The Sergeant from Burralee
| Company type | Television drama |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Founder | Phillip Grenville Mann |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
| Products | Television play |
The Sergeant from Burralee is an Australian television drama penned by Phillip Grenville Mann. The production was also aired by the BBC and featured on West German television.
In 1970, the story was adapted into a radio play. Mann subsequently transformed the narrative into a stage production titled Day of Glory.
Plot
Taking place in the Newcastle region during the 1830s, the narrative follows the spearing of a white settler and the subsequent accusation against an Aboriginal man named Jacko. Captain Alcot, convinced of Jacko’s innocence following his interrogation, intends to free him. However, during a social gathering at the officers' mess, Lieutenant Ned Louden, while intoxicated, fatally shoots Jacko in the back.
Under pressure from magistrate Nathaniel Carlton, Alcot reports the incident to authorities in Sydney. Louden is apprehended and faces trial, with Acting Attorney-General Thomas Morland overseeing the investigation.
To shield Louden and satisfy Carlton’s ambitions for land acquisition, Alcot and Carlton bribe Sergeant Constantine to provide false testimony regarding the location of Jacko’s arrest. Despite this fabricated evidence leading to Louden’s acquittal at the Sydney trial, the play implies that the verdict triggers a reassessment of the treatment of Aboriginal people.
Cast
- Alistair Duncan as Thomas Morland, acting Attorney General
- Deryck Barnes as Sgt Constantine
- Gordon Glenwright as Captain Alcot
- Candy Williams as Jacko
- Stewart Ginn as Nathaniel Carlton
- Fernande Glyn as Bessie, Constantine's wife
- Hugh Stewart as Robert McDonald
- John Gray as Sgt Lane
- Reg Lye as Joshua Beer
- Keith Buckley as Jack Salisbury
- Noanie Roathsay as Matha Salisbury
- Edward Hepple
- Jon Dennis as Newton
- Douglas Bladen as Sentry
- Lance Bennett as Taylor
- Phillip Ross as Gaoler
- Max Meldrum as the lieutenant
- Nigel Lovell
- Moray Powell
Production
This drama, inspired by an actual trial involving a soldier accused of killing an Aboriginal man, was authored by Australian Philip Grenville Mann while residing in England. Drawing from historical documents at Australia House in London, Mann investigated an accidental shooting of an Aboriginal individual dating back to Governor Phillip’s administration. The original title for the work was The Sergeant from Lone Pine.
It earned joint first place in the 1959 New South Wales Journalists' Club Award out of 250 submissions, sharing the £500 prize with J.V. Warner’s World Without End. The judging panel included representatives from Sydney’s three major television networks: Brett Porter (ATN-7), Raymond Menmuir (ABN-2), and Peter Benardos (TCN-9). Menmuir immediately recommended that ABC acquire the play, highlighting its brisk pacing and broad relevance.
After six years abroad, Mann returned to Australia in 1961 to succeed Rex Rienits as ABC’s drama editor and later developed the historical series The Patriots.
The production was performed live at ABC’s studios in Sydney. Alistair Duncan, an English actor recently relocated to Australia who had previously appeared in Stormy Petrel, starred in a leading role. Geoff Wedlock designed the sets and costumes, constructing nine distinct settings including prisons and courtrooms.
Reception
The Sydney Morning Herald commended the play as "a commendable piece, delving into the drives and intentions of its characters... The staging was compelling; particularly during the courtroom sequences, it showcased the potential of television... among the finest productions by the A.B.C."
Val Marshall from the Herald recognized the excellent script and top-notch direction by Raymond Menmuir but considered the 90-minute duration excessive and believed Duncan was not ideally suited for his role.
1961 BBC version
In May 1960, the BBC revealed its intention to produce a filmed version of the play, then named The Sergeant of Lone Pine. The 1961 BBC rendition, retitled The Attorney General, was helmed by director Harold Clayton.
Cast
- John Clements as Thomas Morland
- Andre Van Gyseghem as Nathaniel Carlton
- Olive McFarland as Bessie Constantine
- Anthony Bate as Sergeant Lane
- Norman Mitchell as Sergeant Constantine
- James Sharkey as Lieutenant Ned Louden
- Richard Vernon as Captain Alcot
- Michael Danvers-Walker as James Newton
- Leonard Cracknell as Frank Taylor
- Sonny Pillay as Jacko
- John Wilding as The Sentry
- Ronald Adam as Robert MacDonald
- Christopher Hodge as John Sanders
- Robert Cawdron as Joshua Beer
- Carole Ann Ford as Martha Salisbury
Reception
The Daily Telegraph labeled it "powerful theatre... an unusually engaging 90 minutes," while the Sunday Times described it as "a well-crafted, thoroughly respectable piece of work."
Radio
The narrative was also transformed into a radio adaptation.
Day of Glory
Mann reworked the story into the stage play Day of Glory, which debuted in 1964 at Sydney's Old Tote Theatre and saw a revival in Melbourne in 1970. The Age lauded it as "a drama with strong concepts skillfully executed on stage."
See also
External links
- 1960s Australian television plays
- 1962 television plays
- Fiction set in the 1830s
- 1960s Australian plays
- Television plays directed by Raymond Menmuir
- Television plays written by Phillip Grenville Mann
- Television plays filmed in Sydney
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation television plays
- 1970s Australian radio dramas