The Pioneers (1916 film)
The Pioneers is a 1916 Australian silent film directed by Franklyn Barrett. The film is based on the debut novel by Katharine Susannah Prichard which won £250 in a 1915 literary competition. It is considered a lost film.
It was later filmed by Raymond Longford as The Pioneers (1926).
Plot
A convict, Dan Farrel, escapes from Van Diemen's Land and throws himself on the mercy of a farming couple, Mary and Donald Cameron. The years pass and Dan becomes a school teacher. He marries and they have a daughter, Dierdre, but his wife dies.
Dierdre grows up and agrees to marry a local pub keeper, McNab, to stop him from revealing that Dan is a convict. McNab still goes to the police and Dan is arrested. Dierdre accidentally kills McNab.
Cast
Winter Hall as Dan Farrel
Alma Rock Phillips as Deidre
Lily Rochefort as Mary Cameron
Charles Knight as Donald Cameron
Fred St Clair as Davey Cameron
Irve Hayman as Thad McNab
Martyn Keith as Steve
Fred Neilson as Fighting Conal
Nell Rose as Jessie
George Willougbhy