| Bellbird | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Barbara Vernon |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | James Davern Oscar Whitbread |
| Starring | See cast list |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 10 |
| No. of episodes | 1,697[1] |
| Production | |
| Producer | Brett Porter[2] |
| Running time |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | 28 August 1967 (1967-08-28) – 23 December 1977 (1977-12-23) |
| Related | |
| Country Life (film version) | |
Bellbird is an Australiansoap opera serial broadcast by theABC created and co-written byBarbara Vernon, it screened for 10 seasons between 1967 and 1977, and spanned 1,697 episodes. The series centered around the residents of the small fictionalVictorian rural township of the series title.[1]
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 seriesNumber 96 andThe Box, which had run for six and four years respectively.[3]
The series was produced by the ABC at the Ripponlea Studios in Melbourne, with the opening titles filmed at nearbyDaylesford. Bellbird screened from 28 August 1967 to 23 December 1977 and although it was not Australia's first television serial (the first wasNetwork Seven'sAutumn 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 dramaBlue Hills. During most of its 10-year production run, 15-minute episodes ofBellbird 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.[4]
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 memberRobin 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.[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 memberLynette Curran, who was killed when her car was struck by a train at a level crossing.
Bellbird featured a regular cast of 46 actors over its 10-year run. TheNational Archives of Australia holds a collection of prints from 1977, identifying over 30 actors involved from that time.[5][failed verification]
| Actor | Character | Eps. |
|---|---|---|
| Alan Hopgood | Matthew Reed | 870 episodes (1972–1977) |
| Anne Charleston[citation needed] | Wendy Robinson | 524 episodes (1971–1973) |
| Anne Lucas[citation needed] | Glenda Chand | 67 episodes (1967) |
| Anne Phelan[1] | Kate Ashwood | 523 episodes (1974–1977) |
| Anne Scott-Pendlebury[citation needed] | Cathy | 143 episodes (1970) |
| Bob Maza[citation needed] | Gerry Walters | 174 episodes (1971) |
| Brian Hannan[1] | Roger Green | 1182 episodes (1970–1977) |
| Brian James[citation needed] | Ian Bennett | 667 episodes (1970–1973) |
| Briony Behets[6] | Claire | 52 episodes (1975) |
| Bruce Barry[citation needed] | Michael Foley | 67 episodes (1967) |
| Bryon Williams | Adam Lockhart | 870 episodes (1972–1977) |
| Carl Bleazby[1] | Coloniel Jim Emerson | 1506 episodes (1968–1977) |
| Carmel Millhouse[1] | Marge Bacon | 1556 episodes (1967–1977) |
| Clive Winmill | Tony Buckland | 92 episodes (1977–1978) |
| Dennis Miller[1] | Constable Des Davies | 986 episodes (1968–1974) |
| Dorothy Bradley[1] | Rose Lang | 1224 episodes (1967–1974) |
| Elspeth Ballantyne[1] | Laura 'Lori' Chandler | 157 episodes (1967–1971) |
| Gabrielle Hartley[1] | Maggie Emerson | 1011 episodes (1969–1974) |
| Gerda Nicolson[1] | Fiona Davies | 1059 episodes (1968–1974) |
| Gregory Ross | Chris Lang | 321 episodes (1974–1975) |
| Ian Smith[1] | Russell Ashwood | 523 episodes (1974–1977) |
| Jeremy Kewley[citation needed] | Ken Stratton | 125 episodes (1976–1977) |
| Jill Perryman[citation needed] | Cheryl Turner | 326 episodes (1971–1975) |
| John Stanton[citation needed] | Leo Hill | 174 episodes (1972) |
| Julia Blake[citation needed] | Elaine Thomas | 675 episodes (1972–1975) |
| Keith Eden | Gilbert Lang | 528 episodes (1967–1970) |
| Ken Shorter | Duncan Ross | 83 episodes (1968) |
| Kris McQuade[citation needed] | Gail Bennet | 173 episodes (1974) |
| Louise Philip | Christine Jackson | 174 episodes (1971) |
| Lynda Keane[citation needed] | Ruth Grossark | 465 episodes (1967–1971) |
| Lynette Curran[1] | Rhoda Lang | 1102 episodes (1967–1974) |
| Maggie Millar | Georgia Moorhouse | 684 episodes (1972–1977) |
| Maurie Fields[1] | John Quinney | 1235 episodes (1969–1977) |
| Michael Preston | Father John Kramer | 396 episodes (1974–1976) |
| Moira Carleton[1] | Olive Turner | 1142 (1969–1977) |
| Penne Hackforth-Jones[1] | Ginny Hill | 347 episodes (1972–1974) |
| Penny Downie[1] | Kelly Jameson | 71 episodes (1976) |
| Peter Aanensen[1] | Jim Bacon | 1381 episodes (1968–1976) |
| Robin Ramsay[1] | Charlie Cousens | 82 episodes (1967–1968) |
| Rod Mullinar | Scott Leighton | 365 episodes (1973–1975) |
| Ross Thompson | Terry Hill | 438 episodes (1972–1974) |
| Sean Scully | Ron Wilson | 353 episodes (1968–1971) |
| Sheila Florance | Dossie Rumsey | 174 episodes (1972) |
| Stella Lamond[1] | Molly Wilson | 589 episodes (1969–1973) |
| Syd Conabere | Bernie Austin | 491 episodes (1970–1972) |
| Terry McDermott | Max Pearson | 836 episodes (1969–1973) |
| Terry Norris[1] | Joe Turner | (1967–1968) |
| Tom Oliver[1] | Tom Gray | 83 episodes (1969) |
| Actor | Character | Eps. |
|---|---|---|
| Alwyn Kurts[1] | Wes Lewis | 6 episodes (1977) |
| Chuck Faulkner[1] | Captain Doug Daly | 6 episodes (1977) |
| Gerard Kennedy[1] | Edward Grey | 3 episodes (1977) |
| Terence Donovan[1] | Neil Farrar | 3 episodes (1977) |
The show was based on a short treatment byColin Free then developed by original story editorBarbara Vernon. The original story team included Vernon,Alan Hopgood andMichael Wright. The first executive producer wasBrett Porter.[2] The original directors wereJames Davern andOscar Whitbread.[7]
Episodes ofBellbird 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.[8]
Although an extensive selection of episodes survive and reside with theNational 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[8] something which series cast member Alan Hopgood had complained about in aTV 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."[9]
One completeblack and white episode is available to be viewed at the Australian Mediatheque at theAustralian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne, while several colour episodes are known to exist in the hands of private collectors.
The series was the first soap opera in Australia to spin off into a feature film version and tie-in novel, entitledCountry Town (1971). It focused on Bellbird's problems during a severe drought. Many future soaps followed suit, spawning their own film versions, includingNumber 96 andThe Sullivans.
In 1971,Bellbird was the fifteenth most popular show in the country.[10]
