australian television information archive

Colour in the Creek

Produced by PBL Productions Pty Ltd

Executive Producer: Ian Bradley, Penny Spence
Scriptwriter: Sonia Borg
Director: Rob Stewart
Music: Terry Hannahan

Aired: 1985 (Nine)

Based on Margaret Paice's Depression-era books Colour in the Creek and A Shadow of Wings, Colour In The Creek is a ten-part historical drama, capturing the highs and lows of life on the land and the excitement of the Australian goldfields.

1931. The world is at an economic low as The Great Depression brings poverty, hardship and widespread unemployment to the nation. Driven by desperation and hope for a better life, the Fletcher family pack their worldly belongings into the back of a Model T Ford and head to the outback in search of work, food and shelter.

On the road, patriarch John Fletcher lends his hand to anything that may provide a meal for his family, from fixing farm equipment to building fences. Learning of a nearby gold strike, he and wife Ellen lead their three children into the dusty unknown of the Coorumbong Creek region to try their luck. When 12-year-old son Alec and his friend discover a nugget of gold in a nearby stream it is destined to change the family's fortune.