Marion, the lone Aboriginal boarder, at Appleyard College was modified for the Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018) TV series. The character in Joan Lindsay's novel and in Peter Weir's film adaptation Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) was white.
Picnic at Hanging Rock is widely considered to be one of the all-time most important works of Australian fiction.
According to Beyond the Rock, a Joan Lindsay biography, junior editor Sandra Forbes was one of the first publishing professionals to read Lindsay's Picnic at Hanging Rock manuscript. She wrote a letter to Lindsay saying, "I really enjoyed reading this, it seems to have the right blend of 'truth' and fiction. Given that the actual disappearance of the girls is a fact, it is a fascinating problem, well presented in a style very much in keeping with the period and personages involved."
According to the biography Beyond the Rock, during her time as a television presenter on the Australian The Today Show, Patricia Lovell had interviewed a young Peter Weir. She decided Weir would be a great director for the feature film adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock, despite the fact that he was only 27.
Madeleine Madden (Marion Quade) and Sibylla Budd (Mrs. Valange) also appeared in Tomorrow, When the War Began (2016) together, as Corrie and Rachel respectively.