The Shiralee

6.8

1988•1h 35m

Macauley is a swagman on the road in the 1940s looking for work. He's a laid back, laconic sort of bloke but when he gets landed with his daughter after his drunken play-girl wife in Adelaide makes him face up to what she believes are his responsibilities, neither he nor his daughter are ready for each other. But in the beginning he's all she's got, and at the end, she's all he's got.

Production

Seasons

2 Episodes • Premiered 1988

1. Episode 1

After falling from a train in a small town in the Australian outback, Mac, a strong-willed young man, meets Lily, the daughter of the local butcher and decides to stay. A mean trick played by a rival suitor leads to Mac being bundled out of town. On returning six years later, he finds that Lily has married his old friend Jim Muldoon. His own marriage to showgirl Marge has failed and left him with nothing but his stubborn and wilful daughter Buster... his Shiralee.

2. Episode 2

Mac has returned to Eucla with Buster, looking for a job from Thaddeus, only to find his old boss gravely ill and Lily running the family business. Although strongly attracted to each other, Mac's independence in refusing to work for a woman leads him to take to the road again. He resumes his career as a prize fighter, but leaves after an argument with Beauty. Swallowing his pride he asks Lily for a job, but weeks on the road have taken their toll on Buster