Avengers of the Reef

Avengers of the Reef is a 1973 Australian children's film directed by Chris McCullugh and starring Simon Drake.

Plot
Scientist Bill Stewart goes to Fiji with his son Tim to investigate the appearance of the crown-of-thorns starfish in the reefs off the island. It transpires that a mining syndicate set up by Updike is deliberately seeding the reefs with the starfish to enable them to mine the reef area. Updike hires an assassin, Kemp, to kill Stewart. He fails, but Tim thinks he has succeeded and runs away to an island village pursued by Kemp. Tim makes friends with a Fijian boy, Sai, and is eventually reunited with his father.

Cast

 * Simon Drake as Tim Stewart
 * Biu Rarawa as Sai
 * Tim Elliot as Kemp
 * Noel Ferrier as Updike
 * Garry McDonald as Updike's Aide
 * Dibs Mather as Bill Stewart
 * Lesie as Chieftain
 * Judy Morris as Airline Hostess
 * Jenny Lee
 * Richard Lupino
 * Bob Lee
 * Eddie Osborne

Production
The film was jointly financed by the actor-producer Noel Ferrier and the Australian Film Development Corporation. Shooting began in Fiji in September 1972, mainly on the island of Taveuni. Filming was delayed by several weeks because of a major cyclone.

Awards
Anne Brooksbank won an Australian Writers Guild Award for her screenplay.