendale), 1990.

: This was written on the hundredth anniversary of Morant's execution and the twenty-fourth anniversary of the first performance of his play. The same article appeared in the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' of 26 February 2002 in almost identical form.
Symons, M., "'Breaker' writers ride the crest of a myth", ''The (Sydney) Sun-Herald'', (Sunday, 29 June 1980), p.9.

External links

*

The Australian Literature Resource: Ross, Kenneth

AusStage Live Performance Database: Kenneth Ross
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Kenneth G. 1941 births Australian dramatists and playwrights Australian musical theatre lyricists Australian screenwriters Australian television writers People educated at Caulfield Grammar School Living people Australian male television writers People from Brunswick, Victoria Writers from Melbourne