The characters of Anne (Sigrid Thornton) and Dave Mitchell (Peter Phelps were based on a real-life couple who got married after the end of World War I.
The film depicts a large use of horses and horse-riding and it has been noted that no horses were put-down nor injured during the making of this picture.
In the climactic scene depicting the charge of the Australian Lighthorse at Beersheba several of the riders are actually women dressed in men's uniforms.
Website Cinephilia reports of the Jon Blake accident and legal case: "Jon Blake was critically injured whilst driving home on December 1, 1986, after the final day's filming of The Lighthorsemen (1987). He sustained severe brain injuries and in December, 1995, the New South Wales Supreme Court ruled that Blake should be compensated for the loss of potential earnings as a star in the United States. After taking evidence from actors, directors, and film critics who indicated his career could have been as big as Mel Gibson's, the court awarded him $32 million in damages. This was later reduced to $7 million after the defence appealed."
Tony Bonner bears a remarkable likeness to the real Col. Murray Bourchier. He played Bourchier again in '"The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles' Palestine, October 1917 (1993)'.