The poem that Robert Newton recites at the beginning of most episodes ("If sailor tales and sailor tunes...") is entitled "To the Hesitating Purchaser" and the author, Robert Louis Stevenson, attached it as a preamble to his novel "Treasure Island".
The series was aired overseas before being shown at home, as it was made before television was introduced to Australia (which occurred in September 1956).
Robert Newton previously played Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1950) and Long John Silver's Return to Treasure Island (1954).