Wandjina!
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''Wandjina!'' was an Australian
children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...
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television series produced by
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...
and first aired in 1966. Its story, inspired by
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 religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...
mythology of the spirit ancestors of the
Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...
region of north-West Australia, was about three teenagers caught up in an adventure linked to local sacred Aboriginal cave paintings of the
Wandjina The Wandjina, also written Wanjina and Wondjina and also known as Gulingi, are cloud and rain spirits from the Wanjina Wunggurr cultural bloc of Australian Aboriginal mythology, Aboriginal Australians, depicted prominently in rock art in northw ...
— the "people from the sky" who visited long ago, in the
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 religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...
. ''Wandjina!'' was the first drama production by ABC in Sydney that combined film and videotape footage.


Synopsis

A team of scientists, including Miss Smith, venture into the Australian outback to investigate strange incidents. Donald MacPherson, a Scots-born anthropologist, discovers aboriginal cave paintings depicting mythical alien beings—the '
Wandjina The Wandjina, also written Wanjina and Wondjina and also known as Gulingi, are cloud and rain spirits from the Wanjina Wunggurr cultural bloc of Australian Aboriginal mythology, Aboriginal Australians, depicted prominently in rock art in northw ...
', an extraterrestrial race that visited the ancient aborigines. Disturbing events suggest that not only are the beings real, they have not all left. Ann MacPherson, the anthropologist's daughter, and Linda, an aboriginal girl, explore the Wandjina caves near Booala Station and stumble upon a cave full of skeletons. They see some strange things: In one scene a mysterious hooded figure hunts kangaroos with a rod that strikes them down silently from a distance. The Wandjina resemble hooded monks with what look like life-support backpacks, similar to those used by astronauts. Their power base is a lighthouse-style tower above the farmland. In one episode, gale-force winds occur when an elongated skull, the Wandjina Skull, is dug up from the sands.


Cast


Production

The series was based on a radio serial, ''Country of the Skull'', by G. K. Saunders, who had also written ''The Stranger''. White actor Julianna Allan was cast as an Aboriginal girl. Filming began in September 1965 on location in Western New South Wales including Cooper's Creek and
Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
. It was also shot at the ABC studios.


Reception

The ''Canberra Times'' said, "It is hard to chase the spectre of '' Blue Hills'' out of the mind. Whether teenagers will fall for it is doubtful. It could be that the producers have underestimated their sophistication. Linda, the aboriginal playmate of the station owner's daughter, Anne, looks just like what she is — a white girl with obvious make-up, (the blurb says they had trouble with this owing to water colour difficulties, and it is apparent on the screen); when she opens her mouth she sounds like a graduate from a specially selected girls' school. These two points combined don't add to the authenticity."


References


External links

*
Wandjina! Episode 5
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 c ...
Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Australian science fiction television series Australian children's television series 1966 Australian television series debuts Black-and-white Australian television shows Television series about ancient astronauts {{Australia-tv-prog-stub