form y separately published work icon John Ross single work   radio play   historical fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 1940... 1940 John Ross
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A radio play by Frank Morgan, based on many versions, both official and unofficial, of the conflict between Ross and Alexandre Hare, for sovereignty of the islands where John Ross the fifth now resigns as hereditary governor. Hare was a governor of Borneo, who had to give up his position when the Dutch bought the island from Britain. Having any amount of money, he set himself, up on the Cocos-Keeling group of islands, with a harem of eighty-four dancing girls, and slaves and orchestra. Ross was appointed his trading partner, but Ross, being a monogamous, God-fearing Scot, soon quarrelled, and lived with his wife on an adjacent island. A curious situation arose, Ross performing the marriage ceremony for members of Hare's harem who escaped with sailors and swam across to Ross's island. It is a diverting tale of a little-known phase of history.'

Source:

'A.B.C. Competition Play No. 7', Kilmore Free Press, 4 July 1940, p.1.

Production Details

  • Broadcast on Friday 5 July 1940.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • c
      Australia,
      c
      :
      Australian Broadcasting Commission ,
      1940 .
      Extent: 45min.p.
      Series: form y separately published work icon ABC Competition Plays Australia : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1940 8879521 1940 series - publisher radio play

      The umbrella term under which all plays that took part in the ABC Play Competition for 1940 were broadcast. Plays were clearly marked as part of this series, and were numbered for broadcast, enabling listeners to vote on them. All radio plays submitted to the ABC between 1 January and 30 April 1940 were eligible, and listeners awarded marks to each play after they were produced and broadcast. The top three plays were eligible for cash bonuses, but the ABC paid the usual commission rates for all plays that it produced as part of the series. Seventeen plays were produced, although some sources suggest as many as 333 additional plays were received.

      Source:

      'A.B.C. Play Competition', Courier-Mail, 5 February 1940, p.14.

      Number in series: 7
Last amended 29 Apr 2016 09:57:37
Subjects:
  • Borneo, Southeast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
  • Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australian External Territories,
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