Debuting on 19 September 1977, this weekly drama series from the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) was set in the Sydney suburb of Balmain and centred on a small, struggling building firm run by the Kirby family.
Hard-working patriarch Bill Kirby (Ken Blackburn) loved his family, a drink at the club and football, and was fond of quoting “When I was a kid . . . ” while his practical wife Judy (Margaret Cruickshank) was forever making cups of tea and doing the ironing.
Bill and Judy had four children: Owen, Jimmy, Peter and Pamela.
Owen (Peter De Salis) had left the family business and was doing well as a supermarket manager. He was married to Jennifer (Louise Howitt) and had political aspirations.
Jimmy (Vince Martin) worked in the family business alongside his dad and his grandfather, George. He was keen on car racing and birds (or “tomcatting”, as his mother said disapprovingly), and was clearly enjoying an intimate relationship with his girlfriend, Ingrid (Olivia Brown).
Youngest son Peter (Tom Burlinson) was attending university, while adopted daughter Pamela (Margaret Nelson) worried that she was not suited to her nursing vocation.
Grandpa George (Ted Ogden) stayed at the pub too long, gambled and was still grieving over the loss of his wife. The other grandfather, Santa (Willie Fennell), was an independent chap who lived in a boatshed and didn’t get along with George.
The domestic dramatic confrontations were quite lively (even if the acting was a bit heavy-handed), and the humorous interludes were genuinely amusing.
After initially planning that the show would run for three seasons, the ABC decided to bring production to a halt in December 1977 after 18 episodes. Ken Blackburn moved on to a role in Golden Soak, and Margaret Cruickshank made the decision to leave the entertainment industry.
Bill Kirby
Ken Blackburn Judy Kirby
Margaret Cruickshank Jimmy Kirby
Vince Martin Pamela Kirby
Margaret Nelson George Kirby
Edward Ogden Santa
Willie Fennell Owen Kirby
Peter De Salis Jennifer Kirby
Louise Howitt Peter Kirby
Tom Burlinson Maisie Peters
Bunney Brooke Ingrid Nielson
Olivia Brown
Episodes
Win Some, Lose Some | It’s A Politician’s World | Sweet, Sweet Charity | Me, I’d Just as Soon Carry Bricks | You Get What You Pay For | No He’s Just a Friend | You Want to See a Bit of the World | My Mother Wouldn’t Know | Johnny On The Spot | The Sabotage of Hopes and Dreams | The Sins of a Man | I Owe You 13 Cents | Christmas Is For Families | Quality of Life | All The Risk and All The Profit | Your Sense of Humour | Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
You May Also Like
Family Holvak, The 1 9 7 5 (USA) 13 x 60 minute episodes Reverend Tom Holvak (Glenn Ford) and his…
