its first republication in 1897 until its centenary edition in 1994. The Woolcot children, while holidaying at the cattle station, listen to Mr Gillet telling an Aboriginal story he "got at second-hand" from Tettawonga, the station's Aboriginal stockman. "'Once upon a time' (Judy sniffed at the old-fashioned beginning), 'once upon a time,' said Mr. Gillet, 'when this young land was still younger, and incomparably more beautiful, when Tettawonga's ancestors were brave and strong and happy as careless children, when their worst nightmare had never shown them so evil a time as the white man would bring their race, when--' 'Oh, get on! muttered Pip impatiently. 'Well,' said Mr Gillet, 'when, in short, an early Golden Age wrapped the land in its sunshine, a young kukuburra and its mate spread their wings and set off towards the purple mountains beyond the gum trees..." Clare Bradford suggested in her book Reading Race "The main effect of the omission of Tettawonga's story is...to achieve a less problematic version of the Australian past than the one which prevails in the book's first edition." Brenda Niall has suggested that the omission may have been due to the extensive advertising in the first reprint, with the commercial editors capitalising on the book's success by removing a digression from the narrative that was considered expendable, and replacing it with advertising space they could sell. Follow-up Books Ethel Turner wrote three more books featuring the Woolcot family. The Family at Misrule tells the story of the family five years on, including new baby girl Esther. Judy and Punch describes Judy's experiences at boarding school, including meeting a boy named Punch while they are both on the train to school. Little Mother Meg describes Meg becoming a mother and raising her own children; and Peter (the General) and Essie (baby Esther) going on an adventure when they explore their neighbours' garden through a hole in the fence. Film, TV and theatrical adaptations The book was adapted as a stage play in 1914 by Beaumont Smith. The first film adaptation of this novel was made in 1939, directed by Arthur Greville Collins. The film was shot in Sydney at the Commonwealth Film Laboratories and around Camden, New South Wales. This was followed in 1953 by a BBC-television 6-part miniseries. The book was made into a 10 episode television series in 1973 by ABC Television in Australia, which was largely faithful