The Timeless Land

The Timeless Land (1941) is a work of historical fiction by Eleanor Dark (1901–1985). The novel The Timeless Land is the first of The Timeless Land trilogy of novels about European settlement and exploration of Australia.

Story and characters

The narrative is told from European and Aboriginal points of view. The novel begins with two Aboriginal men watching the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Harbour on 26 January 1788. The novel describes the first years of the colony and the diplomacy of captain Arthur Phillip, famine and the effects of outside diseases on the previously unexposed Aboriginal population. The novel ends in a dramatic climax when troops encounter an escaped convict. Dark conducted her historical research at the Mitchell Library in Sydney. Watkin Tench, author of The Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson, is a key character in The Timeless Land. The book was reprinted in 2002 and the novel was on the curriculum for high school students in Australia in the mid-twentieth century.

The subsequent books in The Timeless Land trilogy are Storm of Time (1948) and No Barrier (1953).

Reception

It sold more than 50,000 copies in Australia.

Television production

A television series was produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, premiering on 4 September 1980. It was written by Peter Yeldham, based on the Eleanor Dark novels, and starred Charles Yunupingu as Bennelong and English actress Nicola Pagett (star of the British series Upstairs, Downstairs) as Mrs. Mannion. Other actors included Ray Barrett and John Frawley. The music was by Bruce Smeaton.

Production of the series had first been announced in 1976 but was postponed due to the large budget required. International rights to the series were sold to Paramount for $1 million. Shooting took place in Kellyville, an outer suburb of Sydney.

The 8 episodes of The Timeless Land commenced with a movie-length premiere:

1. A ship with white wings
2. Unsuitable company
3. The fabric of liberty
4. Double standards
5. Smell of rebellion
6. A declaration of war
7. Prisoner at the bar
8. A new order

In 2006, the Australian Broadcasting Commission released the television series on 3 DVDs, the episodes totalling 424 minutes.

Cast

• Ray Barrett as Governor Bligh
• Heather Christie as Anne King
• Peter Collingwood as Governor Phillip
• Athol Compton as Billalong
• Ralph Cotterill as Finn
• Peter Cousens as Patrick Mannion
• John Cousins as Reverend Marsden
• Michael Craig as Stephen Mannion
• Max Cullen as Byrne
• Patrick Dickson as Mark Harvey
• Gary Duggan as Chaplain
• John Faasen as George Crossley
• John Frawley as Governor King
• Adam Garnett as Johnny - boy
• Vincent Gil as Cunningham
• Charles Yunupingu as Bennelong
• John Hamblin as Robert Campbell
• Chris Haywood as Johnny
• Brian Hinzlewood as Capt Johnston
• Robert Hughes (actor) as Captain Kemp
• Vic Hunter as Abbott
• Johnny Johnstone as Evans
• Peter Kowitz as Gregory Blaxland
• Don Mamouney as Doolan
• Clive Marshall as Lynch
• Bill McCluskey as Winden
• Brett Nevill as Convict
• Kirrily Nolan as Mary Putland
• Kate Parker as Mrs. Blake
• Geneviève Picot as Emily
• Angela Punch McGregor as Ellen
• Michael K. Ross as Governor's Aide
• Robin Stewart as John Macarthur
• Charlie Strachan as Driver
• Noel Trevarthen as Collins
• Anna Volska as Sarah
• Nicola Pagett as Conor Mannion
• Craig Walker as Governor MacArthur's doorman
• Les Foxcroft as Sailor

Notes and references

See also

• Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life (1870–1872)
• Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore (1987)

References

• The Timeless Land, Eleanor Dark. Introduction by Barbara Brooks and Humphrey McQueen. Pymble, NSW. HarperCollins Publishers Australia. 2002. ISBN 0-207-19877-2

External links

• The Timeless Land at the Open Library
• The Timeless Land at IMDb
• Varuna: The Writers House