Born in Masterson on New Zealand's North Island in 1952, young Rosslyn led a nomadic life, the family following her bank manager father to branches nationwide before settling in Taupo in 1975. She began her film career as a typist for the Auckland based exhibition outfit Amalgamated Theatres prior to decamping to the the U.K. where she found office work in the film production community.

Her antipodean ties gave her the edge when director Mike Newell was crewing his New Zealand production Bad Blood (1981), an account of the manhunt for farmer-turned-murderer Stanley Graham. Abernethy returned from England to act as production secretary, a role for which she earned a credit on such productions as Buddies; The Return of Captain Invincible; and, BMX Bandits.

The all-encompassing role provided training for the position of production co-ordinator, to which Abernethy progressed on the films The Coolangatta Gold; Cassandra; and, Slate, Wyn & Me.

It would be as the industry's pre-eminent production manager that Rosslyn Abernethy earned her reputation as one of Australia's most in-demand professionals. From her debut in the role in 1985 on Best Enemies, she would work steadily on productions like the mini-series Sword of Honour (1986); Howling III; the hit TV series Police Rescue (1989); the Kylie Minogue vehicle, The Delinquents; Traps; the international shoot Street Fighter with Jean Claude van Damme; The Real Macaw; the Hugh Jackman hit, Paperback Hero; and, the global hit TV series, The Sleepover Club (2003).

During this period, Abernethy adapted her organisational skills and legendary rapport with crew to oversee the art department of Fortress, starring Christopher Lambert. The Queensland shoot was a massive undertaking, an experience that prepared her for working with producer James Cameron on the cave-diving adventure Sanctum (2011) as production manager. On the 2017 thriller Out of the Shadows, Abernethy expanded her production manager role into that of line producer, a function she also undertook on the war drama, Escape and Evasion (2019). Her final production manager credit was on the thriller The Second, starring Rachael Blake, Susie Porter and Vince Colosimo.

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Jean-Claude Van Damme, Raul Julia, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na Wen, Grand L. Bush, Andrew Bryniarski, Byron Mann, Wes Studi, Jay Tavare, and Peter Navy Tuiasosopo in Street Fighter (1994)

Rosslyn Abernethy

Rosslyn Abernethy

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