Bellbird (TV series)

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This article is concerned with Bellbird the Australian television soap opera; for other uses of the term see bellbird (disambiguation).

Bellbird was a daily soap opera produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1967 until December 1977. It was Australia's first successful soap opera; the show's ratings were moderate but it had a devoted following, especially in rural areas. For most of its run it screened each night Monday to Thursday, immediately before the main 7.00 pm evening news bulletin, in 15 minute episodes. Very late in its run the series was shown in one-hour episodes for a time, before switching to half-hour installments in 1977.

The show's storylines examined the lives of the residents of the small country town that gave the show's title.

Principle cast members included Maurie Fields (John Quinney), Carl Bleazby (Colonel Emerson), Lynette Curran (Rhoda Lang), Elspeth Ballantyne (Lori Chandler), Gerda Nicolson (Fiona Davies), Peter Aanensen (Jim Bacon), Carmel Millhouse (Marge Bacon), Moira Charleton (Olive Turner), Terry Norris (Joe Turner), Robin Ramsay (Charlie Cousens), Penne Hackforth-Jones, Ian Smith, Anne Phelan, Dennis Miller (Constable Des Davies), Michael Preston, Tom Oliver, Briony Behets, Brian James, John Stanton, Anne Charleston, Rod Mullinar, Olivia Hamnett, Maggie Millar and Alan Hopgood.