''Hector's Bunyip'', is a 1986 Australian TV movie about a young boy who is abducted by a bunyip.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p. 79

Synopsis

Six year old Hector in the youngest of three children in a poor foster family. His best friend is an imaginary creature he calls 'Bunyip'. One day a child welfare officer mistakenly deems the family home unsuitable for Hector, and makes arrangements for him to be placed in the care of an orphanage, but before the agency can follow through, Hector mysteriously 'disappears'. In reality, the family has hidden Hector, claiming he was taken by the 'Bunyip' - with the hope that in the meantime the counselor will change her mind.

Cast

Robert Coleby Robert Coleby (born 1947) is a British actor who has spent most of his career in Australia. Active since the 1970s, he has over 70 film and television credits to his name. Coleby has acted on stage in numerous productions for the Queensland Thea ...

as George Bailey * Barbara Stephens as Irene Bailey *

Gordon Piper Gordon Stephen Piper (3 June 1932 – 18 September 2004) was an Australian actor, theatre director and scriptwriter and comedian active in all facets of the industry including radio, stage, television (including soap opera and TV movies) and film ...

as Jack Benson *

Tushka Bergen Tushka Bergen (born 1969, in London, England) is an Australian actress who has worked in Australia, England, Germany and the United States. In 1988, she was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini Series for he ...

as Pandora Bailey *

Denise Roberts Denise Roberts (born in Glasgow, Scotland), is an Australian actress and director who has worked in theatre, film and television since 1980. She gained initial fame when she played Julie Winters in the ABC-TV medical drama ''G.P.'' from 1989 to 19 ...

as Gladys Glum * Joan Sydney as Maude Trembalt * Joyce Jacobs as Ivy Clements *

Todd Boyce Todd Boyce (born July 1, 1961) is an American film, television and theatre actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Stephen Reid in the successful soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 1996 to 1997, 2007 and again from 2022. Early life Todd ...

as Constable Gilbert Goode *

Syd Heylen Harold Charles Sydney Heylen (25 May 1922 – 4 December 1996), credited variously as Syd Heylen, Sid Heylen and Sydney Heylen, was an Australian character actor of radio, stage, television and film, comedian, and variety performer and soldi ...

as Chooka Morris *

Brian Moll Brian Percy Moll (19 May 1925 – 9 August 2013) was a British-born Australian comedian character actor of stage, television and film and director and producer who emigrated to Australia from his native England in 1950. Quitting his job as a pub ...

as Ernest Sister

Production

The film was shot in the lower

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia ."New Films That Don't Talk Down to Children", ''The Age'', 9 December 1985
accessed 12 July 2013 It was aired on ''

WonderWorks ''WonderWorks'' is an anthology series which ran from 1984 to 1992. Produced by the Public Broadcasting Service, the Walt Disney Company purchased the home video rights to the series in 1987 and was responsible for making the series available t ...

''.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0091189
''Hector's Bunyip''
at Peter Malone's website
''Hector's Bunyip''
at

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature), usually referred to simply as AustLit, is an internet-based, non-profit collaboration betwee ...

Australian television films 1986 television films 1986 films 1980s English-language films