fantasy novel
Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...
set in Australia, written by Patricia Wrightson. It was among the first Australian books for children to draw on
Australian Aboriginal mythology
Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology is the sacred spirituality represented in the stories performed by Aboriginal Australians within each of the language groups across Australia in their ceremonies. Aboriginal spirituality includes ...
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1977, largely for this work.
The story was adapted for television and screened as a mini-series in Australia in 1981.
Plot
The story is set in Australia, and involves an orphaned city boy named Simon Brent who comes to live on a 5000-acre
sheep station
A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...
called Wongadilla, in the Hunter Region, with his mother's second cousins, Edie and Charlie. In a remote valley on the property he discovers a variety of ancient Australian Aboriginal
Dreamtime
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...
creatures. The arrival of heavy machinery intent on clearing the land brings to life the ominous stone
Nargun
A Nargun, according to Gunai people, Gunai/Kurnai tribal legends, a fierce half-human half-stone creature that lived in the Den of Nargun, a cave under a rock overhang behind a small waterfall located in the Mitchell River National Park (Victoria) ...
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 ...
. Other creatures featured in the story include the mischievous green-scaled water-spirit Potkoorok, the Turongs (tree people) and the Nyols (cave people).
Editions
English editions of ''The Nargun and the Stars'' by P. Wrightson:
* 1973 by Hutchinson (London and Sydney).
* 1974 by Atheneum Books (New York).
* 1975 by Puffin Books, illustrated.
* 1973 by Puffin Books (
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Robert Ingpen.
* 2001 by Bt Bound.
* 2008 by University of Queensland Press.
* 2009 by Phoenix Education, illustrated.
* 2009 by Catnip.
Non-English editions of ''The Nargun and the Stars'':
* (Afrikaans) ''Die Nargan en die sterre'', published by Kaapstad : Human & Rousseau : World International, 1990
* (Finnish) ''Nargun ja tähdet'', published by Hki : Tammi, 1988
* (German) ''Das Nargun und die Sterne'', published by Friedrich Oetinger, Hamburg. 1990
* (Japanese) 星に叫ぶ岩ナルガン / (''Hoshi ni sakebu iwa narugan''), published by 評論社, Hyōronsha, Shōwa 57 (Tokyo) 1982
* (Slovenian) ''Simon in kamniti tujec'', published by Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana, 1979
* (Spanish) ''El Nargun y las estrellas'', published by Ediciones Alfaguara, Madrid, 1987
* (Swedish) ''Nargonen och stjärnorna'', published by Berghs Förlag, Malmö 1980
The story was made into a mini-series for television in 1977–1978 by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
, the screenplay adapted by Margaret Kelly. The producer was Lynn Bayonas. The series contained five episodes, each of thirty minutes duration, was first screened on 15 September 1981.