But first Quigley returns to Cora and the baby, which she has just saved from an attack by dingoes. Then too she had tried to stop the child crying, but at last told him to make as much noise as he liked as she killed the animals using a revolver that Quigley had left for her. Back in town, Cora gives the baby to Aborigines living there after Quigley tells her that she (Cora) has 'a right to happiness'. Next morning, Quigley rides away to confront Marston at his station. At first he shoots the defenders from his location in the hills but is eventually shot in the leg and captured by Marston's last two men. Marston, who has noticed that Quigley only ever carries a rifle, decides to give him a lesson in the "quick-draw" style of gunfighting. However, Marston is beaten to the draw by Quigley, who also shoots the two remaining men. As Marston lies dying, Quigley refers to an earlier conversation, telling him, "I said I never had much use for [a revolver]; I never said I didn't know how to use it." Marston's servant comes out of the house and gives Quigley his rifle back, then walks away from the ranch, stripping off his western-style clothing as he goes. An army troop now arrives to arrest Quigley, until they notice the surrounding hills are lined with Aborigines and decide to withdraw. Later Quigley and Cora book a passage back to America in the name of Cora’s husband, since Quigley is still wanted. On the wharf she reminds him that he once told her that she had to say two words before he could make love to her. Smiling broadly, she calls him "Matthew Quigley" and the two embrace for the first time. John Hill first began writing "Quigley Down Under" in 1974. He was inspired by a "Los Angeles Times" article about the genocide of the aborigines in 19th-century Australia. Although Westerns were in decline in the 1970s Hill said that the script "opened a lot of doors for me," and led to other assignments. The script was first optioned in 1979 by producer Mort Engelberg for Steve McQueen, with whom he teamed on "The Hunter"; however McQueen died of cancer shortly after completing "The Hunter". The script was bought by CBS Theatrical Films where it was attached to director Rick Rosenthal.