Heartland (Australian TV series)
Encyclopedia
Heartland was an Australia
n television
drama
series that ran on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
in 1994. It ran for thirteen episodes and starred Cate Blanchett
and Ernie Dingo
. The show was also known as Burned Bridge in some countries.
Heartland deals with the mystery surrounding the death of an Aboriginal girl and the doubts concerning the guilt of her boyfriend, who is arrested for her murder. It is also a love story between two of the people convinced of his innocence—their growing relationship must survive hostility from both the white and black communities and the obstacles of their different backgrounds, attitudes and cultures. Set in a small coastal town against the turmoils of murder, mystery and romance, Heartland follows the people from this seaside community and their battle to restructure their own way of life. Their struggle to restore their self-esteem towards a positive future, despite the obstacles in their path.
Other plot elements revolve around the character of Elizabeth Ashton (Blanchett), a writer arriving in a small coastal community. A degree of suspicion exists towards the newcomer who is ignorant of any underlying racial tensions. This naivety allows her to more easily befriend local Aborigine Vincent Burunga (Dingo). Into this mix is the local police officer Phil McCarthy (Steven Vidler) who seeks Ashton's affections whilst being hostile to her friendship with Burunga, not just as a rival suitor, but because of racial prejudice.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
series that ran on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
in 1994. It ran for thirteen episodes and starred Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
and Ernie Dingo
Ernie Dingo
Ernie Dingo AM is an Indigenous Australian actor and television presenter originating from the Yamatji people of the Murchison region of Western Australia.-Background:...
. The show was also known as Burned Bridge in some countries.
Heartland deals with the mystery surrounding the death of an Aboriginal girl and the doubts concerning the guilt of her boyfriend, who is arrested for her murder. It is also a love story between two of the people convinced of his innocence—their growing relationship must survive hostility from both the white and black communities and the obstacles of their different backgrounds, attitudes and cultures. Set in a small coastal town against the turmoils of murder, mystery and romance, Heartland follows the people from this seaside community and their battle to restructure their own way of life. Their struggle to restore their self-esteem towards a positive future, despite the obstacles in their path.
Other plot elements revolve around the character of Elizabeth Ashton (Blanchett), a writer arriving in a small coastal community. A degree of suspicion exists towards the newcomer who is ignorant of any underlying racial tensions. This naivety allows her to more easily befriend local Aborigine Vincent Burunga (Dingo). Into this mix is the local police officer Phil McCarthy (Steven Vidler) who seeks Ashton's affections whilst being hostile to her friendship with Burunga, not just as a rival suitor, but because of racial prejudice.
Awards
- 1994 - Human Rights and Equal Opportunity CommissionHuman Rights and Equal Opportunity CommissionThe Australian Human Rights Commission is a national human rights institution, a statutory body funded by, but operating independently of, the Australian Government. It has the responsibility for investigating alleged infringements under Australia’s anti-discrimination legislation...
TV Drama Award presented to Penny ChapmanPenny ChapmanPenny Chapman is an Australian television producer. Her work includes Brides of Christ and RAN Remote Area Nurse. and the award winning My Place -References:...
and Bruce WestBruce WestBruce West was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1882 to 1904. This riding was created in 1882 from parts of Bruce North and Bruce South ridings....
(Executive Producers)
Cast
- Ernie DingoErnie DingoErnie Dingo AM is an Indigenous Australian actor and television presenter originating from the Yamatji people of the Murchison region of Western Australia.-Background:...
as Vincent Burunga - Cate BlanchettCate BlanchettCatherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
as Elizabeth Ashton - Justine SaundersJustine SaundersJustine Florence Saunders, OAM was an Australian stage, film and television actress. She was a member of the Woppaburra indigenous people, from the Kanomie clan of Keppel Island in Queensland. She was born next to a railway track. At the age of 11, she was removed from her mother Heather, and...
as Millie Carmichael - Bob MazaBob MazaRobert "Bob" Lewis Maza was an Australian actor and playwright.Maza was born to a Murray Islander father and to a Yidinjdji mother.-Activism:...
as Alf Dyer - Steven VidlerSteven Vidler (actor)Steven Vidler is an Australian actor known for his part in the Scottish–Australian series Jeopardy.-Career:His film credits include The Good Wife where he played "Sugar", the younger brother who 'knew' his brother's wife...
as Phil McCarthy - Shane ConnorShane ConnorShane Connor is an Australian actor, who has had extensive experience in both stage and film productions.-Background:Shane Connor graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in the early 1980s...
as Ben Lovell - David NgoombujarraDavid NgoombujarraDavid Ngoombujarra was an Indigenous Australian actor of the Yamatji people. Born David Bernard Starr in Meekatharra, Western Australia, his acting career spanned over two decades from the 1980s to the present; he won three Australian Film Institute Awards...
as Mujadi Burunga - Jeremy SimsJeremy Sims-Personal life:He was educated at Wesley College, Perth, 1977–83. Sims was married to film director Samantha Lang. They have two daughters, Frederique and Evelyn Rose.-Career:...
as Garth Maddern - Paul Caesar as Macka Hargraves
- Bradley Byguar as Ricky Dyer
- Wes Patten as Chris Dyer
- Rachael Maza as Leila Sutton
- David Kennedy as Robert Sutton