The Bushwoman : A Tale of the Blue Range single work   drama   - 4 Acts
Issue Details: First known date: 1909... 1909 The Bushwoman : A Tale of the Blue Range
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Jack Dunstan, a young selector has chosen a good block of land and sets about looking for a wife. His romance with Kate Brandon the daughter of a nearby farmer is tested, however, by interference from the villainess Leonard Ackroyd, son of a wealthy squatter. Other characters include a major from the Indian army on leave, Kate's awkward lovesick brother, a schoolmistress, a trooper and a 'blackfellow and his lubra' (Age 30 August 1909, p8).

The 'resume of scenes and incidents' is : Act 1. The Harvest in Full Swing ; The Backbone of the Country ; Home Life in the Great Australian Bush ; The Aboriginals ; An Indian Hawkers' Camp ; The Bunyip ; Dead Tree Swamp ; The Aboriginal Stops a Bullet. Act 2. An Important Clue ; Sunshine and Clouds ; The Picnic Among the Ferns ; A Dash for Liberty ; The Last Line of Defence ; The Battle of the Bridge ; The Bushwoman's Triumph. Act 3. The Milking Yard ; Dan as a Separator ; The Kyber Pass ; The Council of War ; The Horseshoe Gorge ; A Forest Giant ; The Great Tree Sensation ; The Bushwoman to the Rescue. Act 4. School In ; Nature Study ; Dan's Philosophy ; Trapped at Last ; The Arrest ; Turning the Tables ; The Bushwoman.

Production Details

  • 1909 : King's Theatre, Melbourne ; 28 August - 17 Sept. Dir. J. H. Nunn ; Prod. William Anderson (q.v.) ; Music Dir. George Sutch ; Scenic Art Rege Robins ; Cost. Madame Edwards. - Company William Anderson's Famous Dramatic organisation. - Cast incl. Roy Redgrave (Jack Dunstan, a young selector), Edmund Duggan (Ned Brandon, an Australian farmer), Daisy Scudamore (Kate Brandon, the bushwoman), Sterling Whyte (Money Maxwell, a squatter), Lawrence Dunbar (Leonard Ackroyd, Maxwell's nephew), Bert Bailey (Arthur Wellesley O'Hara, a major in the 3rd Punjab Light Infantry), Max Clifton (Dan Brandon, Ned's son), Walter Dalgleish (Dave Glennon, a mounted trooper), Temple Harrison (Billy, a blackfellow), George McKenzie (Ferrah Singh, an Indian hawker), Edwin Campbell (Chandra Null, an Indian hawker), J. H. Nunn (Sundowner Jim, a long colonial), Leo. Leonard (Johnny Pascoe, a schoolboy), Lilly Bryer (Mrs Brandon), Fanny Erris (Mollie Moore), Olive Wilton (Mrs Fortesque, the major's sister), Kathleen Lorimer (Lily, a lubra), Maud Coshan, (Mary, a house maid).

    NB: Lawrence Dunbar's christian name is sometimes spelled Laurence. It is not clear if George Mackenzie is the same person billed in other productions as James Mackenzie.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

The King's Theatre - 'The Bushwoman' 1909 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 30 August 1909; (p. 8)

— Review of The Bushwoman : A Tale of the Blue Range Joseph Smith , 1909 single work drama
The King's Theatre - 'The Bushwoman' 1909 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 30 August 1909; (p. 8)

— Review of The Bushwoman : A Tale of the Blue Range Joseph Smith , 1909 single work drama
Last amended 26 Apr 2007 10:44:03
X