''The Last Frontier'' is a 1986 American-Australian television

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

starring

Linda Evans Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is a retired American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s, she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck), in the Wes ...

, Jack Thompson and

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he gained a reputation as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Robards received numerous accola ...

Plot

The series is set in Los Angeles and Australia. Kate Adamson (

) is a struggling single mother from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She meets and falls in love with Australian cattle

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

owner Tom Hannon (

Tony Bonner Anthony Frederick Bonner (born 23 November 1943) is an Australian television, film, and stage actor and singer. Bonner became famous in the 1960s children's television series ''Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'', later moving on to lead roles in th ...

) who is visiting America. The couple marry after a two-week courtship. Tom leaves for Australia and Kate agrees to follow. Her two children Tina and Marty are unenthusiastic about the move but are convinced by their mother to come along. They arrive in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, but Tom is not there to meet them. Unaware that Tom has been killed in a plane crash on the way home from California, they make their way to Larapinta, Tom's cattle station near

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

. Their arrival comes as a shock to Tom's two young daughters Zoe and Emma who were not told of Tom's marriage (he wanted to surprise them). Kate considers leaving, but realizing that she has no money for a return trip, she resolves to stay despite a desperate

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

. She is soon visited by Ed Stenning (

) and his daughter Meg (

Judy Morris Judith Ann Morris (born 17 February 1947) is an Australian character actress, as well as a film director and screenwriter, well known for the variety of roles she played in 58 different television shows and films, starting her career as a child ...

). Ed is a local land baron and the owner of Cutta Cutta, a huge station that borders Larapinta. Stenning wants to incorporate Larapinta into his holdings and tries to force Kate to sell. Her children want to sell and return to California but Tom's daughters insist that they keep the station going. Kate also begins a relationship with Nick Stenning, Ed's estranged son. Larapinta's primary water bore runs dry and Kate must drill a new one or the cattle will die. Shortly after the well is drilled it is sabotaged. Marty sees Ed at the site of the explosion holding a stick of

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

and Kate files charges against him. At the trial Ed collapses and it becomes apparent that he is dying. Ed and Nick reconcile and Nick realizes that it was Meg who blew up the bore. Nick's reconciliation with Ed causes a break with Kate. Kate eventually realizes that Meg was responsible for the bore and Kate confronts Meg. Nick and Kate reconcile.

Cast

as Kate Hannon * Jack Thompson as Nick Stenning *

Peter Billingsley Peter Billingsley (born April 16, 1971), also known as Peter Michaelsen and Peter Billingsley-Michaelsen, is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for portraying Ralphie Parker in ''A Christmas Story'' and ''A Christmas Story Christm ...

as Marty Adamson *

Meredith Salenger Meredith Salenger (born March 14, 1970) is an American actress. Her credits include the 1985 film '' The Journey of Natty Gann'', as the title character, and the 1989 teen comedy '' Dream a Little Dream''. Early life Salenger was born and raise ...

as Tina Adamson *

as Ed Stenning *

as Megan "Meg" Stenning *

Beth Buchanan Beth Christine Buchanan (born 10 March 1972), is an Australian actress and social worker. She is best known for the television roles as Gemma Ramsay in ''Neighbours'', and Susan Croydon in ''Blue Heelers''. She was also a long-standing member ...

as Zoe Hannon *

Asher Keddie Asher Keddie (born 31 July 1974) is an Australian actress. Beginning her career in the television series ''Five Mile Creek'' in the mid 1980s, Keddie received wide recognition for her role in the television series ''Offspring''. Her significant ...

as Emma Hannon *

as Tom Hannon *

John Ewart John Reford Ewart (26 February 1928 – 8 March 1994) was an Australian actor of radio, stage, television and film. Ewart was a double nominee (and one/time winner) of the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Early life Ewart was ...

as Henry Dingwell *

Leslie Dayman Leslie Calmond Dayman (19 January 1933 – 20 October 2023), credited as Les Dayman, was an Australian actor with a career spanning over 50 years, he was best known for his performances on television (serials and telemovies) and film, major sm ...

as Bowman *

Les Foxcroft Clement Leslie Foxcroft (19 November 1918 – 24 June 2004) professionally known as Les Foxcroft and credited also as Lester Foxcroft was an Australian character actor with a career spanning over 50 years, working in all major facets of the ...

as Ralph

Production

The miniseries was filmed on location the outback of the Northern Territory, and South Australia except for the Los Angeles scenes which were filmed in that city. The fictional Larapinta and Cutta Cutta stations were filmed on outback locations. The name of Larapinta is derived from an aboriginal word that means "salty river" while Cutta Cutta means "many stars". The cast included a mix of American and Australian actors.

Reception

The mini-series was a huge ratings success in Australia, earning a share of 40%.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Frontier 1980s Australian television miniseries 1986 Australian television series debuts 1986 Australian television series endings 1980s American television miniseries Films directed by Simon Wincer Television shows set in the Northern Territory American English-language television shows Television series by Hanna-Barbera