''All the Rivers Run'' is an Australian

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

Nancy Cato Nancy Fotheringham Cato (11 March 19173 July 2000) was an Australian writer who published more than twenty historical novels, biographies and volumes of poetry. Cato is also known for her work campaigning on environmental and conservation issu ...

, first published in 1958. It was adapted as a 1983 Australian television mini-series starring

Sigrid Thornton Sigrid Madeline Thornton (born 12 February 1959) is an Australian film and television actress. Her television work includes '' Prisoner'' (1979–80), '' All the Rivers Run'' (1983), '' SeaChange'' (1998–2019) and '' Wentworth'' (2016–2018 ...

and

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

. The mini-series is marketed with the tagline ''A sweeping saga of one woman's struggle for survival''. A sequel, ''All the Rivers Run II'', was produced in 1989.

Story

''All the Rivers Run'' follows the life of English girl, Philadelphia Gordon, from the time when she is shipwrecked and orphaned off the coast of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1890. She spends most of her life around

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest ...

, on the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

, and invests some of her inheritance in the

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

called PS ''Philadelphia''. Her life is changed forever when she meets paddle steamer captain Brenton Edwards. She is torn between the harsh beauty of life on the river with its adventures, and the society life in Melbourne with her blossoming career as a painter. It is an adventure and a love story: between her, the men in her life, and the river.

Miniseries

Main cast

– Philadelphia Gordon *

– Brenton Edwards *

Charles Tingwell Charles William Tingwell AM (3 January 1923 – 15 May 2009), known professionally as Bud Tingwell or Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, was an Australian film, television, theatre and radio actor. One of the veterans of Australian film, he acted in his ...

– Uncle Charles * Nicholas Brown – Gordon * Dinah Shearing – Aunt Hester *

Adrian Wright Adrian Wright (1 July 1947 – 28 November 2015) was English Australian actor remembered for his roles in the 1970s children's television series ''Freewheelers'' and the Australian serial ''Prisoner'' in which he played male nurse Neil Murray, ...

– Alistair Raeburn *

Diane Craig Diane Mary Craig (born 1949), sometimes credited as Di Craig, is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress best known for her performances in film and television. She was born in County Down, and since 1971 has been married to award-winning Aust ...

– Miss Barrett *

Gus Mercurio Augustino Eugenio Mercurio (10 August 19287 December 2010) better known as Gus Mercurio, was an American-born Australian character actor who appeared in radio, television, and film. Early life Mercurio, the eldest child of Vincent A. Mercurio ...

– Tom Gritchley * John Alansu – Ah Lee * William Upjohn – Adam * Frank Gallacher – Mac * Constance Landsberg – Bessie Griggs *

Darius Perkins Darius Anton Perkins (28 October 1964 – 2 January 2019) was an Australian actor. He was the original actor in the role of teenager Scott Robinson in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' in 1985 before the role was taken over by Jason Donovan the foll ...

– Ben *

Caroline Gillmer Caroline Gillmer (born 1955) is an Australian actress, best known for her roles in various television series, such as ''Prisoner'' as Helen Smart and ''Neighbours'' as Cheryl Stark. During her time off sick from ''Neighbours'', Gillmer was t ...

– Mabel Blackeney * Kirk Alexander – Jim * Celia de Burgh – Imogen *

Chantal Contouri Chantal Contouri (born 1950; sometimes credited as Chantal Cantouri, el, Σαντάλ Κοντούρη) is a Greek Australian television and film actress and former dancer, best known for her role in the 1970s soap opera ''Number 96'', as nurs ...

– Julia * Nick Waters – Mr. Slope *

Carol Burns Carol Ann Burns (29 October 1947 – 22 December 2015) was an Australian actress, theatre director and patron of the arts, with a career spanning 50 years. She worked extensively in theatre and television serials, as well as telemovies and min ...

– Mrs. Slope *

Vivean Gray Jean Vivra Gray (20 July 1924 – 29 July 2016), known professionally as Vivean Gray, also credited as ''Vivian Gray'' and ''Viven Gray'', was an English television and film actress. She starred in the films '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' a ...

– Alicia Raeburn *

Betty Lucas Betty Helen Lucas (31 May 1924 – 7 April 2015), also known as Betty Lucas Peterson, was an Australian character actress and theatre director, known for her numerous roles on stage and television, starting from the post-WWII years in 1945. Biog ...

– Janet Raeburn

Production

Both mini-series were shot on location in Echuca,Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p171 as well as locations in Melbourne. The paddle steamer PS ''Pevensey'' was filmed as the PS ''Philadelphia''. Today, visitors to Echuca can take short trips on it.Echuca Paddlesteamers, http://www.echucapaddlesteamers.net.au

Release

Versions

The first series comprises four two-hour episodes first broadcast in October 1983, the second series comprises two two-hour episodes first broadcast on 18 March 1990. In the US, the mini-series was shown on the premium channel,

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

, premiering on 15 January 1984.''HBO program guide: January 1984''The New York Times: All the Rivers Run (1984)''
Retrieved 3 September 2011 ''All the Rivers Run: The Definitive Collection'' DVDs contains both mini-series, as Parts I and II.Crawford Productions Pty Ltd, ''All the Rivers Run 1 & 2'', DVD The Part 1, ''All the Rivers Run I'', is on 3 DVDs, with 8 episodes of approximately 48 minutes each (even though they are advertised as one-hour episodes). Disc 1 contains episode 1 (51 minutes 28 seconds) and episode 2 (45:58). Disc 2 contains episode 3 (46:25), episode 4 (47:37) and episode 5 (48:57). Disc 3 contains episode 6 (50:14), episode 7 (48:01), episode 8 (48:30), a three-minute interview with John Waters, an eight-minute interview with Sigrid Thornton and a trailer/promotion for the mini-series. The Part 2, ''All the Rivers Run II'', is on 2 DVDs. The first disc contains episode 1 (1 hour 36 minutes 34 seconds) and the second disc contains episode 2 (1:37:47). It also includes an audio CD with the soundtrack from the mini-series.

Reception

The series was a massive ratings success in Australia and was sold to over 70 countries, including the US, where it was screened by

premiering on 15 January 1984 on the network.Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', AFTRS 1993 p 53 and in USSR where it ran in 1988.

''All the Rivers Run II''

The sequel follows on with the same main characters, but with actress Nikki Coghill replacing Sigrid Thornton in the leading role. New characters include Cyrus P. James, a handsome American, and Arthur Blackwell (Tim Robertson), a rich villain who wants to buy out the PS ''Philadelphia''.

Main cast

– Brenton Edwards *

Nikki Coghill Nicola Vicars Coghill (born 4 January 1964) is an Australian actress. She is best known for playing the roles of Sister Jackie Crane in ''The Flying Doctors'', and Miranda Parker in '' Neighbours''. Career Coghill was born in Melbourne. She h ...

– Philadelphia Gordon *

Parker Stevenson Richard Stevenson Parker Jr. (born June 4, 1952), known professionally as Parker Stevenson, is an American actor best known for playing Frank Hardy in the 1970s TV series ''The Hardy Boys'' and Craig Pomeroy on the 1990s TV series '' Baywatch' ...

– Cyrus *

– Uncle Charles * John Jacobs – Sid * John Alansu – Ah Lee * Sudi de Winter – Gordon *

Tim Robertson Tim Robertson is an Australian actor and writer. He is a graduate of the University of Western Australia] (1965) and taught at Flinders University in Adelaide, where he began adapting and directing plays. He joined the Australian Performing Gro ...

– Blackwell * Alan Fletcher (actor), Alan Fletcher – McLean * Kahlie Sneddon – Meg * Eric McKibbin – Brenny *

Gil Tucker Gil Tucker (born 23 August 1947) is an Australian television actor, most remembered for his role as Constable Roy Baker in the television crime drama ''Cop Shop''.

– Hopkins * Jon Concannon – Bates * Michele Fawdon – Ruth *

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

– Enright *

Peta Toppano Peita Margaret Toppano (born 1951)GRO Birth Index EnglandLawson, Valerie. , ''Sydney Morning Herald'' (13 December 2003): "They fell in love and married in 1950 in a church at Golders Green, London. Their daughter, Peta, was born a year later." ...

– Eunice Pyke

References

External links

Source of novel title
*
''All the Rivers Run''
at

Australian Screen Online The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

{{Bruce Rowland 1983 films Australian drama television series 1980s Australian television miniseries Films based on Australian novels Films based on romance novels Television shows set in Victoria (Australia) 1983 Australian television series debuts HBO original programming Murray River Television shows set in colonial Australia English-language television shows 1983 Australian television series endings 1958 Australian novels