A Country Practice is an Australian television soap opera/serial which was broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 in Sydney and 23 November 1981 in Melbourne, until 22 November 1993, and subsequently on Network Ten from 13 April 1994 to 22 November 1994. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,088 episodes were produced.
The series was set in the fictional rural town of Wandin Valley, New South Wales and centred around the permanent residents and visitors of the Wandin Valley Bush Nursing Hospital, with other scenes taking place at the associated medical clinics, local police station, RSL club, and throughout the wider Valley, including the neighbouring town of Burrigan. The show was produced at the ATN-7's production facility at Epping. Pitt Town and Oakville, suburbs on the outskirts of northwest Sydney, Australia, were used for most of the exterior filming; Oakville's historic heritage-listed Clare House, built in 1838, served as the location for the series' primary setting.
The series featured Gold Logie award-winning former variety star Lorrae Desmond, and several of the other regular cast members became popular celebrities as a result of their roles in the series. It also featured a number of native Australian animals, particularly the iconic "Fatso the wombat", adding to its appeal both domestically and internationally. After the series was cancelled by the Seven Network in 1993, the series was briefly relaunched on Network Ten in 1994.
At the time of its cancellation, A Country Practice was the longest-running Australian TV drama; however, by the late 1990s, that record was surpassed by Network Ten series Neighbours. At the height of its popularity, the show attracted 8–10 million Australian viewers weekly (at a time when the population of Australia was 15 million). The series was eventually sold to, and broadcast in, 48 countries.
Creation A Country Practice was created and executively produced by James Davern, who had previously worked as a producer and director on the similar rural-based series Bellbird, which was broadcast on ABC Television from 1967–1977. In 1979, he entered the pilot episode under the name In General Practice into a script-writing competition hosted by Network Ten. Davern's script came in third, behind two plays.Mercado 2004, p.161. After three months, Ten passed on the series and Davern took the script to the general manager of the Seven Network, who asked for a further thirteen episodes. Davern hired Lynn Bayonas and Moya Woods to help him write the scripts, as well as Hugh Stuckey to inject some comedy into the series. Davern's contribution to the industry was recognised when he was honoured with the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2014.
Production Format Though sometimes considered a soap opera, the storylines of the show's two 45 minute episodes screened over any one week formed a self-contained narrative block. The storylines were meant to have a primary appeal to adult and older youthful audiences, and in particular they had greater appeal to children from middle-class backgrounds.Jacinta Burke; Helen Wilson; Susanna Agardy (1983), "A Country Practice" and the child audience: a case study, Australian Broadcasting Tribunal, Melbourne. As it did not have the open ended narrative of a traditional soap opera, it was technically a "series".Bowles, Kate. Soap opera: 'No end of story, ever' in The Australian TV Book, (Eds. Graeme Turner and Stuart Cunningham), Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, NSW, 2000. p 127 Nevertheless, many storylines were developed as sub-plots for several episodes before becoming the focus of a particular week's narrative block. Overall, the program "so emphasized the ongoing storylines of its major characters as to make the distinction between series and serial more or less meaningless".
Cancellation and continuation After the end of its run on the Seven Network, it was announced that the serial would be picked up by Network Ten with a mainly new cast and a few key cast members continuing from the Seven series. Unlike the Seven series which was produced in Sydney, the Network Ten series was produced in Melbourne with location shooting in Emerald, Victoria. The new series debuted in April 1994, but was not as successful and was abruptly cancelled in November. The series featured actors including Paul Gleason, Jane Hall, Vince Colosimo, Claudia Black and Laura Armstrong.
Cast Main cast timeline Actor Character Seasons1('81)2('82)3('83)4('84)5('85)6('86)7('87)8('88)9('89)10('90)11('91)12('92)13('93)14('94) Shane Porteous Dr. Terence Elliott colspan="13" colspan="1" Helen Scott Matron Marta Kertesz colspan="3" colspan="11" Grant Dodwell Dr. Simon Bowen colspan="6" colspan="8" Penny Cook Dr. Vicky Dean/Bowen colspan="5" colspan="6" colspan="1" Brian Wenzel Sgt. Frank Gilroy/Frank Gilroy colspan="13" colspan="1" Lorrae Desmond Sister Shirley Dean/Gilroy colspan="12" colspan="2" Anne Tenney Melissa "Molly" Jones colspan="5" colspan="9" Shane Withington Brendan Jones colspan="6" colspan="8" Joyce Jacobs Esme Watson colspan="1" colspan="13" Syd Heylen Vernon "Cookie" Locke colspan="1" colspan="11" colspan="2" Gordon Piper Robert "Bob" Hatfield colspan="1" colspan="11" colspan="2" Emily Nicol Chloe Jones colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="8" Joan Sydney Margaret "Maggie" Sloane/Matron Sloane colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="6" colspan="2" Wendy Strehlow Sister. Judy Loveday colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="8" Nicholas BufaloDr. Ben Green colspan="4" colspan="4" colspan="6" Annie DaviesKelly Shanahan colspan="4" colspan="2" colspan="8" Josephine MitchellJo Loveday/Langley colspan="4" colspan="1" colspan="4" colspan="5" Di SmithDr. Alex Fraser/Elliott colspan="5" colspan="4" colspan="5" Mark Owen-TaylorPeter Manning colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="7" Caroline JohanssonDonna Manning colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="7" Kate RaisonCathy Hayden colspan="6" colspan="4" colspan="4" Brett ClimoMichael Langley colspan="6" colspan="3" colspan="5" John TarrantMatthew Tyler colspan="7" colspan="5" colspan="2" Georgie ParkerLucy Gardner/Tyler colspan="8" colspan="4" colspan="2" Michael MuntzDr. Cris Kouros colspan="8" colspan="3" colspan="3" Georgina FisherJessica "Jessie" Kouros colspan="8" colspan="3" colspan="3" Matt DayJulian "Luke" Ross colspan="8" colspan="4" colspan="2" Sophie HeathcoteStephanie "Steve" Brennan colspan="9" colspan="2" colspan="3" Mary ReganDN. Ann Brennan colspan="9" colspan="2" colspan="3" Maureen EdwardsMatron. Rosemary Prior/Elliot colspan="10" colspan="3" colspan="1" Andrew BlackmanDr. Harry Morrison colspan="10" colspan="4" Michelle PettigroveSister Kate Bryant/Morrison colspan="10" colspan="3" Kym WilsonDarcy Hudson colspan="10" colspan="3" colspan="1" Gavin HarrisonHugo Szreclecki colspan="11" colspan="2" colspan="1" Jon Concannon Sgt. Tom Newman colspan="11" colspan="2" colspan="1" Judith McGrathBernice Hudson colspan="11" colspan="2" colspan="1" Anne Looby Dr. Anna Lacey colspan="11" colspan="2" colspan="1" Jamie CroftBilly Moss colspan="11" colspan="2" colspan="1" Allan PenneyPerce Hudson colspan="6" colspan="4" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" Paul GleesonIan McIntyre colspan="12" colspan="1" colspan="1" Claudia BlackClaire Bonacci colspan="12" colspan="1" colspan="1" Vince ColosimoDanny Sabatinicolspan="13" colspan="1" Laura ArmstrongGeorgie Wilkes colspan="13" colspan="1" Jane HallDr. Jessica Morrison colspan="13" colspan="1"
Cast notes
Seven Network years (1981–1993) Shane Porteous as Dr. Terence Elliot (seasons 1–13) Helen Scott as Matron Marta Kurtesz (seasons 1–3) Grant Dodwell as Dr. Simon Bowen (seasons 1–6) Penny Cook as Vicky Dean Bowen (seasons 1–5; guest in seasons 6, 13) Brian Wenzel as Frank Gilroy (seasons 1–13) Lorrae Desmond as Nurse Sister Shirley Dean Gilroy (seasons 1–12) Anne Tenney as Molly Jones (seasons 1–5) Shane Withington as Brendan Jones (seasons 1–6) Joyce Jacobs as Esme Watson (seasons 2–13; guest in season 1), appeared in pilot as Norma Syd Heylen as Vernon "Cookie" Locke (seasons 2–12) Gordon Piper as Bob Hatfield (seasons 2–12; guest in season 1) Emily Nicol as Chloe Jones (seasons 5–6; recurring seasons 3–4) Joan Sydney as Matron Margaret "Maggie" Sloane (seasons 5–10; recurring seasons 3–4, 13) Wendy Strehlow as Sister Judy Loveday (seasons 5–6; recurring seasons 1–4) Nicholas Bufalo as Dr. Ben Green (seasons 5–8) Annie Davies as Kelly Shanahan (seasons 5–6) Josephine Mitchell as Jo Loveday Langley (season 6–9; recurring season 5) Diane Smith as Dr. Alex Fraser (seasons 6–9) Mark Owen-Taylor as Peter Manning (seasons 6–7) Caroline Johansson as Nurse Sister Donna Manning (seasons 6–8) Kate Raison as Cathy Hayden (seasons 7–10) Brett Climo as Michael Langley (seasons 7–9) John Tarrant as Matthew Tyler (seasons 8–12) Georgie Parker as Nurse Lucy Gardner Tyler (seasons 9–12), had previously appeared in a guest role as Barbara Gottlieb in 1988 Michael Muntz as Dr. Cris Kouros (seasons 9–11) Georgina Fisher as Jessica "Jessie" Kouros (seasons 9–11) Matt Day as Julian "Luke" Ross (seasons 9–12) Sophie Heathcote as Stephanie "Steve" Brennan (seasons 10–11) Mary Regan as Director of Nursing Ann Brennan (seasons 10–11) Maureen Edwards as Matron Rosemary Prior Elliot (seasons 11–13), had previously appeared in guest roles as Yvonne McLean in 1983, and Katherine D'Angelo in 1990) Andrew Blackman as Dr. Harry Morrison (seasons 11–13) Michelle Pettigrove as Nurse Kate Bryant Morrison (seasons 11–13), had previously appeared in a guest role as Mary O'Connor in 1988 Kym Wilson as Darcy Hudson (seasons 11–13), had previously appeared in a guest role as Leanne Baxter in 1989 Jon Concannon as Senior Constable Tom Newman (seasons 12–13) Gavin Harrison as Hugo Szreclecki (seasons 12–13), had previously appeared in a guest role as J.J. Moffitt in 1987 and Mick O'Brian in 1990) Judith McGrath as Bernice Hudson (seasons 12–13) Anne Looby as Dr. Anna Lacey Newman (seasons 12–13), had previously appeared in a guest role as Jennifer Rose in 1990 Jamie Croft as Billy Moss (seasons 12–13), had previously appeared in a guest role as Ashley Baker in 1991 Allan Penney as Perce Hudson (season 13; recurring seasons 7–12), had previously appeared in guest roles as Arty Turner in 1981, Alf Trotter in 1982 and Alfred Hitchins in 1984
Network Ten year (1994) Only three series regulars from the Network Seven series – Joan Sydney, Joyce Jacobs, and Andrew Blackman – were retained in the Network Ten re-launch. Michelle Pettigrove returned as a guest in the first episode only.
Joan Sydney as Matron Maggie Morrison Andrew Blackman as Dr. Harry Morrison Joyce Jacobs as Esme Watson Paul Gleeson as Ian McIntyre (appeared in the final 8 episodes of the Seven Network series) Claudia Black as Claire Bonacci (appeared in the final 4 episodes of the Seven Network series) Vince Colosimo as Danny Sabatini Laura Armstrong as Georgie Wilkes Jane Hall as Dr. Jess Morrison
Episodes
Setting and stories