[3] Stormy Petrel was a critical and popular success and led to the ABC making a number of period drama series set in Australia's past: The Outcasts (1961), The Patriots (1962), and The Hungry Ones (1963).

Early Australian TV drama production was dominated by using imported scripts but Stormy Petrel was made when the ABC was undertaking what has been described as "an Australiana" drive.

[5] It was directed by Colin Dean who called the Rum Rebellion "virtually the colony's first revolt against what was thought to be the tyranny of government vested in the person of the Governor himself.

Smith says it was difficult to get sets to be authentic as while there were plenty of written descriptions there were few pictures so he had to source the latter from the army records in London.

But, by those standards it’s extremely good... solid storytelling involving two three-dimensional antagonists who have a compelling conflict that leads to a surprising, yet inevitable concision... Emphasising Mary Bligh was, for me, Rienits’ masterstroke because it opens up the world of the characters, and ensures that there’s a female in the story front and centre.

All those historical mini-series of the 1970s and 1980s that many of us grew up with – Against the Wind, For the Term of His Natural Life, Bodyline, etc – have their antecedents in Stormy Petrel.

"[4] In November 1960 it was announced that Rex Rienits and Colin Dean would reunite on a sequel that would focus on William Redfern but feature many characters from Stormy Petrel.