The Man from Down Under

After World War I, Australian soldier Jocko Wilson encounters a destitute Belgian boy named Nipper and his sister Mary. He feeds them, takes pity on their situation, and gives the boy the name Nipper. This act plants the seeds of a fragile guardian bond that will shape the story to come.

With orders to go home, Jocko enlists his friend Ginger Gaffney to smuggle Nipper and Mary aboard their ship. They devise a risky plan to get the children onto the voyage back to Australia. The scheme tests loyalty, trust, and the boundaries of responsibility.

Realizing he knows little about raising children, Jocko proposes to his singer girlfriend Aggie Dawlins. Aggie accepts, and the couple begins to imagine a family that includes Nipper and Mary. The engagement signals a new, complicated chapter for all involved.

In a drunken stupor, Jocko is nearly arrested and forgets about Aggie, sailing home without her. The abrupt departure ruins the budding plans for a united life and leaves Aggie isolated. The broken engagement quietly reshapes the future for everyone.

Back in Australia, Jocko, now an ex-boxer, buys a tavern and trains Nipper to fight. Meanwhile, Mary is sent off to a boarding school, growing up separated from the anchored guardian who tried to protect her. The stage is set for Nipper’s rise in the boxing world.

Adult Nipper prepares to challenge the boxing champion of the British Empire for the title. Jocko bets heavily on the outcome, despite Ginger's warning that he cannot cover every wager if Nipper loses. The whole family bears the weight of this high-stakes match.

Mary graduates from boarding school and returns home to reconnect with Jocko and Nipper. Her homecoming reaffirms family ties even as the boxing world casts a shadow over their fortunes. The contrast between adolescence and adulthood becomes more pronounced.

In the title bout, Nipper stays competitive until a blow knocks him out of the ring and he realises his shoulder is badly injured. He returns to the fight, delivering a knockout that saves the match, but a doctor privately warns that he may never fight again. Jocko keeps this devastating truth from his son to preserve hope.

With the fight profits, Jocko buys an isolated hotel in Northern Australia where Nipper recuperates. The quiet location offers a chance at stability, but the hotel’s emptiness also threatens to rekindle financial peril for the family.

The hotel finally attracts a guest: Aggie, now a rich widow. She lends money to pay the creditors and even funds gambling to test Jocko’s resolve, seeking revenge for being left at the altar. Her return shifts the power dynamics at the hotel.

Nipper sees his reporter friend Dusty Rhodes asking Mary to marry him, which makes Nipper realise his feelings for Mary go beyond brotherly love. He beats Dusty in a fit of rage, and the moment forces him to confront the true state of his heart and his alliance with Jocko.

World War II erupts. Ginger is accepted into the army, but Nipper is initially rejected when they go to re-enlist. Ginger pretends to be an officer to Mary and Aggie while secretly taking a construction job to support the war effort.

By chance, Ginger is nearby when the hotel is attacked by Japanese bombers. He races to the scene and encounters Nipper, who has become a soldier in the conflict. They converge on the hotel under threat, ready to face the danger together.

Ginger, Nipper, and the hotel staff battle the bomber crew, killing the intruders and rescuing Aggie, Mary, and the sheltered children. The hotel becomes a battlefield and a beacon of courageous survival in wartime Australia.

Aggie uncovers official Belgian confirmation that Nipper and Mary are not siblings but were adopted. With this truth, the lovers can finally be together without family stigma or bloodlines standing in their way, bringing a hard-won happiness to the couple.