For the Five Mile Creek production an original Concord Coach was purchased for $25,000.00. The coach was refurbished and repainted by the craftsmen at Disney's Burbank Studios before being shipped to Australia for use in the first pilot episode. Later three more coaches were reproduced using the original, these coaches were built for a total cost of $25,000.00. After Five Mile Creek finished it's third (and final) season, all four were sold to film suppliers and have been used in many movies.
After Maggie fell in the water in the first part of the episode, Louise Caire Clark earned the nickname "Splash" for the entire run of the show.
This episode was inspired from the movie The Cherokee Trail, which aired on CBS on Saturday, November 28, 1981. It was produced by Five Mile Creek producer Douglas Netter, and starred Little House on the Prairie's Victor French. The story was set in the Colorado wilderness. Producer Henry Crawford came up with the idea of moving the story to Australia and continuing as a television series. The Disney Channel agreed and Douglas Netter teamed up with Henry Crawford and helped produce Five Mile Creek.
Rather than the opening theme, this premier episode opens with a ship sailing across the ocean during a thunderstorm and the opening credits are shown this way.
Martin Lewis and Gus Mercurio are not featured in this first episode.
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