Leyland Brothers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mike and Mal Leyland, also known as The Leyland Brothers, are Australian explorers and documentary film-makers, best known for their popular television show, Ask the Leyland Brothers. The show ran on Australian television from 1976 until 1984 [1].
The two brothers first came to prominence in the late 1960s and reached a peak of popularity in the 1970s, often providing Australian viewers with their first look at outback Australia.
Contents |
[edit] History
When Mike was eight and Mal was five they migrated with their parents from England to Newcastle, New South Wales.[2]
In 1956 Mike won a trip to the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne from a cartoon drawing competition, and his father bought him a 16mm movie camera to take along.[3]
At age 21 Mike was a news cameraman at NBN. At age 18 Mal was a cadet at Newcastle's now defunct newspaper The Sun [4]
In 1980 the brothers were awarded the MBE for services to the film industry.[5]
After the 1992 bankruptcy caused by the failure of their theme park, Mike and his wife Margie ran a New Lambton video store and worked for the park's new owner, while Mal and his wife Laraine ran a photo processing lab in Queensland and launched a travel magazine.[4]
In 1997 Mike sold part of his Tea Gardens property to fund the production of a far north Queensland film for Channel Seven. Mike and his wife Margie signed a contract with Channel Seven for 12 one-hour documentaries, the first of which aired in 1998 in The World Around Us slot.[4]
In 1997 Mal and Laraine launched a bi-monthly magazine, Leyland's Australia.[6]
In 2000 Mal produced the television show Leyland's Australia, with his wife Lorraine, daughter Carmen and her husband Robert Scott[7] - travelling around Australia in a caravan.[8] In April 2000 Channel 9 cancelled the show after 6 episodes, the series was then picked up by Network Ten.[8]
[edit] Documentaries
- 1963 - Down the Darling - A trip from Mungindi, Queensland, to Mildura, Victoria, following the 2,300 kilometre course of the Darling River, Australia's longest river, in a small aluminium boat. An accompanying book was titled Great Ugly River and published by Lansdowne Press in 1965.
- 1966 - Wheels Across a Wilderness - Driving two Land Rovers from Steep Point, Western Australia, across the centre of the continent to Cape Byron, New South Wales. The trip was also published as a book, Where Dead Men Lie. IMDB link
- 1969 - Open Boat to Adventure - A six month journey from Darwin to Sydney in an 18-foot open boat, following the coast around Arnhem Land and Cape York. The book was titled Untamed Coast.
- Off the Beaten Track
- Trekabout
- Lure of the Red Centre
[edit] Television series
- Ask the Leyland Brothers - Nine Network, 1976-1980 and 1983-1984. All 156 episodes were shot in the Super 8 film format.[9]
- The Leyland Brother's Great Outdoors - Seven Network.
- Leyland Brothers' World
[edit] Places visited
- Beach of the Bouncing stones
[edit] Leyland Brothers World
In November 1990 the Leyland Brothers opened the theme park Leyland Brothers World, on a 40.35ha property at Karuah, on the highway north of Newcastle, New South Wales, near Tea Gardens.[10] It included a 1/40 scale replica of Uluru,[11] as well as amusement rides, playground, roadhouse, museum and a 144 student capacity bush camp.[12] In a 1997 article in the Sunday Age, Mike Leyland said that the initial AU$1 million loan blew out due to rain during construction and a 27% interest rate.[2] In July 1992 Chris Palmer of BDO Nelson was appointed receiver and manager of the park when the Leyland Brothers company failed to meet its loan commitment to the Commonwealth Bank.[10] Auctioneers Colliers Jardine estimated the yearly attendance of the park to be about 400,000 people, with 10,000 students for the bush camp.[12] After an auction held by the receiver on November 26, 1992 the theme park was sold for $800,000, with the buyer planning to upgrade the roadhouse that served motorists and truck drivers.[10] The brothers went bankrupt.[6]
[edit] Bibliography
- Gold fever : Is it the perfect crime? (2000)
- Great Ugly River: A Modern Adventure in Australia’s Outback, Mike Leyland, (1965)
- Untamed Coast: Darwin to Sydney in an 18ft. Boat
- Where Dead Men Lie: An Adventurous Journey that Spanned a Continent
[edit] References
- ^ Channel Surfing Safari, The Sydney Morning Herald, April 21, 2003
- ^ a b Wilmoth, Peter. "How The Leyland Brothers Lost Their Way", Sunday Age, John Fairfax Group Pty Ltd, 1997-07-27.
- ^ Leighton, Spencer. "Leyland brother's venture", Geelong Advertiser, Nationwide News Proprietary Pty Ltd, 2004-01-03.
- ^ a b c Joyce, James. "Ask The Leylands About Sibling Rivalry", Newcastle Herald, John Fairfax Group Pty Ltd, 2000-02-26.
- ^ Safe, Georgina. "Leylands out of the Wilderness", The Australian, Nationwide News Proprietary Ltd, 1997-07-02.
- ^ a b Lovell, Darren. "Leylands rebuilding their world", Sunday Telegraph, Nationwide News Proprietary Ltd, 1997-08-03.
- ^ Heaney, Claire. "Leylands hot up act", Herald-Sun, Herald and Weekly Times Limited, 2000-10-14.
- ^ a b Joyce, James. "Out Of The Wilderness", Newcastle Herald, John Fairfax Group Pty Ltd, 2000-09-01.
- ^ Barclay, Alison. "Out Back with the Reel Thing", Herald-Sun, Herald and Weekly Times Limited, 1997-10-28.
- ^ a b c Harvie, Jeni. "$800,000 Leyland Sale", Australian Financial Review, John Fairfax Group Pty Ltd, 1992-12-08, p. 33.
- ^ Nicholas Way (ed.). "Leyland Bros Go West", Business Review Weekly, John Fairfax Group Pty Ltd, 1992-07-24, p. 12.
- ^ a b Pam Walkley And Aap. "Theme Park for Auction", Australian Financial Review, John Fairfax Group Pty Ltd, 1992-10-19, p. 44.
