George Kenneth Saunders (1910–2005), also known as Ken Saunders, was a New Zealand writer, born in England, who had a substantial career in Australia.

Career

After leaving

Canterbury University The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

, he secured a job writing scripts for radio 3ZD

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. Hoping to expand his horizons, he emigrated to Australia in August 1939 with his wife Mona. Introduced by

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Federal Controller of Productions Frank Clewlow, who was recruiting staff for the newly reconstituted

Argonauts Club ''The Argonauts Club'' was an Australian children's radio program, first broadcast in 1933 on ABC Radio Melbourne. Its format was devised by Nina Murdoch who had run the station's Children's Hour as "Pat". The show was discontinued in 1934 when Ni ...

and its companion program "The Children's Session", he was immediately put to work developing the on-air characters of 'Mac', 'Joe' and 'Elizabeth', and concocting humorous vignettes to brighten up the show. He was also writing scripts for the

Macquarie Network Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media Limited) is an Australian media company, owned by parent company Nine Entertainment Co. and headquartered in North Sydney, New South Wales, the company operates radio stations nationally in the capital ci ...

's ''Lux Radio Theatre'', but with Australia's entry into World War II, he was recruited into the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

, leaving only Sundays for him to develop scripts for the ABC. Mona handled his correspondence as well as scripts and quizzes for the Argosy and Brains Trust, weekend programs associated with the Argonauts. After the War, he was able to devote more attention to stories for the Children's Hour. ''The Moon Flower'' and ''The First Planet'', science fiction serials aired in 1953, were so successful he went on to write a dozen more; all highly speculative yet incorporating important scientific principles. ''The Stranger'' was sold overseas as a radio serial and also published as a novel. Around 1957 he and Mona moved to England to gain experience writing for television, but kept up his commitments with the ABC by writing a serial ''The Nomads'' about a family caravanning about Europe. In the end it ran for 400 episodes. It was not without its detractors, however; in 1960 the politician Sir

Wilfrid Kent Hughes Sir Wilfrid Selwyn "Bill" Kent Hughes (12 June 1895 – 31 July 1970) was an Australian army officer and politician who had a long career in both state and federal politics, most notably as a minister in the Menzies Government. He also ...

saw the story as subtle Communist propaganda and made a vitriolic speech to the

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Young Liberals to that effect. Mona Saunders (née Beri) (1910–1994) wrote their joint autobiography ''Lucky Couple'', published in 1998.

Screen

*'' The Stranger'' 1964-65 ABCTV series (12 × 30min episodes) *''

Wandjina! ''Wandjina!'' was an Australian Children's television series, children's science fantasy television series produced by ABC Television (Australian TV network), ABC Television and first aired in 1966. Its story, inspired by Dreamtime mythology of ...

'' 1966 ABCTV series (7 × 30min episodes)

Publications

*''ABC Children's Hour Annuals'' 1956 - Educational Press for ABC, Sydney 1956 - *''The Stranger'' Whitcombe & Tombs, Sydney 1978 *''The Forest Rangers'' Whitcoulls, Christchurch New Zealand 1979 *''Maggie Jackson's Kid'' Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra 1998 *''Lucky Couple'' (Mona Saunders and Ken Saunders), The Caxton Press 1998

Sources

*The Golden Age of the Argonauts'' Rob Johnson, Hodder & Stoughton 1997

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, G. K. New Zealand radio writers New Zealand expatriates in Australia Australian radio writers Australian science fiction writers Australian television writers 1910 births 2005 deaths Australian male novelists Australian male television writers 20th-century Australian screenwriters British emigrants to New Zealand