Little is known about this work, but a brief report for the 1956 re-broadcast notes:
'In "The Crater", Sumner Elliott walks up to a simple old story and puts a bit of new life into it.
'He does this – as he must with only 30 minutes at his disposal – by building atmosphere very quickly.
'In this he is guided by his precision observation of the Australian scene and his ability to make it live with workmanlike economy of words'.
Source:
'Chumley', 'Insane, But–', Argus 16 April 1956, p.7.
A note on a 1952 radio broadcast describes it as
'a story of dark doings in Northern Queensland where an extinct volcano has left a gap in the ground, thought by aborigines [sic] and local residents to be haunted.'
Source:
South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus, 24 November 1952, p.2S.
The Crater was first broadcast as a radio play some time prior to 1949, when it was adapted for American television, but no details on the initial broadcast have so far been traced.
It was popular enough, however, to be re-broadcast in 1951 (on Sunday 28 October) and again in 1956 (Sunday 15 April).
See:
'Chumley', 'Insane, But–', Argus, 16 April 1956, p.7.
'New 5 AD Competition: ABC's Play Matinee', Advertiser [Adelaide], 13 October 1951, p.11.