The Coral Island (TV series)

Children's television series

The Coral Island

Genre| adventure
Written by| James Andrew Hall
Directed by| Chris Thomson
Ray Brown
Ray Alchin
Starring| Nicholas Bond-Owen
Gerard Kennedy
Composer| Bruce Smeaton
Country of origin| Australia
United Kingdom
Original language| English
No. of episodes| 4
Production
Running time| 40 mins
Original release
Network| ABC
Release| 1983 (1983)

The Coral Island is a children's television series, adapted from the 19th-century novel The Coral Island by Scottish author R. M. Ballantyne.[1] The series of 4 episodes was a joint production of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Thames Television.[2] It was filmed on location in the western Samoan village of Salamumu and then on the Whitsunday Islands off the Queensland coast in 1981.[3][4]

The series was first broadcast in Australia on ABC-TV on 6 January 1983.[5]

## Plot

[edit]

The story, set in 1840, centres on 3 boys from Australia and their struggle for survival when they are shipwrecked on a remote Pacific island. Jack (played by Scott McGregor), Peterkin (played by Nicholas Bond-Owen) and Ralph (played by Richard Gibson) must learn to survive on their own on the island, despite their very different characters and backgrounds. After befriending two natives on the island, they are rescued by an English missionary, and the three boys return to Australia.[5]

## Cast

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Uelese Petaia as the native, Tararo

* Nicholas Bond-Owen as Peterkin
* Richard Gibson as Ralph
* Scott McGregor as Jack
* Gerard Kennedy as Bloody Bill
* Brian McDermott as Captain Carver
* Uelese Petaia as Tararo
* Pele Teuila as Avatea
* Peter Collingwood as Reverend McNab
* Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as Sir Charles Rover
* Lyn James as Lady Rover
* Danny Adcock as Ted Salter

## References

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1. ^ Albert Moran, Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series, AFTRS 1993 p 128
2. ^ "TV & ENTERTAINMENT WORLD". The Australian Women's Weekly. 10 February 1982. p. 111. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
3. ^ "FROM COP TO CORSAIR". The Australian Women's Weekly. 26 August 1981. p. 2. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
4. ^ "The 'boy from the bush' makes his mark in 1915". The Australian Women's Weekly. 30 June 1982. p. 22. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
5. ^ a b "A children's adventure tale". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 January 1983. p. 6. Retrieved 16 September 2015.

## External links

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* The Coral Island at IMDb

*[No.]: Number