'Sara Dane' (1982) was the first of an unofficial trilogy of colonial Australian convict television mini-series produced by the South Australian Film Corporation during the 1980s. The other two subsequent TV mini-series productions were Under Capricorn (1983) and For the Term of His Natural Life (1983).
According to OZ TV Credits website, when first broadcast in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, where the source novel is set, both of the two hour parts were screened on the same night.
According to the 'Allmovie' website, this Australian television mini-series was, for the American market, "edited into a 150-minute version" and "was first shown in the US on the A&E cable network."
This production was made and first broadcast about forty-six years after its source novel by Helen Simpson had been first published in 1937.
This remake was made and first broadcast about thirty-four years after its precursor Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name had been first released in 1949.