The Shiralee (1987 film)


The Shiralee is a 1987 Australian television film directed by George Ogilvie, based on the novel of the same name by D'Arcy Niland.
It was originally filmed as a mini series and was shot in Adelaide and Quorn, South Australia.

Plot

The plot revolves around an itinerant rural worker and fighter named Macauley —sometimes described as a "swagman" or "swaggie" who unexpectedly finds himself taking responsibility for his child. The film contrasts the harshness of Australian masculinity with a parent-child relationship.
On one of his infrequent visits to his wife Marge in Adelaide, itinerant bushman Jim Macauley finds her living with another man, Donny. He beats Donny up, grabs his five-year-old daughter Buster, and returns to the road. They walk from job to job in rural South Australia, camping beside riverbanks, until Buster becomes sick with fever. Desperate for help, Macauley takes her to a station where he is not welcome, run by a grazier named Parker. Macauley learns that years earlier, he made Parker's daughter Lily pregnant. She lost the baby and almost died.
Macauley takes Buster to the next town, where he is welcomed by old friends Bella and Luke Sweeney. He tries to get the child to stay with the kindly Bella, but she refuses. In Quorn, Marge tracks them down and tries unsuccessfully to take back Buster. In another town, while Macauley is courting a pretty girl, Buster is hit by a car. As she battles for her life in hospital, Macauley must dash to Adelaide to oppose his wife's court bid for custody of the child. He beats the case by threatening to expose his ex's relationship with Donny; Donny forces Marge to choose between him or the child, who it emerges she never had any intention of caring for. She was seeking custody only to spite Macauley.
Mac returns to the hospital by train, arriving shortly before Buster opens her eyes in hospital. The film ends there, but there is an implication that he may reconcile with Lily, who also loves Buster and still has feelings for Mac.

Reception

The mini series rated 40 points and was the most popular Australian show of the year.