Secret Valley

Secret Valley was an Australian children's television adventure series from 1980 made by the Grundy Organisation in association with Telecip, S.A., and first shown on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Series synopsis

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]

International screenings

The series was aired in New Zealand, Spain, Greece, Italy, the UK on ITV in the 1980s, and the Netherlands in 1982/1983 by KRO television. It was also broadcast 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 the NSW town of Terrey Hills and also at the theme park 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 "My Secret Valley" was sung to the tune of "Waltzing Matilda" and composed by Bob Young, with lyrics by series producer Roger Mirams (credited as David Phillips).

I had a 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

• iF magazine online – Inside Film

External links

• Secret Valley at epguides.com
• IMDB listing for Secret Valley
• Secret Valley at the National Film and Sound Archive