Issue Details: First known date: 1907... 1907 The Squatter's Daughter, or, The Land of the Wattle
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Set largely on a sheep station in rural Australia, the storyline concerns a rivalry between two neighbouring stations: Enderby (owned by Violet Enderby) and Waratah (owned by the Harringtons). While the elder Harrington is away, his weak-willed son is manipulated by the station overseer into attempting to bankrupt Enderby station. The plan almost succeeds but is foiled by a stranger to the district, Archie McPhearson.

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon The Squatter's Daughter Bert Bailey , Edmund Duggan , ( dir. Bert Bailey ) Australia : William Anderson , 1910 Z1618643 1910 single work film/TV Set largely on a sheep station in rural Australia, the storyline concerns a rivalty between two neighbouring stations: Enderby (owned by Violet Enderby) and Waratah (owned by the Harringtons). In the elder Harrington's absence, his weak-willed son has been manipulated by the station overseer into attempting to bankrupt the Enderby station. The plan almost succeeds but is foiled by a stranger to the district, Archie McPherson. An additional storyline concerns the exploits of bushranger Ben Hall.
form y separately published work icon The Squatter's Daughter Gayne Dexter , E. V. Timms , ( dir. Ken G. Hall ) Australia : Cinesound Productions , 1933 Z49664 1933 single work film/TV

Although based on the 1905 play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan (which was itself more faithfully adapted for film in 1910), this cinematic version retains little of the original. The storyline begins with Joan Enderby about to lose her family's sheep station because she can't afford to buy out the lease from her neighbours, the Sherringtons. To make matters worse, the elderly 'Ironbark' Sherrington, the owner of 'Waratah,' has been in England for two years allowing his villainous son Clive to try and remove Joan from the property. His attempt to bankrupt her is foiled, however, when a mysterious stranger offers to buy three thousand head of sheep from her at a good price. What she doesn't know is that the stranger, Wayne Ridgeway, is also rightful heir to the Sherrington estate. The only person who knows Ridgeway's identity is an Afghan trader called Jebal Zim, but he is murdered by Clive's overseer before he can tell the recently returned Ironbark Sherrington. Typical of the melodrama genre, the story's climax is played out in a thrilling scene - a bushfire - as Joan and Ridgeway try to deliver three thousand sheep to the market. After escaping the fire, they rescue Zim's kidnapped daughter, Zena and capture the overseer, Fletcher. Naturally Ridgeway is restored to his rightful inheritance, and he and Joan marry.

[Source: Australian Screen]

Production Details

  • First performed by the William Anderson Dramatic Company at the Theatre Royal in Melbourne on 9 February 1907.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1907
      1907 .

      Holdings

      Held at: National Archives of Australia National Archives Library
      Local Id: A1336 - 22
      Note:
      Copyright application by Albert Bailey and Edmund Duggan, dated 12 February 1907. Registered 10 April 1907. Playscript included.
      ca. 1907 .

      Holdings

      Held at: National Library of Australia
      Local Id: MS 6304
      Note:
      Papers of Edmund Duggan, 1900-1919
      1907 .
      Extent: 18 l.p.
      (Manuscript) assertion

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Queensland University of Queensland Library Fryer Library
      Location: The Hanger Collection of Australian Playscripts
      Local Id: H0505
      .
      (Manuscript) assertion

      Holdings

      Held at: National Library of Australia
      Local Id: NLA MS 6141
      Note:
      Papers of Bert Bailey (1895-1952) - National Library of Australia

Works about this Work

Lively Art, Dismal Science : A Century of Queensland Playwriting Paul Galloway , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Hot Iron Corrugated Sky : 100 Years of Queensland Writing 2002; (p. 200-213)
The Australian Play Louis Esson , 1910 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 27 October vol. 31 no. 1602 1910; (p. 2)
The Squatter's Daughter i "Miss Duggan, the Squatter's Daughter,", 1907 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 7 March vol. 28 no. 1412 1907; (p. 8)
Lively Art, Dismal Science : A Century of Queensland Playwriting Paul Galloway , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Hot Iron Corrugated Sky : 100 Years of Queensland Writing 2002; (p. 200-213)
The Squatter's Daughter i "Miss Duggan, the Squatter's Daughter,", 1907 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 7 March vol. 28 no. 1412 1907; (p. 8)
The Australian Play Louis Esson , 1910 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 27 October vol. 31 no. 1602 1910; (p. 2)
Last amended 16 Dec 2015 13:57:00
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