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The first part of a trilogy that dramatises the recurring 'new chum' theme in Australian storytelling and also touches on racism, wartime propaganda, and the mateship and community that exists in a small town dependent on one industry to survive. The narrative begins in the late thirties, with the arrival of a young Englishman in the Queensland sugar cane town of Silkwood. When he is not accepted by the Australian cane cutters, the Italian workers take him under their wing. As the story progresses, he has several love affairs, goes to war, and eventually returns to the canefields.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Related Works
-
form
y
Fields of Fire II
Nine Network
(publisher),
( dir. David Elfick
et. al. )agent
Sydney
Australia
Sydney
:
Zenith Entertainment
Nine Network
Palm Beach Pictures
,
1988
Z1711944
1988
series - publisher
film/TV
Inspired by Robert Donaldson's novel Cane, this sequel to the 1987 mini-series Fields of Fire begins in 1946. Following the marriage of WWII, British expatriate Bluey and Dusty, one of his co-workers in the Australian cane fields, the focus shifts to a pair of new characters - Gina, an Italian refugee, and Franco, her black-marketeer husband.
-
form
y
Fields of Fire III
( dir. Robert Marchand
et. al. )agent
London
Sydney
Australia
:
Zenith Entertainment
Palm Beach Pictures
Nine Network
,
1989
Z1831241
1989
series - publisher
film/TV
In this third instalment of the Fields of Fire series, Kate, now widowed, 'is a wealthy woman owning many cane farms. She is attracted to Rinaldo, a newly arrived Italian cane-cutter. The referendum to outlaw the Australian Communist Party splits the town. A big flood draws the community back together and brings the saga to a close.'
Source: Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series.
- North Queensland, Queensland,
