Margaret Catchpole (radio play)

Margaret Catchpole is a 1945 Australian radio drama by Rex Rienits about Margaret Catchpole.[4][5] It was one of several dramatisations of Australian historical figures by Rienits.[6]

Margaret Catchpole
Running time60 mins[1] (8:00 pm – 9:00 pm)
Country of originAustralian
Language(s)English
SyndicatesABC
StarringBebe Scott
Written byRex Rienits
Directed byCharles Wheeler[2]
Original release22 April 1945[3]
ABC Weekly 16 Jul 1958

Plays on Australian subjects were relatively rare on Australian radio at the time and Margaret Catchpole was listed by Leslie Rees as among the most notable of the 1940s.[7]

The play was repeated later in 1945[8] and was re-recorded in 1958.[9] One listener called it one of the best plays of 1945.[10]

Catchpole's life was also dramatised by the ABC in 1950 as an episode of Famous Women[11] and she was the subject of a "talks" episode in 1953.[12]

Premise

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According to the ABC Weekly, it told "the story of a strong-minded, attractive English girl who was sent out to New South Wales early in the nineteenth century and who aroused public interest by rejecting the offer of marriage made by a well-set-up free settler of good character. Why Margaret Catchpole was transported and why she refused marriage are unfolded in this chronicle play which holds its suspense to the end."[13]

References

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  1. ^ "NEXT WEEK with the A B C". Jerilderie Herald and Urana Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 19 April 1945. p. 5. Retrieved 9 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "Tuesday", ABC Weekly, 7 (16), Sydney, 21 April 1945, retrieved 28 October 2023 – via Trove
  3. ^ "Advertising". The Proserpine Guardian. Vol. 40, no. 2749. Queensland, Australia. 1 June 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 9 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "BROADCASTING". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 30, 780. Victoria, Australia. 24 April 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 9 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "This week's A.B.C. PLAYS on the National programmes", ABC Weekly, 7 (16), Sydney, 21 April 1945, retrieved 9 July 2023 – via Trove
  6. ^ "ABC Serial Author is a Keen Historian", ABC Weekly, 11 (4), Sydney, 22 January 1949, retrieved 9 July 2023 – via Trove
  7. ^ Rees, Leslie (1953). Towards An Australian Drama. p. 167.
  8. ^ "Saturday", ABC Weekly, 7 (22), Sydney, 2 June 1945, retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Trove
  9. ^ ABC Weekly, vol. 20, Sydney, 16 July 1958, retrieved 9 July 2023 – via Trove{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ "The Best Plays", ABC Weekly, 8 (8), Sydney, 9 March 1946, retrieved 28 October 2023 – via Trove
  11. ^ "Sunday May 14", ABC Weekly, 12 (19), Sydney, 13 May 1950, retrieved 28 October 2023 – via Trove
  12. ^ "Margaret Catchpole", ABC Weekly, 15 (11), Sydney, 14 March 1953, retrieved 28 October 2023 – via Trove
  13. ^ "A.B.C. radio plays for the week", ABC Weekly, 20 (29), Sydney, 16 July 1958, retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Trove