Elly Barton (Olivia Harkin) was a strong-minded, intelligent 11-year-old girl living with her family in an outer Australian suburb called Banksiawood.
Other kids in the Barton family were 16-year-old Anthony (Michael O’Reilly), 14-year-old Paul (Matt Day) and 7-year-old Douglas (Ben Toovey). The parents were Clare (Jennifer Jarman-Walker) and Robert (former Ol’55 frontman Frankie J Holden).
Elly’s best friend was Anita McPherson (Rosemary Smith), whose mother dreamed of her daughter becoming a lady. Elly’s mother, on the other hand, had given up any such hopes for Elly.
The Bartons’ neighbours included cantankerous Mr Jensen (Robert Essex), rough-and-tumble Skinner Davis (Frank Webb) and his shy sister Susan (Natasha Kenneally). In an old house around the corner lived Mr Snoller (Alan Lovett), Banksiawood’s resident eccentric.
It wasn’t great television, but it did present children as children rather than cutesy-pie little horrors with adult words crammed into their mouths, and it provided a small window into the world of six-to-12-year-olds. Episodes were written with affection and understanding and played with sincerity.
The series was filmed at the ABC’s Ripponlea studios in Elsternwick, Victoria, and on location in Copnal Court, Glen Waverley.
Elly Barton
Olivia Harkin Paul Barton
Matt Day Anthony Barton
Michael O’Reilly Douglas Barton
Ben Toovey Clare Barton
Jennifer Jarman-Walker Robert Barton
Frankie J. Holden Anita McPherson
Rosemary Smith Mr Jensen
Robert Essex Skinner Davies
Frank Webb Miss India
Maureen Edwards Mr Snoller
Alan Lovett Susan
Natasha Kenneally Vince Capaletti
Christian Pellone Yvonne McPherson
Pippa Smith Mr Capaletti
Bob Ruggiero Mrs Capaletti
Christina Lichter Mrs Davies
Lesley Baker
Episodes
The Siege of the Bartons Bathroom | The Barton League of Bird Lovers | Half Time | Mr Snoller’s Black Bag | Three Little Pigs | The Great Billycart Aid Race | Position Vacant | Musical Rooms | Beautiful Beetroot | Bartons on the Beach | Suspected | Bye Bye Bartons
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