Bellbird is an Australian soap opera serial set in a small fictional Victorianrural township of the show's title. The series was produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation at its Ripponlea TV studios in Elsternwick, Melbourne, Victoria. The opening title sequence was filmed at Daylesford, Victoria. Having ran for 10 years, from 1967 until 1977 it was the longest-running soap opera/serial ever produced by the ABC, and ended the same year as commercial broadcast series Number 96 and The Box, which had both ran 6.5 and 4 years respectively.
Production and broadcasting
The series was screened from 28 August 1967 to 23 December 1977. Although Bellbird was not Australia's first television serial, 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. During most of its 10-year production run, 15-minute episodes of Bellbird screened from Monday to Thursday nights during the lead 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.
Synopsis
The show's storylines followed the lives of the residents of the small fictional country town that gave the show its title.
''Bellbird'' Cast
Bellbird would feature a regular cast of 46 actors over its ten year run. see links, for actor information Principal cast members included:
The cast of Bellbird became household names to the viewing audiences and a number went on to appear in the Network Ten cult series Prisoner. In 1979, two years after Bellbird ended its run, Elspeth Ballantyne, Patsy King and Sheila Florance worked together once again in the iconic series playing guard Meg Jackson Morris,, Erica Davidson and inmate Lizzie Birdsworth respectively. Brian James, AnneLucas, George Mallaby, Lesley Baker, Maggie Millar, and Tonmmy Dysart were others. Whilst in later years Prisoner, would star former Bellbird alumni Gerda Nicolson and Maurie Fields as Governor Anne Reynolds and prison officer Len Murphy respectively.
Actor Alan Hopgood would go on to appear in Neighbours as Jack Ramsey. Ian Smith and Anne Charleston, who had also appeared in small roles in Prisoner, as Ted Douglass and Lorraine Brooks went on to appear as long-term and husband and wife character'a Harold and Madge Bishop. Whilst Number 96 star Tom Oliver would play long-standing character Lou Carpenter.
International screenings
Episodes of Bellbird were screened in the UK 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. In 2004 it was reported that the ABC taped over the master tapes of the series, something which series cast member Alan Hopgood had complained about in a TV Times article in 1976: "They are just wiped off and another episode run over them... This failure to preserve the program is criminal, to my way of thinking".
The series was the first soap opera in Australia to spin-off into a feature film version and tie-in novel, entitled Country Town. 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.
