''Manganinnie'' is an AFI Award-winning 1980 film which follows the journey of Manganinnie, a

Tasmanian Aboriginal The Aboriginal Tasmanians (Palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. For much of the 20th century, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people were widely, and ...

woman who searches for her tribe with the company of a lost white girl named Joanna. Based on Beth Roberts' novel of the same name, it was directed by John Honey and was the first feature film to be financed by the short-lived Tasmanian Film Corporation.

Synopsis

During the

Black War } The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Tasmanians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. The conflict, fought largely as a guerrilla war by both sides, claimed the lives of 600 to 900 Aborig ...

of 1830 in the

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

, Manganinnie survives a raid on her village. She finds the body of her husband, Meenopeekameena, and builds him a

funeral pyre A pyre ( grc, πυρά; ''pyrá'', from , ''pyr'', "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the ...

. The grieving Manganinnie journeys across vast mountains and rivers towards the coast in search of the rest of her tribe. She finds Joanna, a lost white girl, along her way. The pair develop a bond for each other despite not having a common language. Manganinnie teaches Joanna some of her traditional knowledge, and eventually initiates her into her tribe. Ultimately however, Manganinnie comes to realise that her people and way of life has been destroyed by encroachment from white settlers. When Joanna is asleep, she carries the girl back to her family. Joanna struggles to adapt back to life with her family. One day Manganinnie's body is found, and Joanna gives her old friend a traditional funeral using the lessons she has learned.

Production

Filming started 12 November 1979 and took five weeks.

Filming locations

West Coast Range The West Coast Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The range lies to the west and north of the main parts of the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. The range has had a significant numb ...

, Australia

Australian Premiere

The State Cinema hosted the Australian premiere of Manganinnie in August 1980. The event was attended by actors Mawuyul Yanthalawuy and Anna Ralph, as well as the

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

Sir Stanley Burbury and Tasmanian Premier Doug Lowe.

Reception

Despite the grim subject matter the film recovered its costs and made a small profit.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p35

Awards

* Won AFI Award,

Peter Sculthorpe Peter Joshua Sculthorpe (29 April 1929 – 8 August 2014) was an Australian composer. Much of his music resulted from an interest in the music of countries neighboring Australia as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of Aborigin ...

– Best Original Music Score (1980)afi.org.au – AFI AWARD WINNERS: FEATURE CATEGORIES 1958–2010
* Won

AWGIE Awards The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previou ...

– Best Screenplay (1980) * Winner 12th Moscow International Children's Film Festival – Best Production Design (1980) * Winner Festival International de France (1980)

Postscript

Anna Ralph, who played the little white girl Joanna, is now an Associate Professor of infectious diseases working at

Royal Darwin Hospital Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) is a 360-bed Australian teaching hospital located in Tiwi, Northern Territory, a northern suburb of the Territory capital Darwin. It is part of the Top End Health Service, which covers an area of . RDH is the only ...

looking after patients, including Aboriginal peoples.

References

External links

''Manganinnie'' – Archives Office of Tasmania
*
''Manganinnie''
at Oz Movies {{Films and television series about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians 1980 films 1980 drama films Australian drama films Films about Aboriginal Australians Films set in colonial Australia Films set in Tasmania 1980s English-language films