The Squatter's Daughter (play)
Encyclopedia
The Squatter's Daughter or, The Land of the Wattle is a 1907 Australian play by Bert Bailey
and Edmund Duggan
, writing under the combined pseudonym Albert Edmunds.
Violet is in love with Tom Bathurst, an overseer employed on Waratah. While James Harrington is away, the property is being run by his son, the weak Dudley Harrington, who seeks to undermine Bathurst in the eyes of Violet and his father. Having failed in that he gets bushranger
Ben Hall and his gang to abduct Violet and hold her for ransom. Matters are complicated by the presence of an English "new chum", Archie McPherson.
It was enormously popular during it's original run, grossing ₤70,000 and being seen by an estimated 1.5 million Australians within three years. The play was filmed several times, notably in 1910
and 1933
. It was also adapted into a novel in 1922 by Hilda Bridges.
Bert Bailey
Albert Edward Bailey , better known as Bert Bailey, was a New Zealand-born writer and actor best known for playing Dad Rudd on stage and screen.-Biography:...
and Edmund Duggan
Edmund Duggan (playwright)
Edmund Duggan was an Irish-Australian actor and playwright best known for writing a number of plays with Bert Bailey including The Squatter's Daughter and On Our Selection . His solo career was less successful than Bailey's. His sister Eugenie was known as "The Queen of Melodrama"...
, writing under the combined pseudonym Albert Edmunds.
Synopsis
The story concerns a rivalry between two neighbouring sheep stations in rural Australia, 'Enderby' and 'Waratah'. Enderby is owned by a woman, the feisty Violet Enderby, the "squatter's daughter". Waratah is owned James Harrington, who is Violet's guardian.Violet is in love with Tom Bathurst, an overseer employed on Waratah. While James Harrington is away, the property is being run by his son, the weak Dudley Harrington, who seeks to undermine Bathurst in the eyes of Violet and his father. Having failed in that he gets bushranger
Bushranger
Bushrangers, or bush rangers, originally referred to runaway convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities...
Ben Hall and his gang to abduct Violet and hold her for ransom. Matters are complicated by the presence of an English "new chum", Archie McPherson.
Production
The play featured sheep, shearers, wood chopping, whip-cracking, and sheep dogs.It was enormously popular during it's original run, grossing ₤70,000 and being seen by an estimated 1.5 million Australians within three years. The play was filmed several times, notably in 1910
The Squatter's Daughter (1910 film)
The Squatter's Daughter is a 1910 Australian silent film based on the popular play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan.-Synopsis:The plot concerns the rivalry between two neighboring sheep stations, Enderby and Waratah...
and 1933
The Squatter's Daughter
The Squatter's Daughter is a 1933 Australian melodrama starring Jocelyn Howarth. It is based on a 1907 play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan which had been previously filmed in 1910.-Synopsis:...
. It was also adapted into a novel in 1922 by Hilda Bridges.
External links
- The Squatter's Daughter original production at AusstageAusstageAusStage is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia. It provides records of productions from the beginnings of theatre in Australia up to today...