The Getting of Wisdom is based on the 1910 novel by Henry Handel Richardson (born Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson). Her novel is thought to be an account of her own schooldays at the Presbyterian Ladies College in Melbourne. The film is about a young girl, Laura Tweedle-Rambotham who grew up in the outback, and at around the age of 14, is sent off by her poor mother who has scrimped and saved for her to go to a prestigious women’s private college in Melbourne, the Presbyterian Ladies College.
Susannah Fowle
as Laura Tweedle Rambotham
Hilary Ryan
as Evelyn
Terence Donovan
as Tom McNamara
Patricia Kennedy
as Miss Chapman
Sheila Helpmann
as Mrs. Gurley
Candy Raymond
as Miss Zielinski
Barry Humphries
as Rev. Strachey
John Waters
as Rev. Shepherd
Kerry Armstrong
as Kate
Sigrid Thornton
as Maria
