Secret Valley
| Secret Valley | |
|---|---|
| Format |
Children's Adventure |
| Created by |
Terry Bourke Roger Mirams |
| Starring |
Alfred Bell Rodney Bell Marcia Britos |
| Opening theme | My Secret Valley, composed by Bob Young, lyrics by Roger Mirams |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Roger Mirams |
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original airing | 1980 |
Secret Valley was an Australian children's television adventure series from 1980 made by the Grundy Organisation and first shown on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Secret Valley was a fictitious children's holiday camp in Bildarra which had been transformed from a run down ghost town into a resort. The children who worked and visited the camp often found themselves in battle against a gang of "bad" kids - Spider McGlurk and his gang from "Spider Cave". These battles usually featured flour bombs and other food related missiles and everyone inevitably ended up in a big mess.
Spider McGlurk and his gang were not the biggest threat to the peace at Secret Valley. Secret Valley was also under threat of closure by the local council, and property developer William Whopper (also known as 'WW') played by Hugh Keays-Byrne.
Produced by Roger Mirams who also produced a spin-off series in 1986 (Professor Poopsnagle's Steam Zeppelin), amongst other programs and series.
The 1980 pilot was directed by Howard Rubie and written by Terry Bourke.[1]
The series was aired in New Zealand, Spain, the UK and the Netherlands in 1982/1983 by KRO television. It was also broadcasting by the Dutch TV station Kindernet in 1989/1990.
Production
- This program was a co-production between Australia, Spain and France (Grundy, TVE and Telecip).
- Some of the child actors in this show were real-life siblings - Beth, Miles and Simone Buchanan.
- The series was at Smokey Dawson's ranch in Terrey Hills, New South Wales and also at El Caballo Blanco.
Roger Mirams originally intended to make a series called The Ghost Town Gang at Smoky Dawson's ranch at Ingleside, which had been used to film Luke's Kingdom and Lost Islands. However bushfires went through it, and there was no ghost down so the show became Secret Valley. Thirteen days after the fire, filming started again. Producer Mirams says the overall theme of Secret Valley is depicted through kids doing their own thing in what usually is an adult world.[2]
The theme song
The theme song was sung to the tune of "Waltzing Matilda"
I had dream I could ride across the mountaintops
Ride on the waves where the sea turns blue
Gum trees, some trees rise until they touch the sky
I know a place where it all comes true
Chorus:
I know a valley, I know a valley
My Secret Valley the world has to see
One place for children, welcome from around the world
Please come and share Secret Valley with me
Paris, London, Montreal and Amsterdam
So many friends that we want to know
From the hills of Spain to the city streets of Germany
I know a place where we all can go
Repeat chorus
References
- ↑ Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p137
- ↑ "Out of the ashes comes.". The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) (1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia). 24 December 1980. p. 160 Supplement: TV World. Retrieved 14 July 2013.