Genre | soap opera/serial |
---|---|
Running time | 15 minutes |
Country of origin | Australia |
Home station | ABC |
Starring | see: List of actors |
Created by | Gwen Meredith |
Produced by | Frank Harvey, Robert Montgomery, Eric John |
Original release | 28 February 1949 – 30 September 1976 |
No. of episodes | 5,795 |
Opening theme | Pastorale by Ronald Hanmer |
Blue Hills, created and written by Gwen Meredith, is an Australian radio serial about the lives of families, set in a fictional typical Australian country town called Tanimbla. The title "Blue Hills" itself derives from the residence of Dr. Gordon, the town's doctor.
Blue Hills was broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) for 27 years, from 28 February 1949 to 30 September 1976. It ran for a total of 5,795 episodes, and was at one time the world's longest-running radio serials. Each episode lasted 15 minutes. It succeeded another Gwen Meredith serial The Lawsons , with many of the same themes and characters, and which ran for 1,299 episodes. [1]
The Lawsons was the brainchild of play editor Leslie Rees and Frank Clewlow of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (then Commission), which had been approached by Government in 1943 to publicise the need for farmers to grow more soya beans as part of the war effort. They reasoned that a popular radio programme would be more effective than ordinary propaganda, and approached Gwen Meredith to write a radio drama. She was an unlikely choice as she lived in Melbourne and production was to be in Sydney, and she was a city girl with little knowledge of primary production. But she accepted the contract from the ABC's Rural Department and spent some weeks on a sheep station in Gunnedah to gather background. The show went to air on 21 February 1944 [2] and slowly achieved a loyal country audience.
The story revolved around the farmer John Lawson (Vivian Edwards), his wife Ellen (Ailsa Grahame), and their 19-year-old daughter Sue, played by Jane Holland. The original remit was extended to enable modern farming methods and seasonal information to be passed on to farmers, as well as the usual fare of soap operas. As the war ended, Grahame and Holland left for England, and were replaced by Ethel Lang and Joan Lord. Under producer Charles Wheeler, who insisted of actors that they use a natural conversation style rather than stage voices, [3] the show lasted five years before it was terminated, at Meredith's request, to make way for a similar program of greater scope. [4]
The last episode of The Lawsons was aired on 25 February 1949, a Friday, and Blue Hills commenced the following Monday, 28 February 1949. [3]
Blue Hills was broadcast from the ABC's capital city stations 2FC, 3AR, 4QG, 5CL, 7ZL and their regional networks at 1 pm AET and repeated, for city listeners, at 6:45 pm, Monday to Friday, though the Friday episode was dropped in 1954. Due to limitations imposed by the telecommunications of the time (and no doubt also the two-hour time difference), it was initially broadcast only in the Eastern States and South Australia. 5DR Darwin (later 8DR) began broadcasting the program in September 1952, and 6WF Perth and Western Australian regional stations began in January 1955, using transcription discs and, later, magnetic tape sourced from Sydney. The duration of each episode was 15 minutes apart from the finale, which needed 30 minutes to round up each character. "The sun sets over 'Blue Hills'". The Canberra Times . Vol. 51, no. 14, 498. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 October 1976. p. 7. Retrieved 7 December 2021– via National Library of Australia. The first words spoken in the first episode were by Queenie Ashton as Mrs Gordon, and as Granny Bishop the last words ("good bye") in the final episode some 27 years later. [3]
Among the many Sydney actors, perhaps hundreds, played in Blue Hills, several actors had previously appeared Gwen Meredith early radio serial The Lawsons
Name | Role | Notes/Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Alexander Archdale | Richard Darbyshire | [5] | ||
Queenie Ashton | Lee Gordon (married to Dr Gordon) (1949) / Rose Bishop (married to Ed Bishop) 1954 / Granny Emily Bishop (mother of Ed and Meg) ( 1954-1976) | [6] [7] [8] | ||
Philippa Baker | a Scottish nurse | [ citation needed ] | ||
John Barnes | [9] | |||
Ray Barrett | [10] [9] | |||
Lola Brooks | Fanny/Judy McCarthur | [11] [9] | ||
Barbara Brunton | Sally Howard (?-1952) | [12] | ||
Keith Buckley | Nick Macarthur (son of Jim) | [8] | ||
Alma Butterfield | Mrs Jenkins (1950) | [13] | ||
Neva Carr Glynn | [14] | |||
Amber-Mae Cecil | Jackie Macarthur/Emmie Lawson) (married Ted in 1951) | replaced Myrna Dodd [15] ,replaced Sheila Sewell [3] | ||
Rupert Chance | Ted Lawson (married Emmie in 1951) | [16] | ||
Peg Christensen | Emmie Lawson | [17] | ||
Marie Clarke | Mary Howard (love affair with Peter Macarthur) [18] | [19] | ||
Reg Collins | Joe Walters the original Joe Walters/Ned Walters (Joe's brother) | [8] [20] [15] | ||
Ruth Cracknell | Ruth Lawson | [9] [21] | ||
Patti Crocker | Mandy Gordon (younger daughter of Dr Gordon, married Dr Frobisher)/Meg Macarthur/ Anne (Meg's daughter) | [lower-alpha 1] | [9] | |
Marshall Crosby | Josh Roberts | [22] | ||
Therese Desmond | Amelia | [23] | ||
Ed Devereaux | ? | [9] | ||
Myrna Dodd | Jackie Macarthur | [24] | ||
Maiva Drummond | Jean Lawson (The Lawsons)/Rose Bishop (Blue Hills 1964-1976) (married to Ed) | [25] [8] | ||
Tom Farley | Jim Macarthur (married to Meg) | [8] | ||
Winifred Green | Martha Walters | [8] | ||
Gordon Grimsdale | Dr Neil Gordon Dec. 1949 | [26] | ||
Anne Haddy | Elizabeth Ross-Ingham | [8] | ||
Marcia Hathaway | hospital nurse | [27] | ||
Madelaine Howell | ? | [28] | ||
Nellie Lamport | Hilda (the Lawsons' cook, aunt of Emmie) married Joe Walters late in life [15] [8] | |||
Ethel Lang [lower-alpha 2] | Dr Gordon's charlady (1949)/Meg Macarthur (married to Jim Macarthur) | [29] [8] | ||
Hal Lashwood | Chris Lawson (in The Lawsons) | [25] | ||
Camilla Lay | Maisie Jenkins (-1949) | [20] | ||
Nigel Lovell | a Polish airman | [30] | ||
Paul Maclay | ? | [20] | ||
Charles McCallum | Ed Bishop (son of Granny, married to Rose) | [8] [31] | ||
John McCallum | ? | [10] | ||
Robert McDarra | ? | [32] | ||
John Meillon | ? | [4] | ||
Coralie Neville [lower-alpha 3] /Trixie Gordon (daughter of Dr Gordon) 1949 | [20] [26] | |||
Ida Newton | Auntie Gertie (1949) | [33] | ||
John Norman | Jerry Walters | [8] | ||
John Nugent-Hayward | Dr Neil Gordon (March 1949 [lower-alpha 4] | [34] | ||
Max Osbiston | Dr Frobisher (married Mandy Gordon) (1976) | [9] | ||
Pat Pearson | Judy Macarthur | [9] | ||
Gwen Plumb | Emmie Lawson (niece of Hilda; [15] married Ted in 1951 [25] ) | [8] [35] | ||
Madge Ryan | ? | [4] | ||
June Salter | Sally Howard (?-1952) | [36] | ||
Thelma Scott | Aunt Laura | [20] [37] | ||
Sheila Sewell | Emmie Lawson (married Ted Lawson in 1951) (appeared to 1953) | [15] [3] | ||
Georgie Sterling | Claire Throsby (love affair with Anderson Roberts) | [38] | ||
Nancye Stewart | Mabel Ross | [8] | ||
Rod Taylor | Anderson Roberts (love affair with Sally Howard) | [39] | ||
Ngaire Thompson | Jenny Roberts | [40] | ||
Morris Unicomb | Bruce Gordon (son of Dr Gordon) | [30] | ||
Lou Vernon | Col. Ross-Ingham | [8] |
Producers included:
The famous opening signature tune was taken from a short orchestral piece called Pastorale by the British composer Ronald Hanmer. [42] Until Hanmer moved to Australia in 1975, he had no idea that his work had been used by the ABC and had become so famous in Australia (although few Australians could have identified its composer). He later re-worked this short piece into a longer orchestral work titled Blue Hills Rhapsody, which he recorded with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. The recording first used was played by the New Century Orchestra. [43]
Several books based on the show were written by Gwen Meredith:
In preparing the radio serial Blue Hills for publication I have not been set such a formidable task as faced me with The Lawsons, since up to the present date Blue Hills has been presented by the Australian Broadcasting Commission for little more than a year. This means a mere half million words to contend with! But since the publisher sets a defensive maximum of eighty thousand words, intending readers should be warned—and perhaps heartened by the warning—that in that editing, a great deal has perforce been discarded. However, I think the main elements and characters have survived the massacre and the book brings the story to the point reached on air at the time of writing. GWEN MEREDITH. (Author's note, Blue Hills (1950))
William Lawson, MLC was a British soldier, explorer, land owner, grazier and politician who migrated to Sydney, New South Wales in 1800. Along with Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth, he pioneered the first successful crossing of the Blue Mountains by British colonists.
Gwendoline Jean Plumb AM BEM, was an Australian performer of international appeal, actress and comedian active in literally every form of the art genre, including revue, pantomime, vaudeville, interviewing, game shows, live appearances, compering, radio production, scriptwriting and acting, television soap opera and mini-series and made-for-TV film.
Ronald Egan Randell was an Australian actor. After beginning his acting career on the stage in 1937, he played Charles Kingsford Smith in the film Smithy (1946). He also had roles in Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1947), Kiss Me Kate (1953), I Am a Camera (1955), Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961) and King of Kings (1961).
Gwenyth Valmai Meredith OBE, also known by her married name Gwen Harrison, was an Australian writer, dramatist and playwright, and radio writer. She is best known for her radio serials The Lawsons (1944–1949) and the longer-running Blue Hills (1949–1976).
Dame Doratea Alice Lucy Walkden Fitton, was an Australian pioneering theatre entrepreneur, actress of stage and film and theatrical director and producer who established with 19 other actors The Independent Theatre Ltd. in North Sydney, New South Wales in 1930, which operated for forty-seven years.
The Sydney County Council (SCC) was formed in 1935 to produce electricity and operate the electricity network in a number of municipalities in metropolitan Sydney. Unlike other New South Wales county councils, which were voluntary associations of local councils to undertake local government activities permitted or required of them by the Local Government Act 1919, Sydney County Council was established under a separate piece of legislation by the state government to perform the electricity distribution and streetlighting operations of the local government areas concerned. On its establishment it assumed control of the Electricity Department of the Sydney City Council, which was already supplying electricity to other municipalities. In 1952, the SCC lost most its electricity generation functions to the Electricity Commission of New South Wales and retained only its distribution functions. The SCC was merged with other municipal county councils in 1990 to form Sydney Electricity.
Ethel Muriel Ashton, known professionally as Queenie Ashton, was a character actress, born in England, who had a long career in Australia as a theatre performer and radio personality, best known for her radio and television soap opera roles, although she did also feature briefly in films.
Anthony Scott Veitch was an Australian writer of radio, films, novels and TV. He worked for a number of years in British film and TV. His feature credits include The Kangaroo Kid (1950) and Coast of Skeletons (1964). He wrote more than 100 novels, including westerns and historical fiction.
Will Lawson, born in Durham, England, was a popular bush poet, novelist, journalist and historian of Australia. Many of his works had sailing or stage coach themes.
Gwen Kelly was an award-winning Australian novelist, short story writer and poet, whose fourth novel, Always Afternoon, was made into a television mini-series in 1988. She was considered by some to be one of the "major Australian writers", whose novels are "an intimate chronicling of women's lives and of our yesterdays", "probing stereotypical Australian attitudes and behaviour".
Patricia Anne Crocker professionally known as Patti Crocker, was an Australian actress associated with the "golden days of radio in Australia", who also appeared in theatre and on television, primarily in soap opera and commercial advertisement's. She was the author of a memoir detailing her life and career on both radio and subsequently on television.
Six Directions was an art collective in Sydney, Australia, formed in 1953 by six post-war immigrants from Europe. They held group exhibitions at Bissietta's Gallery, at 70 Pitt Street, Sydney in 1957 and at the Riverside Gallery, Canberra, in 1958. All were members of the Contemporary Art Society of New South Wales, and were described as bringing new interest in texture to Australia.
Maiva Drummond was an Australian actress of stage and radio, known for her part in the long-running ABC radio serial she starred as Jean Lawson in radio serial The Lawsons in the late 1940s and its longer running successor series Blue Hills as Rose Bishop, from 1949 until 1976, both series written by Gwen Meredith
Nellie Lamport was a British-Australian actress and singer, known for the long-running ABC radio serial Blue Hills and its predecessor The Lawsons. as Hilda the Cook and Martin's Corner as Granny Martin
Wives Have Their Uses is a 1938 Australian stage play by Gwen Meredith. It is a comedy.
Great Inheritance is a 1945 Australian radio play by Gwen Meredith about soil erosion. It was one of her best known radio works outside of Blue Hills.
The Opportunist is a 1940 Australian radio play by Gwen Meredith.
The Lawsons was an Australian radio serial broadcast by the ABC and created and written by Gwen Meredith that ran daily from 21 February 1944 to 25 February 1949. It was a forerunner to the better known Blue Hills. The show began as a propaganda series to introduce modern farming methods. Meredith researched it at a station near Gunnedah. The serial was hugely popular immediately and ran for five years. Meredith adapted the series into a play and a novel.
Jean Blue (1906–1972) was an Australian actress, best known for The Overlanders. She worked extensively in theatre, particularly at the New Theatre in Sydney. Blue was also a trained nurse.