''Wandjina!'' was an Australian

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scient ...

television series produced by

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

and first aired in 1966. Its story, inspired by

Dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...

mythology of the spirit ancestors of the Kimberley region of north-West Australia, was about three teenagers caught up in an adventure linked to local sacred Aboriginal cave paintings of the Wandjina — the "people from the sky" who visited long ago, in the

. ''Wandjina!'' was the first drama production by ABC in Sydney that combined film and videotape footage.

Synopsis

A team of scientists, including Miss Smith, venture into the Australian outback to investigate strange incidents. Donald MacPherson, a Scots-born anthropologist, discovers aboriginal cave paintings depicting mythical alien beings—the ' Wandjina', an extraterrestrial race that visited the ancient aborigines. Disturbing events suggest that not only are the beings real, they have not all left. Ann MacPherson, the anthropologist's daughter, and Linda, an aboriginal girl, explore the Wandjina caves near Booala Station and stumble upon a cave full of skeletons. They see some strange things: In one scene a mysterious hooded figure hunts kangaroos with a rod that strikes them down silently from a distance. The Wandjina resemble hooded monks with what look like life-support backpacks, similar to those used by astronauts. Their power base is a lighthouse-style tower above the farmland. In one episode, gale-force winds occur when an elongated skull, the Wandjina Skull, is dug up from the sands.

Cast

* John Gregg * Bob Haddow *

Anne Haddy Anne Haddy (5 October 1930 – 6 June 1999), credited also as Anne Hardy, was an Australian actress, television presenter and voice artist, who worked in various facets of the industry including radio, stage and television. She was married ...

as Miss Smith, an intelligence agent * Brian James *

Mark McManus Mark McManus (21 February 1935 – 6 June 1994) was a Scottish actor. He has played roles in British television series ''Sam,'' ''Bulman, The Brothers, Strangers,'' and ''Dramarama'' and starred in the feature film ''2000 Weeks''. He was best ...

as Donald MacPherson, an anthropologist *

Kit Taylor Kit Taylor (born 1942) is an Australian actor, and the son of actor Grant Taylor. He made his acting debut as Jim Hawkins in the film '' Long John Silver'' (1954) and the associated TV series ''The Adventures of Long John Silver ''The Adv ...

Lou Vernon Lou Vernon (26 June 1888, Brisbane – 22 December 1971, Sydney) was an Australian actor of stage, radio and screen and producer. He started his career in musical comedy, and was particularly noted for his versatility and ability as a character a ...

* Julianna Allan as Linda *

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...

as Ann MacPherson *

Candy Williams Claude "Candy" Williams (1929–1983) was an Aboriginal Australian musician, known for his country and western singing, often termed the Aboriginal country music. He was an active advocate for the advancement of his people, and also appeared in s ...

as Charlie * David Yorston

Production

The series was based on a radio serial, ''Country of the Skull'', by G. K. Saunders, who had also written ''The Stranger''. White actor Julianna Allan was cast as an Aboriginal girl. Filming began in September 1965 on location in Western New South Wales including Cooper's Creek and

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It ...

. It was also shot at the ABC studios.

Reception

The ''Canberra Times'' said, "It is hard to chase the spectre of '' Blue Hills'' out of the mind. Whether teenagers will fall for it is doubtful. It could be that the producers have underestimated their sophistication. Linda, the aboriginal playmate of the station owner's daughter, Anne, looks just like what she is — a white girl with obvious make-up, (the blurb says they had trouble with this owing to water colour difficulties, and it is apparent on the screen); when she opens her mouth she sounds like a graduate from a specially selected girls' school. These two points combined don't add to the authenticity."

References

External links

*
Wandjina! Episode 5
at Australian Screenonline Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Australian science fiction television series Australian children's television series 1966 Australian television series debuts Black-and-white Australian television shows Television series about ancient astronauts {{Australia-tv-prog-stub