The Edge of Ice is a 1951 Australian radio play by Colin Thiele told the story of a handful of castaways in a boat in Antarctica.[3]

The Edge of Ice
ABC Weekly 1 Sept 1951
Genredrama play
Running time60 mins (8:00 pm – 9:00 pm)
Country of originAustralia
Language(s)English
SyndicatesABC
Written byColin Thiele
Directed byFrank Harvey[1]
Recording studioSydney[2]
Original release1 September 1951

It won first prize for best radio drama held by the ABC and the Federation of Commercial Stations in 1951 for Australia's Jubilee (Thiele also won Best Feature for The Golden Tide about wheat).[4][5][6]

Leslie Rees later wrote "Of the Jubilee winners the future holds most for Colin Thiele."[7]

Premise

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According to ABC Weekly the play was about "a group of men who, together with the captain’s wife and little son, are the only survivors from a shipwreck. The party drift in an open boat on the Southern Ocean, and when at their last gasp reach a barren island, where they live on seal meat. The play’s story is carried forward by a poetic narration which brought forth high praise from the judges. It dramatises the adventures of the boat’s party with notes of hope and tragedy."[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Saturday September 1", ABC Weekly, 13 (34), Sydney, 25 August 1951, retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Trove
  2. ^ "Prize Winning Play on AR". The Age. No. 30, 058. Victoria, Australia. 30 August 1951. p. 1 (The Age Radio Supplement). Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Bright Spots in Tonight's Radio". The News. Vol. 57, no. 8, 769. South Australia. 15 September 1951. p. 9. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Winner Won't Write Full-Time". The News. Vol. 57, no. 8, 704. South Australia. 2 July 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Author Wins Two Prizes". The Age. No. 30, 007. Victoria, Australia. 2 July 1951. p. 7. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Writer's Dual Win in Jubilee Contests", ABC Weekly, 13 (27), Sydney, 7 July 1951, retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Trove
  7. ^ "Australian Writing The past Year's Achievement", ABC Weekly, 14 (2), Sydney, 12 January 1952, retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Trove
  8. ^ "Radio Plays for Next Week A.B.C.", ABC Weekly, 13 (34), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 25 August 1951, retrieved 22 October 2023 – via Trove