Martha Mackenzie

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Martha Jane Mackenzie
Jodi Gordon as Martha MacKenzie
First appearance	2005
Statistics
Gender	Female
Family	Ruth Stewart (mother) Brett Macklin (father)
Spouse	Jack Holden
Relatives	Alf Stewart (grandfather) Ric Dalby (cousin) Michael "Macca" Mackenzie (adoptive brother)
Portrayed by	Jodi Gordon

Martha Jane Mackenzie Holden is a fictional character in the Australian soap opera Home and Away, portrayed by Jodi Gordon.

Martha is the granddaughter of Alf Stewart. She arrived as an adult into Summer Bay in 2005, having been given up for adoption by Ruth 'Roo' Stewart. She was involved with Jesse McGregor, but they broke up after a little while. Martha first met Jack Holden at Tasha and Robbie's house-warming party. Jack (a police officer) knocked on the door to ask Tasha and Robbie to turn down the music because of a complaint from the neighbours. Martha became upset with Jack because of this, but Robbie turned down the music and Jack left, leaving Martha furious. The next day, she was pulled over in her car for speeding. To her surprise, it was Jack again, making her more furious. Martha went to Beth's house and met the new neighbours, only to find that Jack is amongst them. Martha became very angry.

From the moment they met, Martha had an instant attraction to Jack, but didn't want to show it, and persistently declined his proposals of dates. At one point, they played a game of pool, with the loser (Martha) having to do a naked run. Tony told Martha that Jack is afraid of spiders, so Martha decided to put one on his bed, not thinking that it could cost Jack his hearing. When Jack saw the spider, he jumped and hit his head on the cupboard, then fell unconscious. In hospital, Jack was told that he could be deaf in one ear. When Jack found out that it was Martha who put the spider there as a joke, he was furious and screamed at her to get out of his room. Martha was shattered and ran out crying. Tony told Jack that he saw Martha crying at the beach, and admitted that she likes him, reasoning that if she didn't, she wouldn't be crying. Jack went down to the beach to talk to Martha. He said it will be hard to forget, but she can make it up to him by facing her fears and jumping off a cliff (Martha is scared of heights). They went up to a cliff and Jack was shocked when he realised that Martha would jump off for him. Jack stopped her leap at the last moment, and told her that there is another way she can make it up to him. They begin to kiss, and Jack and Martha became a couple.

The couple were inseparable. Jack told everyone that he was starting to get his hearing back, but Martha found out he was lying. She told Tony, who then informed Jack's superiors at the police station; Jack was restricted to station duties until his hearing had fully recovered. Jack and Martha got into an argument, and he told Martha that it was her fault in the first place that he lost his hearing. Martha stormed out. Before leaving, she said that it is better if they break up. Jack apologised, but it was too late. Martha then dated Jack's working partner, Corey. On the night of Kim and Hayley's engagement party, Jack informed Martha how he really felt, stating "the way I fell for you, I have never felt for anyone before". Martha responded that it was too late, as she was with Corey now.

After Corey was jailed for poisoning Irene Roberts, Martha and Jack became good friends, until Baby Noah's christening when they were flirting and Matilda and Lucas came up and said, "You two are hopeless; it is obvious you two are meant to be together, so why don't you get your acts together?" Martha and Jack shrugged it off, but inside Martha had strong feelings for Jack. She went into Hayley's room and was followed by Jack, who sat down on the bed opposite her and said, "Maybe it is time we got our acts together." She smiled and then Jack kissed her. They were a couple again.

Jack and Martha got married, but their wedding was interrupted by Zoe McAllister, the Summer Bay stalker. She had opened gas canisters, and when the wedding cake, which was decorated with sparklers, was brought into the barn, one ignited the gas. Several people, including Jack, were injured. When taken to the hospital, it was discovered that Jack's liver was severely damaged. A transplant was quickly found; Peter Baker was thought to be the donor, but it was discovered that he wasn't the day he returned from witness protection. After the surgery, Dr. Rachel Armstrong arranged for a plastic surgeon in the city to have a look at Martha, Robbie, Kim, Kit and Belle's burns. The helicopter that would transfer them to the city got caught in a storm and dropped off the radar. Alf sent out a search party for them, but could not find them. The crash victims were eventually found alive, but during the time that they were lost, Jack and Tasha grew close. They eventually discussed their feelings and agreed that a relationship was not a good idea as they are both good friends.

Martha was later disappointed at the fact that she felt she was the only person contributing to the marriage - Jack was going about his life as though nothing had changed, and as if marriage meant nothing to him. After Jack discovered that Peter was still alive, he was severely beaten by somebody in his office. At the hospital, Rachel discovered that the liver Jack has is not Peter's because they both have different blood types. Jack's blood type is O-, and this is a rare blood type. Jack needed urgent surgery to repair the damage caused by the attacker, and it was discovered that Martha had a compatible blood type. She readily donated blood for Jack's surgery, but later was reluctant to visit him in recovery. In the diner, Martha met a man, who introduced himself as Ash Nader. She spent the night with him, and the following day discovered that he is a friend of Jack's. Before she made this discovery, she told Jack that she would give her marriage another go. She later wondered whether she should tell him about the night that she and Ash spent together.