Essington (film)

Essington is a 1974 TV film about a convict named Squires who arrives with a detachment of Royal Marines at Port Essington.^[1]

Essington
Written by	Thomas Keneally
Directed by	Julian Pringle
Starring	Chris Haywood Hugh Keays-Byrne
Music by	Peter Sculthorpe
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Alan Burke
Cinematography	Lloyd Shiels
Running time	103 minutes
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	26 November 1974 (1974-11-26)

According to the Canberra Times "it is both an historical narrative and an allegorical treatment of Australian history."^[2]

Plot

In the 1840s, the settlement of Port Essington is run by Governor Macarthur. The inhabitants include Macarthur's wife, Private Evans, and a convict, Bob Squires, who has good relations with the local aboriginal population.

Private Evans falls for an aboriginal woman and goes missing from the settlement.

Cast

• Chris Haywood as Bob Squires
• Jacqueline Kott
• Sandra McGregor
• Wyn Roberts
• Michael Craig
• Cornelia Frances
• Melissa Jaffer
• John Hargreaves
• Ralph Cotterill
• Hugh Keays-Byrne
• Justine Saunders
• Wendy Hughes
• Steve Dodd
• Drew Forsythe

Reception

Thomas Keneally won Best Script at the 1976 Logie Awards. Chis Haywood won Best Performance by an Individual Actor.^[3]

Michael Craig called it "a wonderful script; macabre, funny, tragic and optimistic, and extremely well directed by Julian Pringle."^[4]

Music

The music score was written by Peter Sculthorpe with Michael Hannan and David Matthews. It was adapted from an Aboriginal melody "Djilile" (whistling-duck on a billabong) from a recording collected in northern Australia in the late 1950s. Sculthorpe further developed the music as a 15-minute, six-part piece titled "Port Essington" which was commissioned by Musica Viva Australia for the Australian Chamber Orchestra and first performed at the University of Queensland in August 1977.^[5][6][7]