Bellbird (TV series)

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox television Bellbird is an Australian soap opera serial broadcast in primetime by the ABC created and co-written by Barbara Vernon, it screened for 10 seasons between 1967 and 1977, and spanned 1,697 episodes. The series centered around the residents of the small fictional Victorian rural township of the series title.<ref name="bbinfo">Template:Cite web</ref>

Bellbird has the distinction of being the longest-running soap opera/serial ever produced by the ABC. It ended the same year as commercial broadcast series Number 96 and The Box, which had run for six and four years respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Production and broadcasting

The series was produced by the ABC at there Ripponlea Studios in Melbourne, with the opening titles filmed at nearby Daylesford. Bellbird screened from 28 August 1967 to 23 December 1977 and although it was not Australia's first television serial (the first was Network Seven's Autumn Affair), it was the first successful soap opera and even spawned a feature film and tie-in novel.

The show's ratings were modest but it had a devoted following, especially in rural Australia, akin to the ABC's long-running radio drama Blue Hills. During most of its 10-year production run, 15-minute episodes of Bellbird screened from Monday to Thursday nights, leading in to the 7:00 pm evening news bulletin. In 1976, the series was screened as a single one-hour episode each week, before switching to three half-hour instalments per week during its final season.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Storylines

The show's storylines followed the lives of the residents of the small fictional country town that gave the show its title. While the series plots concentrated mainly on small-scale interpersonal, domestic and local relationships, issues and conflicts, there were occasional moments of high drama. One of the most celebrated was the death of the local stock and station agent, Charlie Cousens, played by foundation cast member Robin Ramsay. When Ramsay decided to leave the series in 1968, his character was written out in dramatic fashion, with Cousens plunging to his death from the top of a wheat silo. The death scene has figured prominently in retrospectives of great moments in Australian television, and its celebrity meant that it became one of the few segments from the early years of the series that has survived.Template:Citation needed

Other notable deaths during the course of the series included those of local farm girl, Hagar Grossark (Barbara Ramsay), who drowned during a flood, and the 1974 death of major character Rhoda Lang, played by foundation cast member Lynette Curran, who was killed when her car was struck by a train at a level crossing.

Cast

Bellbird featured a regular cast of 46 actors over its 10-year run. The National Archives of Australia holds a collection of prints from 1977, identifying over 30 actors involved from that time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Failed verification

Main / regular

Actor	Character	Eps.
Alan Hopgood<ref name="ATV"/>	Matthew Reed	870 episodes (1972–1977)
Anne Charleston<ref name="ATV"/>	Wendy Robinson	524 episodes (1971–1973)
Anne Lucas Template:Citation needed	Glenda Chand	67 episodes (1967)
Anne Phelan<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Kate Ashwood	523 episodes (1974–1977)
Anne Scott-PendleburyTemplate:Citation needed	Cathy	143 episodes (1970)
Bob Maza<ref name="ATV">Template:Cite web</ref>	Gerry Walters	174 episodes (1971)
Brian Hannan<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Roger Green	1182 episodes (1970–1977)
Brian James Template:Citation needed	Ian Bennett	667 episodes (1970–1973)
Briony Behets<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Free access</ref>	Claire	52 episodes (1975)
Bruce BarryTemplate:Citation needed	Michael Foley	67 episodes (1967)
Bryon Williams	Adam Lockhart	870 episodes (1972–1977)
Carl Bleazby<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Coloniel Jim Emerson	1506 episodes (1968–1977)
Carmel Millhouse<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Marge Bacon	1556 episodes (1967–1977)
Clive Winmill<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Tony Buckland	92 episodes (1977–1978)
Dennis Miller<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Constable Des Davies	986 episodes (1968–1974)
Dorothy Bradley<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Rose Lang	1224 episodes (1967–1974)
Elspeth Ballantyne<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Laura 'Lori' Chandler	157 episodes (1967–1971)
Gabrielle Hartley<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Maggie Emerson	1011 episodes (1969–1974)
Gerda Nicolson<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Fiona Davies	1059 episodes (1968–1974)
Gregory Ross	Chris Lang	321 episodes (1974–1975)
Ian Smith<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Russell Ashwood	523 episodes (1974–1977)
Jeremy Kewley<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Ken Stratton	125 episodes (1976–1977)
Jill PerrymanTemplate:Citation needed	Cheryl Turner	326 episodes (1971–1975)
John Stanton<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Leo Hill	174 episodes (1972)
Julia Blake<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Elaine Thomas	675 episodes (1972–1975)
Keith Eden<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Gilbert Lang	528 episodes (1967–1970)
Ken Shorter<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Duncan Ross	83 episodes (1968)
Kris McQuade Template:Citation needed	Gail Bennet	173 episodes (1974)
Louise Philip	Christine Jackson	174 episodes (1971)
Lynda KeaneTemplate:Citation needed	Ruth Grossark	465 episodes (1967–1971)
Lynette Curran<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Rhoda Lang	1102 episodes (1967–1974)
Maggie Millar<ref name="ATV"/>	Georgia Moorhouse	684 episodes (1972–1977)
Maurie Fields<ref name="bbinfo"/>	John Quinney	1235 episodes (1969–1977)
Michael Preston	Father John Kramer	396 episodes (1974–1976)
Moira Charleton<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Olive Turner	1142 (1969–1977)
Penne Hackforth-Jones<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Ginny Hill	347 episodes (1972–1974)
Penny Downie<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Kelly Jameson	71 episodes (1976)
Peter Aanensen<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Jim Bacon	1381 episodes (1968–1976)
Robin Ramsay<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Charlie Cousens	82 episodes (1967–1968)
Rod Mullinar	Scott Leighton	365 episodes (1973–1975)
Ross Thompson<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Terry Hill	438 episodes (1972–1974)
Sean Scully	Ron Wilson	353 episodes (1968–1971)
Sheila Florance	Dossie Rumsey	174 episodes (1972)
Stella Lamond<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Molly Wilson	589 episodes (1969–1973)
Syd Conabere	Bernie Austin	491 episodes (1970–1972)
Terry McDermott	Max Pearson	836 episodes (1969–1973)
Terry Norris<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Joe Turner	(1967–1968)
Tom Oliver<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Tom Gray	83 episodes (1969)

Recurring / guests

Actor	Character	Eps.
Alwyn Kurts<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Wes Lewis	6 episodes (1977)
Chuck Faulkner<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Captain Doug Daly	6 episodes (1977)
Gerard Kennedy<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Edward Grey	3 episodes (1977)
John Meillon		16 episodes (1971)
Terence Donovan<ref name="bbinfo"/>	Neil Farrar	3 episodes (1977)

Foundation creative team

The show was based on a short treatment by Colin Free then developed by original story editor Barbara Vernon. The original story team included Vernon, Alan Hopgood and Michael Wright. The first executive producer was Brett Porter.<ref name="tage">Template:Cite news</ref> The original directors were James Davern and Oscar Whitbread.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

International screenings

Episodes of Bellbird were screened briefly in the United Kingdom in 1972. After the initial 52 episodes had been screened, Actors Equity in Australia insisted the ABC increase the price of the episodes so as to pay the actors more. As a result of the price increase, the UK broadcaster purchased no further episodes.<ref name="great-unwashed">Template:Cite news</ref>

Episodes

Although an extensive selection of episodes survive and reside with the National Archives of Australia, it was reported that the ABC taped over the master tapes of the series, which was a common practice of the time<ref name="great-unwashed" /> something which series cast member Alan Hopgood had complained about in a TV Times article in 1976: "They just wiped [them] off and another episode [was] run over them .... This failure to preserve the program is criminal, to my way of thinking."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

One complete black and white episode is available to be viewed at the Australian Mediatheque at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne, while several colour episodes are known to exist in the hands of private collectors.

Film and novel

The series was the first soap opera in Australia to spin off into a feature film version and tie-in novel, entitled Country Town (1971). It focused on Bellbird's problems during a severe drought. Many future soaps followed suit, spawning their own film versions, including Number 96 and The Sullivans.

Ratings

In 1971, Bellbird was the fifteenth most popular show in the country.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• List of Australian television series
• List of programs broadcast by ABC (Australian TV network)

External links

• Aussie Soap Archive: Bellbird Template:Webarchive – Overview and review
• Template:IMDb title
• Bellbird at the National Film & Sound Archive