Miranda Downes

Miranda Downes (27 February 1950 – 3 August 1985) was an Australian screenwriter.[1] Ernest Arthur Knibb was convicted of her murder.[2]

Miranda (known as Mandy) attended Cumberland High School (Carlingford). She was awarded a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales. Subsequently, she completed a course in "script writing" at the National Institute for Dramatic Arts (NIDA).[3]

She worked as a production secretary in the film industry when she wrote an original script, Undercover (1983). She later started working on a script called Cane about Italian cane cutters in Queensland, when she was murdered on a beach north of Cairns.[4][5] Ernest Knibb was arrested after an investigation by the TV show 60 Minutes.[6]

Cane became the mini series Fields of Fire.[7][2]

Select Credits

References

  1. ^ David Elfick, "Obituary: Miranda Downes", Cinema Papers, September 1985 p 3
  2. ^ a b Guppy, Damon (4 September 2012). "Convicted killer Ernest Arthur Knibb, 71, eyes parole after 25 years behind bars". The Cairns Post. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  3. ^ Glover, Richard (6 August 1985). "Top writer murdered on beach". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 4.
  4. ^ "Tough city, Cairns, but not for Michael Grace". The Canberra Times. Vol. 60, no. 18, 240. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 September 1985. p. 31 (GOOD WEEKEND). Retrieved 28 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Features A good year for Australian cinemas 'Crocodile Dundee' puts the bite back into the film industry". The Canberra Times. Vol. 61, no. 18, 723. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 January 1987. p. 16. Retrieved 28 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Arrested after TV tip-off". The Canberra Times. Vol. 61, no. 18, 754. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 February 1987. p. 10. Retrieved 28 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p38-39


Stub icon

This article about a screenwriter is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.