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The Official
Five Mile Creek
Press Kit

 

Program Information

AUSTRALIAN FRONTIER ADVENTURE SERIES
(60 MINUTE PROGRAMS)

 

Production Company: Valstar Pty., Ltd.
 
Story Outline: Bold Adventure series dramatizing the era of settling and pioneering on the Australian frontier.  Emphasis on the struggles of two strong women:  Kate Wallace, an Australian seasoned in the frontier way of life; and Maggie Scott, an American who has traveled to Australia in search of her prospecting husband.  Adventures arise as they work together to build a stagecoach line running from the coastal town of Port Nelson to Five Mile Creek.  The stage line operators are Con Madigan, an American immigrant and his partner, "Gentleman Jack" Taylor.  Filmed entirely on location 30 km. north of Sydney in French's Forest.  Series captures the excitement of opening of the Australian West in the 1860's.

All episodes are taped on location in Australian.  In addition, all post production on the series is completed in Australia.
 
Sets: Three exterior and separate standing sets have been constructed:
  1. Five Mile Creek stage stop station.
  2. Wilga, a gold rush town.
  3. Port Nelson, coastal seaport town.

Six standing studio sets have also been built.  These are:

  1. Saloon interior set at Wilga.
  2. Bank office interior at Port Nelson.
  3. Withers bank office interior at Port Nelson.
  4. Living room interior at Five Mile Creek.
  5. Maggie and Hannah Scott's bedroom interior at Five Mile Creek.
  6. Kitchen interior at Five Mile Creek.

In addition, a seventh "swing" set is used for various interior scenes.
 
Director:  EPISODE 1 George Miller
A celebrated Australian, George directs the first episode of "Five Mile Creek."  His directorial credits includes:
1979 - "Against the Wind" for Australian television.
1982 - Feature Film, "The Man From Snowy River," starring Kirk Douglas.
1983 - "All the Rivers Run," a mini-series recently completed for Australian television.
 

American Cast:

CON MADIGAN: Jay Kerr
A native Texan from Del Rio who has ridden the rodeo circuit and driven stagecoaches, Jay is well-suited to play the smooth-talking American partner of the stagecoach line at "Five Mile Creek."  His credits include the 1980 feature film, "Hard Country," starring a regular role on CBS' daytime drama "The Young and the Restless," and a featured role on the recent "Wizards and Warriors," also starring Jeff Conway for CBS.
MAGGIE SCOTT: Louise Caire Clark
Louise is a native Californian who has lived and studied in New Orleans and New York.  Granddaughter of General Mark Clark (who spearheaded the invasion of North Africa in World War II), she has had roles in several feature films and has appeared in such television series as "The Dukes of Hazzard," "Get Christy Love," "As The World Turns" and "The Edge of Night."  Louise has also helped establish her own Equity Waiver theater in Los Angeles, as a place in which New York actors may thrive.  An experienced horsewoman, Louise began riding at age six and for a time broke horses for a western stable.
HANNAH SCOTT: Priscilla Weems
This active young lady, at age eleven, has already on stage, screen and television.  Her credits include the "Bob Newhart Show," "Eye on L.A.," "Sound of Music," "Oliver Twist" and appearances with the Ink Spots and the Drifters.  Priscilla was just recently named a finalist in the "Under 16 Country Music Award" category of the California Country Music Association.
BEN JONES: Gus Mercurio
For the past few years, Gus has been a celebrated boxer in Australia, as well as a sports personality and actor.  He most recently completed a role in "The Man From Snowy River."
 

Australian Cast:

KATE WALLACE: Liz Burch
Popular television series actress, Liz Burch is well-known to Australian viewers as Liz Cameron, the dynamic do-gooder on ATN-7's "Cop Shop."  Daughter of an Australian Naval Captain and a playwright, Liz followed her mother with a career in the arts.  Her theater credits include performances with The Twelfth Night Theatre Company (a repertory company), in Brisbane and, most recently, she starred as Felicity Rumpers in Alan Bennett's comedy stage play, "Habeas Corpus."
"GENTLEMAN JACK" TAYLOR: Rod Mullinar
Rod was born in England near the Welsh border and moved to London at age five.  His theatrical career began with two years of extensive training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.  After working in London for four years, he traveled to Australia for three weeks; that was 18 years ago.  Rod has appeared in many films and major television series including the award-winning "The Sullivans," Crawford's mini-series "Against the Wind" and "Eureka Stockade," and his own series, "Ryan."
PADDY MALONE: Michael Caton
Michael's career began in Queensland in the early 60's at the Twelth Night Theatre.  Since his early days in Brisbane, he has worked not only in theater and films, but in television popular character was "Uncle Harry" from the award-winning series, "The Sullivans," for which he won two Logies (in 1979 and 1981) for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
SAM SAWYER: Martin Lewis
Young and talented, Martin started his acting career at age seven in the televised production of the "Oracle."  In 1979 he became the youngest member of "The Earth Team," a current affairs children's program.  After three years, he became a member of "The Jam Sandwich Team," a teenage version of the children's series.  Martin has worked on stage and in feature films where he played the role of "Skeet" in the feature "Fatty Finn," and "Andrew" in the film "The Flute Man."  He presently is studying piano and ballet and aspires to be a classical ballet dancer.
MR. WITHERS Peter Carroll
Peter has a background of impressive and extensive stage credits.  His early theatrical training was completed at the London Central School of Speech and Drama where he received his Advanced Certificate.  He has tutored at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts as well as directing numerous productions for the institute.  Peter's association with the Nimrod Theatre and the Sydney Theatre Company include performances in "Macbeth," "Much Ado About Nothing," "The Christian Brothers" and "The Perfectionist."
BACKER BOWMAN Tony Blackett
Tony returned to Australia in 1979, after a sever-year stint in England and the United States.  His stage plays include "John, George, Ringo, Paul and Bert," "You Never Can Tell," "A Man For All Seasons" and "Henry VIII."  Additional television and film credits are numerous including "The Dismissal," "Return to Eden," "Bellamy" and "The New Avengers."

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