This unproduced screenplay tells the real-life story of Scottish woman Eliza Fraser, who was one of eighteen people aboard the HMS Stirling Castle when it was shipwrecked in 1836. The ship, which was captained by Fraser's husband, struck a reef several hundred kilometres north of the Queensland island that now bears Fraser's name. The survivors launched a boat and eventually reached Waddy Point on the island, but they were soon afterwards captured by the local Aboriginal tribe. Stripped of their clothing and forced to endure slave-like conditions, most of the group (including Fraser's husband) either died from starvation or were killed by the tribe. Fraser was eventually found by an escaped convict, John Graham, who had lived for six years with the Aborigines. Graham is said to have won the confidence of his captors by accepting their customs (including nudity).
This screenplay was written in 1969, but Tim Burtsall and Patrick Ryan (Eltham Productions) were unable to put it in production at that time. When it became known that a British-made film was being considered (with Vanessa Redgrave or Julie Christie in the running for the lead role), Burstall moved quickly to get his production underway. The eventual narrative by David Williamson, although based on the Burstall/Ryan version, is nevertheless a distinctly separate screenplay.
Eliza Fraser
( dir. Tim Burstall
)
Melbourne
:
Hexagon Productions
,
1976
Z185183
1976
single work
film/TV
Eliza Fraser tells the real-life story of a Scottish woman, one of eighteen people aboard the HMS Stirling Castle (captained by Fraser's husband) in 1836, when the ship struck a reef and was wrecked several hundred kilometres north of the Queensland island that now bears Fraser's name. The survivors launched a boat and eventually made it to Waddy Point on the island, but they were soon afterwards captured by the local Aboriginal tribe. Stripped of their clothing and forced to endure slave-like conditions, most of the group (including Fraser's husband) either died from starvation or were killed by the tribe. Fraser was eventually found by an escaped convict, John Graham, who had lived for six years with the local Aboriginal people. Graham is said to have won the confidence of his captors by accepting their customs (including nudity). The film's narrative sees Fraser return to 'civilisation,' where she makes a good deal of money in carnival sideshows telling a sensational version of her experiences.
