Eleanor Katrine Witcombe (20 September 1923 – 21 October 2018) was an Australian screenwriter and playwright who worked extensively in radio, film and television.

Early life and education

Witcombe was born in

Yorketown, South Australia Yorketown is a town and a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the southern Yorke Peninsula about west of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide and about south of the municipal seat of Maitland, South Au ...

to Bertha Eriksen, who was of Danish and Prussian descent, and Noel Whitcombe. Her father ran a farm there, and later a grocery store. In 1939, the family drove to Queensland, intending to move to

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the '' Endeavour'', for ...

, but ending up in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

where Eleanor and her sister Aileen attended

Brisbane Girls Grammar School Brisbane Girls Grammar School is an independent non-denominational secondary day school for girls, located in Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1875, the school is one of eight grammar schools in Queen ...

. In 1941, Witcombe left school due to chronic asthma, and the family relocated to Sydney, where she attended the

National Art School The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts ...

. She worked as a governess at a New South Wales property during World War II, but was unhappy in the role and dreamt of becoming a writer.

Writing career

In 1947, Witcombe was awarded a scholarship at the

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also r ...

founded by

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia at the age of ten and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudevi ...

. The following year, the Mosman Theatre Club commissioned her to write three plays for children, which received national acclaim and began her writing career. In 1952, she moved to England and worked at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

as a typist. Whilst in London, she managed to get her play, ''Smugglers Beware!'', produced and performed at

Toynbee Hall Toynbee Hall is a charitable institution that works to address the causes and impacts of poverty in the East End of London and elsewhere. Established in 1884, it is based in Commercial Street, Spitalfields, and was the first university-affili ...

. She returned to Australia, and began producing radio scripts for ABC radio, the

Macquarie Network Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media Limited) is an Australian media company, owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and headquartered in North Sydney. The company operates radio stations nationally in the capital cities of Sydney, Melbou ...

and Lux Radio Theatres. In the 1960s, she adapted ''Smugglers Beware!'' and the novel ''

Pastures of the Blue Crane ''Pastures of the Blue Crane'' is an Australian novel by Hesba Fay Brinsmead, published in 1964. The novel won the Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers in 1965. It was adapted for television in 1969. It has recently been reprinted ...

'' for ABC television, and was on the writing team for the sketch comedy series ''

The Mavis Bramston Show ''The Mavis Bramston Show'' is an Australian television satirical sketch comedy revue series that aired on the Seven Network from 1964 to 1968. Mavis was created, written, and co-produced by Carol Raye, who also starred in it and was inspired by ...

'' on the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

. She was also a founding member of the

Australian Writers' Guild The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for Australian performance writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video, and new media. The AWG was established in 1962, and has conferred the AWGIE Awards since 1968, ...

(AWG) in 1962. In the early 1970s, Witcombe adapted two of

Norman Lindsay Norman Alfred William Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, art critic, novelist, cartoonist and amateur boxing, boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of hi ...

's works: ''

The Magic Pudding ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' for a marionette stage show, and '' Redheap'' for television, which resulted in a lifelong friendship with Lindsay's daughter, Jane Glad. She then joined the writing team for the soap opera ''

Number 96 96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when rotated by 180 degrees. In mathematics 96 is: * an octagonal number. * a refactorable number. * an untouchable number. * a semiper ...

''. In 1973, she adapted

Ethel Turner Ethel Turner (24 January 1872 – 8 April 1958) was an English-born Australian novelist and children's literature writer. Life She was born Ethel Mary Burwell in Doncaster in England. Her father died when she was two, leaving her mother Sarah ...

's ''

Seven Little Australians ''Seven Little Australians'' is a classic Australian children's literature novel by Ethel Turner, published in 1894. Set mainly in Sydney in the 1880s, it relates the adventures of the seven mischievous Woolcot children, their stern army father ...

'' for ABC television. In the late 1970s, Witcombe adapted two novels into film scripts which became part of the Australian film renaissance at the time: ''

The Getting of Wisdom ''The Getting of Wisdom'' is a novel by Australian novelist Henry Handel Richardson. It was first published in 1910, and has almost always been in print ever since. Author Henry Handel Richardson was the pseudonym of Ethel Florence Lindesa ...

'' directed by

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director, opera director, screenwriter, and producer. He began his career during the Australian New Wave, and has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally ...

, and '' My Brilliant Career'' directed by

Gillian Armstrong Gillian May Armstrong (born 18 December 1950) is an Australian feature film and documentary film director, director, best known for ''My Brilliant Career (film), My Brilliant Career'' (1979), ''Mrs. Soffel'' (1984), ''High Tide (1987 film), Hi ...

Select credits

*'' Smugglers Beware'' (1963 TV drama) *''

'' *''

'' (mini series) *''

'' *''

'' (1977) *'' My Brilliant Career'' (1979) *'' Water Under the Bridge'' (1980) *''

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

'' (1982) *''

The Harp in the South ''The Harp in the South'' is the debut novel by New Zealand-born Australian author Ruth Park. Published in 1948, it portrays the life of a Catholic Irish Australian family living in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, which was at that time an i ...

'' (1987)

Awards and honours

Witcombe won the AFI Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1978 for ''

'' and in 1979 for '' My Brilliant Career''. In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, Witcombe was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for significant service to the arts as a writer for radio, film, television and theatre.

References

External links

* * *
Eleanor Witcombe Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witcombe, Eleanor 1923 births 2018 deaths Australian screenwriters Australian women screenwriters Australian women dramatists and playwrights Members of the Order of Australia People from South Australia Australian expatriates in England People educated at Brisbane Girls Grammar School