G. K. Saunders G. K. Saunders i(A15456 works by) (a.k.a. George Kenneth Saunders)
Born: Established: 1910
c
England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
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Western Europe, Europe,
;
Gender: Male
Arrived in Australia: Aug 1939
Heritage: English
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1 2 y separately published work icon Maggie Jackson's Kid G. K. Saunders , Canberra : Aboriginal Studies Press , 1998 Z149292 1998 single work children's fiction historical fiction children's Maggie Jackson's son was born fourteen years ago on a convict ship. His mother, unable to stand the harshness and brutality of life in Sydney in the 1820s, died when the boy was six. Hating the white establishment, he ran away and lived happily with a group of Aboriginal people for the next eight years. When he returned to Sydney he found himself an outcast, an object of contempt, humiliation and even hatred ... until a single act of kindness by the son of newly-arrived settlers starts an exciting chain of events. This changes the lives of others, black and white, who the boys encounter in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales and some in high places on the other side of the world. (Publisher's blurb, back cover).
1 y separately published work icon The Forest Rangers G. K. Saunders , Sydney : Whitcombe and Tombs , 1979 Z1498832 1979 single work children's fiction children's
1 y separately published work icon The Stranger G. K. Saunders , Sydney : Whitcombe and Tombs , 1978 Z1433092 1978 single work novel
1 form y separately published work icon Wandjina! G. K. Saunders , ( dir. Ken Hannam ) Sydney : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1966 Z1850522 1966 series - publisher film/TV children's fantasy science fiction

Now an extremely obscure television program (of which no mention is made on the National Film and Sound Archives website), Wandjina! was a seven-part fantasy series for young viewers, written by G.K Saunders (who, in 1964 and 1965, had scripted The Stranger) and, like The Stranger, produced by the ABC.

Wandjina! followed three young protagonists who stumble across a mysterious valley. In one of the valley's caves, they find cave paintings of the Wandjina spirit people. But after making this discovery, they start to see some odd things.

The central mythology of the program was inspired by the Dreamtime mythology of the Kimberley region of north-west Australia; as such, it represented an early attempt to create a consciously Australian style of fantasy for television (for example, it preceded the television adaptation of Patricia Wrightson's The Nargun and the Stars).

Moran notes in his Guide to Australian TV Series that the program was 'notable in using young Aboriginal actors such as Bindi Williams, as well as bringing some sense of Aboriginal culture to its young, white audience'. The lead roles were taken by Juliana Allan (who played Ensign Eve Poitier in Vega 4 in the following year) and Jacki Weaver (one of her earliest screen roles).

For a detailed, episode-by-episode synopsis, see Notes.

1 2 form y separately published work icon The Stranger G. K. Saunders , ( dir. Gil Brealey ) Sydney : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1964-1965 Z1850367 1964-1965 series - publisher film/TV children's science fiction

Australia's first locally produced science-fiction television program and one of the earliest Australian television programs to be sold overseas, The Stranger followed the adventures of 'Adam Suisse', an alien visitor to Earth. G.K. Saunders had previously written the story as a BBC radio series.

Nan Musgrove's review summarises the plot of the first series as follows:

'"The Stranger," called Adam Suisse (Ron Haddrick), is a being from Soshuniss. He arrives on earth by spaceship, and during a terrific storm is found on the doorstep of the Sydney home of the headmaster of a boys' school.

'He is taken in by the family, and given a job at the school as a master.

'His relationship with the headmaster's son and daughter and one of their friends results in the three teenagers visiting Soshuniss–a visit that is a first-class international mystery.'

Source: Nan Musgrove, 'Kids!–You Can't Fool Them', Australian Women's Weekly, Wed. 29 April 1964, p.15.

The first series ended with the inhabitants of Soshuniss (which can no longer sustain its population) being offered sanctuary in Australia, after an agreement is reached between them, the Australian government, and the United Nations.

However, producer Storry Walton noted in another interview that the second series would complicate the political situation:

'Enormous complications will take place in Australia, New York, and on Soshuniss' [...]

'For instance, the people of Australia, who had accepted wholeheartedly the good intentions of the people of Soshuniss, begin to doubt them. On top of this, there is a revolution on Soshuniss and a new and militant leader is appointed who appears to be a threat to the whole world.'

Source: Nan Musgrove, 'U.S. May Buy A.B.C. Series', Australian Women's Weekly, Wed. 19 August 1964, p.19.

Both writer and designer went to great length to add complexity and depth to the alien aspects of the program. For example, script-writer G.K. Saunders devised an 'alien' language for the inhabitants of Soshuniss to speak among themselves, and ensured that they spoke English with a 'foreign' accent (hence the humans' assumption that The Stranger is Swiss). Similarly, the Soshunissian spaceship was carefully vetted by the CSIRO, to ensure that it was as plausible a spacecraft as possible.

1 form y separately published work icon The Stranger G. K. Saunders , United Kingdom (UK) : British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) , 1963-1964 8141895 1963 series - publisher radio play science fiction

A six-part radio series following the adventures of three Sydney children who meet an alien from the planet Soshuniss. (For a detailed, episode-by-episode synopsis, see Notes.)

The Stranger was produced in Australia as a television series (Australia's first locally produced science-fiction television program and one of the earliest Australian television programs to be sold overseas) in 1964, and series one of the ABC's television version followed the same basic plot as this radio series. See note below for more details on the relationship between the two.

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