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{{Use Australian English|date=September 2013}}
'''''Adventure Island''''' was a popular ] television series for children which screened on the ] from September 11 ] to December 22 ] (repeats of the 1969-1972 episodes ran from 1973-1976).
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox television
| genre = ]
| creator = {{ubl|]|]}}
| presenter = {{ubl|Nancy Cato|]}}
| country = Australia
| language = English
| num_seasons = 7
| num_episodes = 1,175
| runtime = 30 minutes
| network = ]
| first_aired = {{start date|1967|9|11|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1972|12|22|df=y}}
}}


'''''Adventure Island''''' is an Australian television series for children which screened on the ] from 11 September 1967 to 22 December 1972 (repeats of the 1969 to 1972 episodes ran from 1973 to 1976). It was jointly created by ], who produced the series, and actor-writer ], who also co-starred in the show. It typically aired from Monday to Friday and each story would stretch across a full week, reaching a resolution on Friday.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moran |first=Albert |title=Moran's guide to Australian TV series: your complete guide to every drama series, children's show and sitcom |publisher=] |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-642-18462-7 |location=North Ryde, NSW |page=42}}</ref>
The show was a joint production of Godfrey Productions and the ], pre-recorded on videotape at the ABC's studios in ], ]. Production was usually five weeks ahead of broadcast.


It was a pantomime-style series set in the kingdom of Diddley-Dum-Diddley. Hostesses were Nancy Cato (not the noted author) from 1967 to 1968 (her final pre-recorded episodes aired at the beginning of 1969) and ] from 1969 to 1972. ''Adventure Island'' was a joint production of Godfrey Philipp Productions and the Australian Broadcasting Commission, pre-recorded on videotape at the ABC's studios in ], ]. It is believed to be the first program made by the ABC in collaboration with an outside production company. Production was usually five weeks ahead of broadcast. It was a ]-style series set in the kingdom of Diddley-Dum-Diddley.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adventure Island |url=https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/adventure-island/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004134104/https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/adventure-island/ |archive-date=2023-10-04 |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Nostalgia Central}}</ref> The show was hosted by Nancy Cato (a cousin of the noted author of the same name) from 1967 to 1968 (her final pre-recorded episodes aired at the beginning of 1969) and ] from 1969 to 1972.


==Cast==
Characters included Liza (]), Clown (]), Mrs Flower Potts (]), Percy Panda (]), Dodo Panda (1967-1969) (]), Betty Bruin (]), with baddies including Fester Fumble (]), Miser Meanie (] (1967-1968), ] (1969-1972)), Captain Crook (]), Giggles Goblin ] and Squire Squeezum (]).


===Regular===
Other characters were played by guest artists such as ] (playing Mother Sparkle, who became Mother Tinkle - more famously Mrs Jessup in ] and Mrs Mangle in ]), ], ], ], ] and ].
{{cast listing|
* ] as Host (1967–68)
* ] as Host (1968–72)
* ] as Liza / Princess
* ] as Clown / Golden Harp
* ] as Mrs Flower Potts & Gracie Galah
* Jack Manuel as Percy Panda
* Carole Walker as Betty Bruin
* ] as Fester Fumble, Crispian Cockatoo, Captain Crook, Samson (cat), Maxie Mouse & Mister House / Serendipity House
* Jack Manuel as Mister House / Serendipity House
* ] as Miser Meanie & Gussie Galah
* ]
* ] as Giggles Goblin
* ] as Squire Squeezum
}}


===Guests===
Executive producer ] had studied television abroad and his main influence in the format of ''Adventure Island'' had been ], with its part-adlib, part-scripted presentation. Godfrey, together with Nancy Cato, John-Michael Howson and Liz Harris were involved in a similar fantasy-drama program called ] which screened on ATV0 from 1965 to 1967. When the channel axed the show after 555 episodes for cost reasons in July 1967, the ABC expressed interest in continuing production of the show, however this was nixed by ]'s refusal to relinquish the rights, so a lookalike programme was devised.
{{cast listing|
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] as Smiling Jim / Prince Charming (1 episode)
* ]
* ] as Dodo Panda & Matilda Mouse (2 episodes)
* ]
* ] as Miss Behaviour
* ] as Mother Sparkle / Mother Tinkle
* ] as ] (2 episodes)
}}


==Pre-production==
Creation of ''Adventure Island'' was credited to Howson and Philipp, although it is believed Howson invented the entire setting and characters during a short aeroplane trip in mid-1967. He certainly wrote most of the scripts, with others contributed by ]. Howson also wrote four storybooks based on the show.
Following the May 1967 announcement of the imminent axing of the highly popular ] children's programme '']'', made in Melbourne at the ] studios in ], the ABC immediately approached its producers with a proposal to immediately take over production of the show. This was very quickly thwarted when the 0-10 Network's then owner ] refused to relinquish his network's rights to the show's name and premise, forcing Philipp and Howson to devise a lookalike.<ref name="austlit">{{Cite web |title=Adventure Island |url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C819445 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314054016/https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C819445 |archive-date=2024-03-14 |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=]}}</ref>


''Adventure Island'''s creation was credited to both Philipp and Howson, although Liz Harris recalls Howson verbalising the show's entire premise and setting, as well as naming all the characters, during a short promotional aeroplane flight in mid-1967.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
The show typically aired from Monday to Friday and each story would stretch across a full week, reaching a resolution on Friday.


==Writing==
During the Nancy Cato era, Nancy would open the show from an enchanted wood where she would first banter with puppets Gussie Galah (Colin McEwan), Crispian Cockatoo (Ernie Bourne) and Matilda Mouse (Marion Edward). Nancy would then start reading from the ''Adventure Island'' book - the story then being played out for viewers by the actual characters. At the conclusion of the chapter, Nancy would talk to a cat puppet (Ernie Bourne) which was named Samson in a viewer competition early in the show's run. All the show's puppets were superbly constructed by ].
Whereas on ''The Magic Circle Club'' Howson shared scriptwriting duties fairly equally with Peter Homewood and ], for ''Adventure Island'' Howson wrote most of the scripts, with others contributed by Peter Homewood. Howson also wrote four illustrated storybooks based on the show which were given a single limited print run. They quickly sold out and are now extremely rare, though copies are available in the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Clown and the pirates : based on the ABC-TV children's programme / story by John Michael Howson |url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/2817074 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514050003/https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/2817074 |archive-date=2024-05-14 |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=]}}</ref>


==1967–68==
When Sue Donovan took over the hosting role, the structure remained the same but each episode began with a conversation with a house (Mister House, later named Serendipity House in a viewer competition - voiced by Jack Manuel and sometimes Ernie Bourne). Sue would walk into the house where she would ad lib with Crispian Cockatoo (Ernie Bourne) and Gracie Galah (Brian Crossley) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and with Maxie Mouse (Ernie Bourne) and a vertical waveform called Chi on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Each show would close with Sue talking to Samson the cat, but on Fridays she would transport herself to Diddley-Dum-Diddley for a sitdown chat with all the characters.
Nancy Cato was ''Adventure Island'''s first host during 1967–68. Cato had been forced to leave ''The Magic Circle Club'' dramatically in 1966 after an on-set accident,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-08-29 |title=What Nancy did |url=https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/what-nancy-did-20020829-gdujcx.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119094541/https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/what-nancy-did-20020829-gdujcx.html |archive-date=2023-11-19 |access-date=2024-05-14 |work=]}}</ref> and she joined ''Adventure Island'' after her recovery.


Each show would begin with Cato in an enchanted wood (one of the show's few direct similarities with ''The Magic Circle Club''). In early episodes, Nancy would sit down behind a tree-stump lectern on which was poised a magic book, open the book and begin to read the story. The story would be based on a place called Adventure Island and the residents of its town of Diddley-Dum-Diddley, and viewers would see the story played out by the characters themselves.
The scripted part of the show - the serialised story - usually involved the inhabitants of Diddley-Dum-Diddley being set upon or tricked in some way by one or more of the "baddies". On many occasions the dimwitted Clown (with sawdust for a brain and an appalling memory) would save the day with his uncanny ability to see through disguises. The show was highly moralistic with a strong "good over evil" motif in every story.


In later episodes, Nancy would begin the show by bantering with puppets Gussie Galah, Crispian Cockatoo and Matilda Mouse, then read from the book. At the conclusion of each chapter, Nancy would talk to a cat puppet, which was named Samson in a viewer competition early in the show's run.
A notable feature of the show was the music. Nearly every moment of the show was accompanied by instrumental improvisation. Each episode also contained two original songs (generally pre-recorded and mimed by the actors), written by musical director ] with lyrics usually by Howson. Rowland later found great fame and respect in the field of movie soundtracks. When he left the show in 1971 many of his songs were reused in later episodes.


==1969–72==
As colour television was not introduced in Australia until 1975 no episodes of ''Adventure Island'' were made in colour. Many viewers believe they saw the show in colour, but this was mainly due to ]'s brilliantly designed sets.
] took over the hosting role in 1969 after Cato's unexpected departure. The show's basic structure remained, but each episode instead began with a conversation with a talking house (Mister House, later named Serendipity House in a viewer competition) voiced by Jack Manuel and sometimes Ernie Bourne). Sue would then walk into the house where she would ad-lib with Crispian Cockatoo and Gracie Galah on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and with Maxie Mouse (Ernie Bourne) and a vertical waveform called Chi on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A chime would sound to indicate it was time for Sue to read the book.


Each show would close with Sue talking to Samson the cat, but on Fridays she would click her fingers and magically transport herself to Diddley-Dum-Diddley for a sit-down chat and a cup of tea with all the characters.
In 1971 an American network expressed strong interest in the show, so Howson engineered a method by which the show could be simultaneously videotaped in black-and-white and filmed in colour. However his proposal was met with total disinterest by the ABC and never went ahead.


==Premise==
The show's axing, announced in mid-1972, was highly controversial and an unprecedented flood of public protest ensued. A group of MPs headed by David Kennedy formed a "Save Adventure Island" campaign during which questions were asked in Parliament. However the campaign was unsuccessful and the final episode, number 1175, aired on December 22, 1972.
The show was highly moralistic with a strong "good over evil" motif in every story.


The scripted part of the show—a story serialised over five days, Monday to Friday—usually involved the inhabitants of Diddley-Dum-Diddley being set upon or tricked in some way by one or more of the "baddies". On many occasions the usually dimwitted Clown (with sawdust for a brain and an appalling memory) would save the day with his uncanny ability to see through disguises, a skill not possessed by the other residents of the town.
Godfrey Philipp had been the mastermind behind the ]'s successful "]" campaign which in 1972 brought about a change in government in Australia for the first time in 22 years, so the decision to axe ''Adventure Island'' may have been politically rather than economically motivated.


Some weeks' episodes would include no baddies at all, but instead centre around a visitor to Diddley-Dum-Diddley, often a relative of one of the characters, or a business-person or entrepreneur of some sort.
{{tv-stub}}

]
Concerned that some children may become upset by the mischief created by the baddies or the dilemmas faced by the Diddley-Dum-Diddleys, it was common at times of high drama for a cast member to remind the young audience that "it always turns out all right on Fridays".

The highly melodramatic, overplayed tone of the show was rooted in very traditional ] and ] traditions, and utilised a genre of light entertainment and humour appreciated by children for its simplicity and by adults for its escapism and sly nods.

==Music==
In true 'panto' style, music was an essential element of ''Adventure Island''. Nearly every moment was accompanied by instrumental improvisation. Each episode contained two original songs relevant to the show's plot. The lyrics for these were typically written by the week's scriptwriter (either Howson or Homewood) and set to music by musical director ]. After Rowland departed the show in 1971 many of the songs he had written were reused in later episodes. Rowland found great fame and respect during the 1970s and 1980s in the field of movie soundtracks. His replacement was ].

The songs were almost always pre-recorded on Thursdays, then pressed to ] and given to the actors to take home and learn so they could be accurately lip-synched during taping. A notable exception to the pre-recording rule was John Michael Howson's outstanding and moving live-to-camera performance of ''A Clown Without A Smile'' in episode 1174 (one of only a handful of episodes that have survived).

==Puppets==
In each episode's unscripted segments, the hostess would converse with puppet characters. It was at these points in the show that viewer contributions (drawings, riddles, jokes, etc.) would be aired.

The puppets which appeared on ''Adventure Island'' were:

*Gussie Galah, operated by Colin McEwan (1967–68)
*Crispian Cockatoo, operated by Ernie Bourne (1967–72)
*Matilda Mouse, operated by Marion Edward (1967–68)
*Samson (cat), operated by Ernie Bourne (1967–72)
*Gracie Galah, operated by Brian Crossley (1969–72)
*Maxie Mouse, operated by Ernie Bourne (1969–72)

A female version of Samson, operated by Liz Harris, appeared for several weeks in 1971 when Ernie Bourne was forced to take a break for health reasons.

Gussie is probably the most notorious, but least remembered, puppet character on ''Adventure Island''. A brilliant McEwan creation, his intensely squawking voice, disruptive manner and constant teasing of Nancy Cato took the hilarious whining of Leonardo de Fun Bird (from ''The Magic Circle Club'') to a completely new level. When McEwan left the show, Gussie was replaced by a more cultured female galah, Gracie, who was slightly taller in stature.

Samson was a large hand puppet, similar to a ]. All the other puppets were mechanical creations. The operator would pull down on a rod, either underneath or inside the body of the puppet, to open the mouth or beak. The show's puppets were constructed by ], who was typically named in the credits simply as "Axel".

==Magic==
As in ''The Magic Circle Club'' all of the characters in ''Adventure Island'', including the hostesses, possessed magic powers which they could call upon if the need arose. These were used sparingly, most likely because of technical difficulties in performing videotape drop-edits with the cumbersome videotape technology of the day.

Each Friday episode generally concluded with the hostess visiting Adventure Island and sitting with the characters to discuss the week's adventure. She would transport herself there by clicking her fingers.

Samson (the pussycat) was actually a magic cat who would be invisible until Monday afternoon's episode. To make him appear, the hostess would need to answer a question he would ask from "beyond". He would disappear again on Friday afternoons by sneezing.

==Colour==
No episodes of ''Adventure Island'' were produced in colour, since Australian TV was at that time broadcast in black-and-white, and there was evidently no plan to sell the program overseas. A popular belief by many viewers that the show was in colour could be attributed in large part to the brilliant sets which, for most of the show's run, were designed by ].

Howson has said that in 1971 an American network expressed strong interest in the show and were only reluctant to make an offer due to its monochrome format. Howson proposed a solution to the ABC in which the entire five shows would be restaged on Tuesdays but this time filmed in colour—the cast and crew now totally familiar with the scripts, having performed them for the videotaped version on Sunday and Monday—but his proposal was met with total uninterest by the ABC and was never considered.

A brief piece of colour footage (actually an offcut from a 1972 ABC magazine show story on the show's closure) was aired for the first time in 1996 as part of an ABC 40th anniversary programme.

==Awards==
{{Awards table|5}}
|-
! scope="row" | ]
| rowspan="3" | ]
| Best Children's Show
| ''Adventure Island''
| {{won}}
| <ref>{{Cite web |title=1966-1969 Logie Awards |url=http://www.australiantelevision.net/awards/logie1966_69.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120072100/http://australiantelevision.net/awards/logie1966_69.html |archive-date=2023-11-20 |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=Australian Television Information Archive}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | ]
| Most Popular Female (Victoria)
| ]
| {{won}}
| <ref name="70s-Logies">{{Cite web |title=1970-1973 Logie Awards |url=http://www.australiantelevision.net/awards/logie1970_73.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120072037/http://australiantelevision.net/awards/logie1970_73.html |archive-date=2023-11-20 |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=Australian Television Information Archive}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | ]
| Contribution To Children's TV
| ]
| {{won}}
| <ref name="70s-Logies" />
{{end}}

==Cancellation==
The show's axing, announced in mid-1972, was highly controversial—not least because it was replaced by the American program '']''—and an unprecedented flood of public protest ensued. A group of MPs headed by David Kennedy launched a "Save Adventure Island" campaign during which questions were asked in Parliament. However the campaign was unsuccessful and the final episode, number 1175, aired on 22 December 1972.

==In popular culture==
The costume for Percy Panda was used in a semi-regular segment on the ABC comedy '']'' titled ''Shirty, the slightly aggressive bear'', a send-up of children's television, in which the Shirty character would commit various violent atrocities. In the final ''Shirty'' segment, it was revealed that the occupant of the bear suit was ] as his character from '']''.

In the first episode of '']'', host ] introduces the supporting cast as being recycled from old ABC television programs, stating that viewers may recognise cast member Roz Hammond as "the horribly mutilated corpse from the final episode of ''Adventure Island''. I think Clown is revealed as the psychopath in that one."

==Archival remnants==
Many of the early episodes of ''Adventure Island'' appear to no longer exist. However, a search of the ] reveals 998 listings of audiovisual archival material for the program, most of which appears to be complete episodes stored as black and white film recordings. Although quite a few were wiped there are at least 955 episodes that do exist. Most of which are later episodes.

The ] database contains listings for six episodes, preserved on 16mm film and in video copies—one from 1967, one from 1971, and four consecutive episodes (1171–1174) from 1972, which are among the last to have been produced.

The fate of ''Adventure Island'' is consistent with that of many other ABC-TV programs from the same period. In the late 1970s ABC-TV management instituted a policy of "recycling" videotape as a cost-cutting measure and this was especially targeted at older programs made in B&W. All departments of ABC-TV were obliged to surrender tapes and as a result a large amount of historically significant videotaped programming from the 1960s and early 1970s was erased.

However, the closure of the ] studios in ] in 2002–03 uncovered large amounts of uncatalogued film and video footage, including many hours of live performance footage from '']'' and material other programs long thought to have been lost, including 'missing' portions of '']'' and it is therefore possible that more material from ''Adventure Island'' may have survived.

The ] at the ], holds a substantial number of costumes, props, photographs and related documents for the production, with the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra also holding a substantial collection of production documentation and photographs relating to the show.

The Adventure Island storybook, from which Cato and Donovan read each day, is now part of the collection of ], Sydney. The donor, who was working at the ABC's Rippon Lea studios as a props staffer at the time, rescued the book from a dumpster where it had been discarded in 1988.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Adventure Island' TV prop book used by Australian Broadcasting Commission |url=http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=348904 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723122024/http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=348904 |archive-date=2010-07-23 |access-date=2009-07-05 |website=]}}</ref>

==In Memoriam==
Several cast members of ''Adventure Island'' have died in recent years.

* Colin McEwan – 22 August 2005 (64)
* Marion Edward
* Peter Homewood – 22 December 2008 (79, one day short of his 80th birthday)
* Ernie Bourne – 21 January 2009 (82)
* Brian Crossley – 8 September 2012 (85)

On 22 January 2009, the day after Ernie Bourne's death, the following notice appeared in Melbourne's ] newspaper:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morgan |first=Clare |date=2009-02-20 |title=Many faces of an entertainment legend |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/many-faces-of-an-entertainment-legend-20090219-8chh.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918221215/https://www.smh.com.au/national/many-faces-of-an-entertainment-legend-20090219-8chh.html |archive-date=2023-09-18 |access-date=2024-05-14 |work=]}}</ref>

{{quote|BOURNE, Ernie – A dear, lovable and funny man who brightened the lives of children around Australia and his fellow Cast Members in the Magic Circle Club and Adventure Island. Goodbye Sir Jasper, farewell Fester Fumble and Samson.<br>
- Flower, Clown, Percy, Betty, Lisa, Sue, Miser, Hep Cat, Marlena, Fredd and Feefee, Godfrey, Bruce and the Boys in the Band.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*
* , in the ], at ].
* at the ]
* {{YouTube|id=cWeS-JyJMNo |title=''Adventure Island'' Opening with Sue Donovan 1970}}
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adventure Island (Tv Series)}}
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 20:58, 30 November 2024

1967 Australian TV series or program
Adventure Island
GenreChildren's television
Created by
Presented by
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes1,175
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkABC Television
Release11 September 1967 (1967-09-11) –
22 December 1972 (1972-12-22)

Adventure Island is an Australian television series for children which screened on the ABC from 11 September 1967 to 22 December 1972 (repeats of the 1969 to 1972 episodes ran from 1973 to 1976). It was jointly created by Godfrey Philipp, who produced the series, and actor-writer John-Michael Howson, who also co-starred in the show. It typically aired from Monday to Friday and each story would stretch across a full week, reaching a resolution on Friday.

Adventure Island was a joint production of Godfrey Philipp Productions and the Australian Broadcasting Commission, pre-recorded on videotape at the ABC's studios in Ripponlea, Melbourne. It is believed to be the first program made by the ABC in collaboration with an outside production company. Production was usually five weeks ahead of broadcast. It was a pantomime-style series set in the kingdom of Diddley-Dum-Diddley. The show was hosted by Nancy Cato (a cousin of the noted author of the same name) from 1967 to 1968 (her final pre-recorded episodes aired at the beginning of 1969) and Sue Donovan from 1969 to 1972.

Cast

Regular

Guests

Pre-production

Following the May 1967 announcement of the imminent axing of the highly popular Independent Television System children's programme The Magic Circle Club, made in Melbourne at the ATV0 studios in Nunawading, the ABC immediately approached its producers with a proposal to immediately take over production of the show. This was very quickly thwarted when the 0-10 Network's then owner Reg Ansett refused to relinquish his network's rights to the show's name and premise, forcing Philipp and Howson to devise a lookalike.

Adventure Island's creation was credited to both Philipp and Howson, although Liz Harris recalls Howson verbalising the show's entire premise and setting, as well as naming all the characters, during a short promotional aeroplane flight in mid-1967.

Writing

Whereas on The Magic Circle Club Howson shared scriptwriting duties fairly equally with Peter Homewood and Max Bartlett, for Adventure Island Howson wrote most of the scripts, with others contributed by Peter Homewood. Howson also wrote four illustrated storybooks based on the show which were given a single limited print run. They quickly sold out and are now extremely rare, though copies are available in the National Library of Australia.

1967–68

Nancy Cato was Adventure Island's first host during 1967–68. Cato had been forced to leave The Magic Circle Club dramatically in 1966 after an on-set accident, and she joined Adventure Island after her recovery.

Each show would begin with Cato in an enchanted wood (one of the show's few direct similarities with The Magic Circle Club). In early episodes, Nancy would sit down behind a tree-stump lectern on which was poised a magic book, open the book and begin to read the story. The story would be based on a place called Adventure Island and the residents of its town of Diddley-Dum-Diddley, and viewers would see the story played out by the characters themselves.

In later episodes, Nancy would begin the show by bantering with puppets Gussie Galah, Crispian Cockatoo and Matilda Mouse, then read from the book. At the conclusion of each chapter, Nancy would talk to a cat puppet, which was named Samson in a viewer competition early in the show's run.

1969–72

Sue Donovan took over the hosting role in 1969 after Cato's unexpected departure. The show's basic structure remained, but each episode instead began with a conversation with a talking house (Mister House, later named Serendipity House in a viewer competition) voiced by Jack Manuel and sometimes Ernie Bourne). Sue would then walk into the house where she would ad-lib with Crispian Cockatoo and Gracie Galah on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and with Maxie Mouse (Ernie Bourne) and a vertical waveform called Chi on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A chime would sound to indicate it was time for Sue to read the book.

Each show would close with Sue talking to Samson the cat, but on Fridays she would click her fingers and magically transport herself to Diddley-Dum-Diddley for a sit-down chat and a cup of tea with all the characters.

Premise

The show was highly moralistic with a strong "good over evil" motif in every story.

The scripted part of the show—a story serialised over five days, Monday to Friday—usually involved the inhabitants of Diddley-Dum-Diddley being set upon or tricked in some way by one or more of the "baddies". On many occasions the usually dimwitted Clown (with sawdust for a brain and an appalling memory) would save the day with his uncanny ability to see through disguises, a skill not possessed by the other residents of the town.

Some weeks' episodes would include no baddies at all, but instead centre around a visitor to Diddley-Dum-Diddley, often a relative of one of the characters, or a business-person or entrepreneur of some sort.

Concerned that some children may become upset by the mischief created by the baddies or the dilemmas faced by the Diddley-Dum-Diddleys, it was common at times of high drama for a cast member to remind the young audience that "it always turns out all right on Fridays".

The highly melodramatic, overplayed tone of the show was rooted in very traditional camp and pantomime traditions, and utilised a genre of light entertainment and humour appreciated by children for its simplicity and by adults for its escapism and sly nods.

Music

In true 'panto' style, music was an essential element of Adventure Island. Nearly every moment was accompanied by instrumental improvisation. Each episode contained two original songs relevant to the show's plot. The lyrics for these were typically written by the week's scriptwriter (either Howson or Homewood) and set to music by musical director Bruce Rowland. After Rowland departed the show in 1971 many of the songs he had written were reused in later episodes. Rowland found great fame and respect during the 1970s and 1980s in the field of movie soundtracks. His replacement was Alan Teak.

The songs were almost always pre-recorded on Thursdays, then pressed to acetate and given to the actors to take home and learn so they could be accurately lip-synched during taping. A notable exception to the pre-recording rule was John Michael Howson's outstanding and moving live-to-camera performance of A Clown Without A Smile in episode 1174 (one of only a handful of episodes that have survived).

Puppets

In each episode's unscripted segments, the hostess would converse with puppet characters. It was at these points in the show that viewer contributions (drawings, riddles, jokes, etc.) would be aired.

The puppets which appeared on Adventure Island were:

  • Gussie Galah, operated by Colin McEwan (1967–68)
  • Crispian Cockatoo, operated by Ernie Bourne (1967–72)
  • Matilda Mouse, operated by Marion Edward (1967–68)
  • Samson (cat), operated by Ernie Bourne (1967–72)
  • Gracie Galah, operated by Brian Crossley (1969–72)
  • Maxie Mouse, operated by Ernie Bourne (1969–72)

A female version of Samson, operated by Liz Harris, appeared for several weeks in 1971 when Ernie Bourne was forced to take a break for health reasons.

Gussie is probably the most notorious, but least remembered, puppet character on Adventure Island. A brilliant McEwan creation, his intensely squawking voice, disruptive manner and constant teasing of Nancy Cato took the hilarious whining of Leonardo de Fun Bird (from The Magic Circle Club) to a completely new level. When McEwan left the show, Gussie was replaced by a more cultured female galah, Gracie, who was slightly taller in stature.

Samson was a large hand puppet, similar to a muppet. All the other puppets were mechanical creations. The operator would pull down on a rod, either underneath or inside the body of the puppet, to open the mouth or beak. The show's puppets were constructed by Axel Axelrad, who was typically named in the credits simply as "Axel".

Magic

As in The Magic Circle Club all of the characters in Adventure Island, including the hostesses, possessed magic powers which they could call upon if the need arose. These were used sparingly, most likely because of technical difficulties in performing videotape drop-edits with the cumbersome videotape technology of the day.

Each Friday episode generally concluded with the hostess visiting Adventure Island and sitting with the characters to discuss the week's adventure. She would transport herself there by clicking her fingers.

Samson (the pussycat) was actually a magic cat who would be invisible until Monday afternoon's episode. To make him appear, the hostess would need to answer a question he would ask from "beyond". He would disappear again on Friday afternoons by sneezing.

Colour

No episodes of Adventure Island were produced in colour, since Australian TV was at that time broadcast in black-and-white, and there was evidently no plan to sell the program overseas. A popular belief by many viewers that the show was in colour could be attributed in large part to the brilliant sets which, for most of the show's run, were designed by Paul Cleveland.

Howson has said that in 1971 an American network expressed strong interest in the show and were only reluctant to make an offer due to its monochrome format. Howson proposed a solution to the ABC in which the entire five shows would be restaged on Tuesdays but this time filmed in colour—the cast and crew now totally familiar with the scripts, having performed them for the videotaped version on Sunday and Monday—but his proposal was met with total uninterest by the ABC and was never considered.

A brief piece of colour footage (actually an offcut from a 1972 ABC magazine show story on the show's closure) was aired for the first time in 1996 as part of an ABC 40th anniversary programme.

Awards

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
1969 Logie Awards Best Children's Show Adventure Island Won
1971 Most Popular Female (Victoria) Sue Donovan Won
1973 Contribution To Children's TV Godfrey Philipp Won

Cancellation

The show's axing, announced in mid-1972, was highly controversial—not least because it was replaced by the American program Sesame Street—and an unprecedented flood of public protest ensued. A group of MPs headed by David Kennedy launched a "Save Adventure Island" campaign during which questions were asked in Parliament. However the campaign was unsuccessful and the final episode, number 1175, aired on 22 December 1972.

In popular culture

The costume for Percy Panda was used in a semi-regular segment on the ABC comedy The Late Show titled Shirty, the slightly aggressive bear, a send-up of children's television, in which the Shirty character would commit various violent atrocities. In the final Shirty segment, it was revealed that the occupant of the bear suit was Russell Crowe as his character from Romper Stomper.

In the first episode of The Micallef Program, host Shaun Micallef introduces the supporting cast as being recycled from old ABC television programs, stating that viewers may recognise cast member Roz Hammond as "the horribly mutilated corpse from the final episode of Adventure Island. I think Clown is revealed as the psychopath in that one."

Archival remnants

Many of the early episodes of Adventure Island appear to no longer exist. However, a search of the National Archives of Australia reveals 998 listings of audiovisual archival material for the program, most of which appears to be complete episodes stored as black and white film recordings. Although quite a few were wiped there are at least 955 episodes that do exist. Most of which are later episodes.

The National Film & Sound Archive database contains listings for six episodes, preserved on 16mm film and in video copies—one from 1967, one from 1971, and four consecutive episodes (1171–1174) from 1972, which are among the last to have been produced.

The fate of Adventure Island is consistent with that of many other ABC-TV programs from the same period. In the late 1970s ABC-TV management instituted a policy of "recycling" videotape as a cost-cutting measure and this was especially targeted at older programs made in B&W. All departments of ABC-TV were obliged to surrender tapes and as a result a large amount of historically significant videotaped programming from the 1960s and early 1970s was erased.

However, the closure of the Gore Hill studios in Sydney in 2002–03 uncovered large amounts of uncatalogued film and video footage, including many hours of live performance footage from GTK and material other programs long thought to have been lost, including 'missing' portions of The Aunty Jack Show and it is therefore possible that more material from Adventure Island may have survived.

The Performing Arts Collection at the Arts Centre Melbourne, holds a substantial number of costumes, props, photographs and related documents for the production, with the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra also holding a substantial collection of production documentation and photographs relating to the show.

The Adventure Island storybook, from which Cato and Donovan read each day, is now part of the collection of Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. The donor, who was working at the ABC's Rippon Lea studios as a props staffer at the time, rescued the book from a dumpster where it had been discarded in 1988.

In Memoriam

Several cast members of Adventure Island have died in recent years.

  • Colin McEwan – 22 August 2005 (64)
  • Marion Edward
  • Peter Homewood – 22 December 2008 (79, one day short of his 80th birthday)
  • Ernie Bourne – 21 January 2009 (82)
  • Brian Crossley – 8 September 2012 (85)

On 22 January 2009, the day after Ernie Bourne's death, the following notice appeared in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper:

BOURNE, Ernie – A dear, lovable and funny man who brightened the lives of children around Australia and his fellow Cast Members in the Magic Circle Club and Adventure Island. Goodbye Sir Jasper, farewell Fester Fumble and Samson.
- Flower, Clown, Percy, Betty, Lisa, Sue, Miser, Hep Cat, Marlena, Fredd and Feefee, Godfrey, Bruce and the Boys in the Band.

References

  1. Moran, Albert (1993). Moran's guide to Australian TV series: your complete guide to every drama series, children's show and sitcom. North Ryde, NSW: Australian Film, Television and Radio School. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-642-18462-7.
  2. "Adventure Island". Nostalgia Central. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  3. "Adventure Island". AustLit. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  4. "Clown and the pirates : based on the ABC-TV children's programme / story by John Michael Howson". National Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  5. "What Nancy did". The Age. 29 August 2002. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  6. "1966-1969 Logie Awards". Australian Television Information Archive. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  7. ^ "1970-1973 Logie Awards". Australian Television Information Archive. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  8. "'Adventure Island' TV prop book used by Australian Broadcasting Commission". Powerhouse Museum. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
  9. Morgan, Clare (20 February 2009). "Many faces of an entertainment legend". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2024.

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