Women of the Sun
Encyclopedia
Women of the Sun is an award-winning Australian historical drama television miniseries which was broadcast on SBS Television and later the Australian Broadcasting Company
in 1981. The series, co-written by Sonia Borg and Hyllus Maris, was composed of four 60-minute episodes which portrayed the lives of four Aboriginal women in Australian society from the 1820s up until the 1980s. It was the first series which dealt with such subject matter,
and later received several prestigious awards including two Awgies
and five Penguin Award
s following its release. It also won the United Nations Media Peace Prize and the Banff Grand Prix in 1983.
Maydina: The Shadow takes place in the 1860s and follows a young Aborigine woman, Maydina, who lives with a group of seal-hunters. It is revealed that she was abducted by the hunters as a child and, after years of abuse by her captors, she attempts to escape with her half-caste daughter Biri. They are taken in by Mrs. McPhee, founder and head of a church mission, where mother and daughter are separated when Maydina is employed into service with the church. While there, she and another Aborigine man fall in love and attempt to leave with Biri so that can return to their traditional life and culture in the Australian Outback which the European think is devil art. Mrs. McPhee sends troopers after the three and soon catch up to them. The man is shot and killed by the soldiers while Maydina's child is presumably taken away from her permanently.
Nerida Anderson is the third episode in the series and was based on the real-life "Cumeroongunga Walkout" in 1939. The segment focuses on Nerida, a young and rebellious Aborigine woman, who returns to the government-established Aboriginal reserve after working in the city as a bookkeeper. She finds the conditions on the reservation have seriously deteriorated since leaving and attempts to encourage the rest of the tribe to improve conditions themselves. Her activities are opposed by the reserve manager who, in anger, orders Nerida and her family tried for treason. The charge is dismissed but the manager keeps his position. As the young men of the tribe are drafted into the Australian Army
during the Second World War, life on the reservation continues to worsen. Finally, Nerida leads her family and the rest of the tribe to leave the reserve never to return.
The fourth and final segment, Lo-Arna, is set in the then present 1980s and focuses on 18-year-old Ann Cutler who lives with her adoptive parents, Doug (Max Phipps
) and Joy Cutler (Fiona Spence
), in a small country town. Ann's relationship with her parents suddenly changes when she discovers she is of Aboriginal decent and not French Polynesian as she believed. She also learns that she is the biological child of her adopted father Doug Culter and Alice Wilson, an Aborigine woman who lives in a nearby shanty town
. In an attempt to "resolve her emotional turmoil", she considers contacting her birth mother.
A television series was eventually commissioned by SBS Television, partly because of the efforts of producer Bob Weis, who later recalled his first meeting with the network.
The series was directed by James Ricketson, David Stevens, Stephen Wallace and Geoffrey Nottage, then some of the top directors in the industry, and shot on location in Victoria. Although the Aboriginal cast members were non-professional actors, the series featured a number of high profile television actors and actresses including William Zappa, Reg Evans
, Julia Blake
, Roger Oakley
, Chris Heywood
, Tommy Dysart
, Justine Saunders
, Graham Rouse, Robin Cuming, Max Phipps
, Fiona Spence
, Bob Maza
and Amanda Muggleton
. Australian indigenous rights activists Essie Coffey
and Wangjuk Marka
also made a cameo appearance
s.
, during July 1981. Its unique and groundbreaking storytelling challenged conventional Australian history and received almost immediate international and national acclaim following its release. Women of the Sun won several awards during the next two years including two Awgies
, five Penguin Award
s, the United Nations Media Peace Prize and the Banff Grand Prix.
The series, more importantly, for the first time provided the opportunity to tell the Aboriginal story through the eyes of its women, in their own language, and made available to national audience. It also had a significant impact on Aboriginal communities as the series brought up key issues affecting its culture.
In 2006, series producer Bob Weis interviewed the leading actresses who appeared in each of the four episodes. He then discussed with them the impact it had had on their lives, as well as on his own, and the issues facing them and the Aborigine culture today. A feature-length documentary was released based on these interviews titled Women of the Sun: 25 Years Later and which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival
.
The series was presented by Macleay Museum
at the University of Sydney
's Old Geology Lecture Theatre on 25 January 2007, the day before the anniversary of Australian colonization. It was accompanied by the final viewing of the Macleay Museum's "Living Water" art exhibition which featured "artistic expressions of Aboriginal identity".
Australian Broadcasting Company
The Australian Broadcasting Company was a consortium of entertainment interests formed in 1929 to supply radio programs for broadcast on the former "A-class" transmitters contracted to the Federal Government's National Broadcasting Service...
in 1981. The series, co-written by Sonia Borg and Hyllus Maris, was composed of four 60-minute episodes which portrayed the lives of four Aboriginal women in Australian society from the 1820s up until the 1980s. It was the first series which dealt with such subject matter,
and later received several prestigious awards including two Awgies
AWGIE Awards
The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967....
and five Penguin Award
Penguin Award
The Penguin Award is an annual award given for excellence in broadcasting by the Television Society of Australia. It was founded in 1954.The award trophy depicts an ear listening to a television tube, but strongly resembles a penguin....
s following its release. It also won the United Nations Media Peace Prize and the Banff Grand Prix in 1983.
Plot
The first episode, titled Alinta: The Flame, dealt with the first contact between tribal Aborigines and Europeans. Set in 1820, the story begins when two English convicts are found washed up on the beach by the Nyari. They are nursed back to health by the tribe, providing them with food and shelter, despite warnings by the tribal elders. The tribe is eventually encountered by early Australian settlers searching for grazing land. Their culture and rituals are threatened by these newcomers, who begin to settle on their lands, and leads to the annihilation of the tribe. Alinta (Yangathu Wanambi) and her child are the only survivors and the episode ends with Alinta determined that her daughter "carry the torch for her culture and the future".Maydina: The Shadow takes place in the 1860s and follows a young Aborigine woman, Maydina, who lives with a group of seal-hunters. It is revealed that she was abducted by the hunters as a child and, after years of abuse by her captors, she attempts to escape with her half-caste daughter Biri. They are taken in by Mrs. McPhee, founder and head of a church mission, where mother and daughter are separated when Maydina is employed into service with the church. While there, she and another Aborigine man fall in love and attempt to leave with Biri so that can return to their traditional life and culture in the Australian Outback which the European think is devil art. Mrs. McPhee sends troopers after the three and soon catch up to them. The man is shot and killed by the soldiers while Maydina's child is presumably taken away from her permanently.
Nerida Anderson is the third episode in the series and was based on the real-life "Cumeroongunga Walkout" in 1939. The segment focuses on Nerida, a young and rebellious Aborigine woman, who returns to the government-established Aboriginal reserve after working in the city as a bookkeeper. She finds the conditions on the reservation have seriously deteriorated since leaving and attempts to encourage the rest of the tribe to improve conditions themselves. Her activities are opposed by the reserve manager who, in anger, orders Nerida and her family tried for treason. The charge is dismissed but the manager keeps his position. As the young men of the tribe are drafted into the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
during the Second World War, life on the reservation continues to worsen. Finally, Nerida leads her family and the rest of the tribe to leave the reserve never to return.
The fourth and final segment, Lo-Arna, is set in the then present 1980s and focuses on 18-year-old Ann Cutler who lives with her adoptive parents, Doug (Max Phipps
Max Phipps
Max Phipps was an Australian actor, known for a number of roles in theatre, films and television during the 1960s until the end of the 1990s....
) and Joy Cutler (Fiona Spence
Fiona Spence
Fiona Spence is a British-born stage and television actress. One of the most recognisable Australian television stars during the early 1980s, she is best known for her roles in the Australian television series Prisoner and Home and Away...
), in a small country town. Ann's relationship with her parents suddenly changes when she discovers she is of Aboriginal decent and not French Polynesian as she believed. She also learns that she is the biological child of her adopted father Doug Culter and Alice Wilson, an Aborigine woman who lives in a nearby shanty town
Shanty town
A shanty town is a slum settlement of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic...
. In an attempt to "resolve her emotional turmoil", she considers contacting her birth mother.
Segment 1
- Young Alinta (Naykakan Munung)
- Alinta (Yangathu Wanambi)
- Murra (Gordon Lunyupi)
- McNab (William Zappa)
- Towradgi (Gati Munyarryua)
- Turuga (Garrala Gurruwiwi)
- Morrorra (Walumarri Wunungmurra)
- Kiah (Wurrandilngawuy)
- Finlay (Adam Joseph)
- Waroo (Nippuranydja Munungurr)
- Young Wonda (Beyawuy Murawili)
- Goodman (Tony Hawkins)
- Fisher (David Scott)
- Bosun (Ken Grant)
- Stuckey (Reg EvansReg EvansReginald "Reg" Evans was a British-born actor active in Australian television, theatre, and cinema from the 1960s....
)
Segment 2
- Maydina (Mawiyul Yanthaluway)
- Mrs. McPhee (Julia BlakeJulia BlakeJulia Blake is a British-born actress based in Australia.Blake was born in London, England. She is married to Terry Norris. She is the mother of actresses Sarah and Jane Norris....
) - Charlie/Joala (Freddie Reynolds)
- Rev. Bligh (Bill Johnson)
- Biri (Sonia Pozzana)
- Little Johnny (Doug Briggs)
- Edward (James Laurie)
- Maggie (Essie Coffey)
- Matilda (Anne Saward)
- Mr. Johnson (Roger OakleyRoger OakleyRoger Oakley is a New-Zealand-born character-actor noted for his performances on Australian television., but more recently active as a Theatre Performer....
) - Old Tommy (Wangjuk MarkaWandjuk MarikaWandjuk Marika OBE, born 1927, died 1987, was an Australian Aboriginal painter, actor, composer and land rights activist. He was a member of the Riratjingu clan of the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Australia...
) - Old Timothy (Alfred Austin)
- Muller (Michael Duffield)
- Alf (Chris HeywoodChris HaywoodChris Haywood is an English-born, Australian-based film and television actor/producer.-Early life:Haywood was born in Billericay, Essex, England. He spent his early childhood in Chelmsford before moving to High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire where he attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School from...
) - Joe (Tommy DysartTommy DysartTommy Dysart is a Scottish-born actor, currently resident in Australia. Dysart has been a regular fixture on Australian television for several decades, frequently appearing in guest-starring roles in drama series and comedies, and in character roles in films and miniseries.High-profile early roles...
)
Segment 3
- Nerida Anderson (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...
) - Mr. Felton (Graham Rouse)
- Mrs. Felton (Felicity Gordon)
- Grannie Anderson (Minnie Patton)
- Ivy Anderson (Lorraine Mafi-Williams)
- Bill Anderson (Stan Roach)
- Ron Anderson (Paul Pryor)
- Auntie Rachel (Joyce Johnson)
- Andy (Monty Prior)
- Maisie (Yvette Isaacs)
- Frank Reilly (Ed Thurley)
- Mr. Short (Robin Cuming)
- Mr. Watson (Geoff Parry)
- Peter (Jack Charles)
- Eddy (Wesley Williams)
- Alma (Phemie Day)
Segment 4
- Ann Cutler (Michelle Lanyon)
- Doug Cutler (Max PhippsMax PhippsMax Phipps was an Australian actor, known for a number of roles in theatre, films and television during the 1960s until the end of the 1990s....
) - Joy Cutler (Fiona SpenceFiona SpenceFiona Spence is a British-born stage and television actress. One of the most recognisable Australian television stars during the early 1980s, she is best known for her roles in the Australian television series Prisoner and Home and Away...
) - Alice Wilson (Eva Birrit)
- Val Pearce (Mollie Dyer)
- Nick (David Cameron)
- Jimmy Randle (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:...
) - Peter Randle (Michael Cockatoo)
- Jamie Randle (Gordon Edwards)
- Grannie Johnson (Margaret TuckerMargaret TuckerMargaret Lilardia Tucker was an Indigenous Australian activist and writer.Margaret Tucker was born at Warrangesda Mission to William Clements, a Wiradjuri man and Teresa Clements, née Middleton, a Yulupna women...
) - Secretary (Amanda MuggletonAmanda MuggletonAmanda Lillian Muggleton is a British-born theatre, television and film actress. She is best known for her role on television soap opera Prisoner.-Early life:Muggleton was born in Stepney, London in 1951 and emigrated to Australia in 1974...
) - Receptionist (Adele Lewin)
- Public Servant (James Wright)
- President (Osvaldo Maione)
Production
The original concept for the series, in which the colonization of Australia would be told through the eyes of Aboriginal women, came from aboriginal poet, sociologist and educator Hyllus Maris. She formed a successful collaboration with Sonia Borg, an award-winning screenwriter, and spent five years working on the script.A television series was eventually commissioned by SBS Television, partly because of the efforts of producer Bob Weis, who later recalled his first meeting with the network.
The series was directed by James Ricketson, David Stevens, Stephen Wallace and Geoffrey Nottage, then some of the top directors in the industry, and shot on location in Victoria. Although the Aboriginal cast members were non-professional actors, the series featured a number of high profile television actors and actresses including William Zappa, Reg Evans
Reg Evans
Reginald "Reg" Evans was a British-born actor active in Australian television, theatre, and cinema from the 1960s....
, Julia Blake
Julia Blake
Julia Blake is a British-born actress based in Australia.Blake was born in London, England. She is married to Terry Norris. She is the mother of actresses Sarah and Jane Norris....
, Roger Oakley
Roger Oakley
Roger Oakley is a New-Zealand-born character-actor noted for his performances on Australian television., but more recently active as a Theatre Performer....
, Chris Heywood
Chris Haywood
Chris Haywood is an English-born, Australian-based film and television actor/producer.-Early life:Haywood was born in Billericay, Essex, England. He spent his early childhood in Chelmsford before moving to High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire where he attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School from...
, Tommy Dysart
Tommy Dysart
Tommy Dysart is a Scottish-born actor, currently resident in Australia. Dysart has been a regular fixture on Australian television for several decades, frequently appearing in guest-starring roles in drama series and comedies, and in character roles in films and miniseries.High-profile early roles...
, Justine Saunders
Justine Saunders
Justine 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...
, Graham Rouse, Robin Cuming, Max Phipps
Max Phipps
Max Phipps was an Australian actor, known for a number of roles in theatre, films and television during the 1960s until the end of the 1990s....
, Fiona Spence
Fiona Spence
Fiona Spence is a British-born stage and television actress. One of the most recognisable Australian television stars during the early 1980s, she is best known for her roles in the Australian television series Prisoner and Home and Away...
, Bob Maza
Bob Maza
Robert "Bob" Lewis Maza was an Australian actor and playwright.Maza was born to a Murray Islander father and to a Yidinjdji mother.-Activism:...
and Amanda Muggleton
Amanda Muggleton
Amanda Lillian Muggleton is a British-born theatre, television and film actress. She is best known for her role on television soap opera Prisoner.-Early life:Muggleton was born in Stepney, London in 1951 and emigrated to Australia in 1974...
. Australian indigenous rights activists Essie Coffey
Essie Coffey
Essie Coffey , OAM , was born at Essiena Goodgabah in southern Queensland. She was a Muruwari woman and the co-founder of the Western Aboriginal Legal Service and served on a number of government bodies and Aboriginal community organisations....
and Wangjuk Marka
Wandjuk Marika
Wandjuk Marika OBE, born 1927, died 1987, was an Australian Aboriginal painter, actor, composer and land rights activist. He was a member of the Riratjingu clan of the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Australia...
also made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s.
Reception
The series was aired on SBS Television, and later the Australian Broadcasting CompanyAustralian Broadcasting Company
The Australian Broadcasting Company was a consortium of entertainment interests formed in 1929 to supply radio programs for broadcast on the former "A-class" transmitters contracted to the Federal Government's National Broadcasting Service...
, during July 1981. Its unique and groundbreaking storytelling challenged conventional Australian history and received almost immediate international and national acclaim following its release. Women of the Sun won several awards during the next two years including two Awgies
AWGIE Awards
The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967....
, five Penguin Award
Penguin Award
The Penguin Award is an annual award given for excellence in broadcasting by the Television Society of Australia. It was founded in 1954.The award trophy depicts an ear listening to a television tube, but strongly resembles a penguin....
s, the United Nations Media Peace Prize and the Banff Grand Prix.
The series, more importantly, for the first time provided the opportunity to tell the Aboriginal story through the eyes of its women, in their own language, and made available to national audience. It also had a significant impact on Aboriginal communities as the series brought up key issues affecting its culture.
In 2006, series producer Bob Weis interviewed the leading actresses who appeared in each of the four episodes. He then discussed with them the impact it had had on their lives, as well as on his own, and the issues facing them and the Aborigine culture today. A feature-length documentary was released based on these interviews titled Women of the Sun: 25 Years Later and which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
.
The series was presented by Macleay Museum
Macleay Museum
The Macleay Museum in Sydney, Australia, is a natural history museum located on the main campus of the University of Sydney.- History :The building in which the museum is housed was built off Science Lane in 1887...
at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
's Old Geology Lecture Theatre on 25 January 2007, the day before the anniversary of Australian colonization. It was accompanied by the final viewing of the Macleay Museum's "Living Water" art exhibition which featured "artistic expressions of Aboriginal identity".