Wandjina!
Dreamtime mythology meets alien visitation in the outback.
In 1966, ABC Television launched Wandjina!, a children's science fantasy series. Its plot follows three teenagers whose adventure ties into sacred Aboriginal cave paintings from the Kimberley region, inspired by Dreamtime stories of sky-dwelling spirit ancestors. This Sydney-based production was ABC’s first drama to blend film with videotape.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Children's television
- Creator
- G. K. Saunders
- Country
- Australia
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 7
- Cinematography
- John Seale
- Runtime
- 30 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The series was based on a radio serial, Country of the Skull, by G. K. Saunders, who also wrote The Stranger.
- White actor Julianna Allan was cast as an Aboriginal girl.
- Filming began in September 1965 on location in Western New South Wales including Cooper's Creek and Broken Hill.
Synopsis
A team of scientists, including Miss Smith, investigates strange incidents in the Australian outback. His daughter Ann and an Aboriginal girl named Linda explore the Wandjina caves near Booala Station and find a cave full of skeletons. A mysterious hooded figure hunts kangaroos with a rod that strikes them silently from a distance. The Wandjina resemble hooded monks with life-support backpacks, and their power base is a lighthouse-style tower. In one episode, gale-force winds occur when an elongated skull is dug up from the sands.
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