Bellbird was a country based daily soap opera screened for 15 minutes each night by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation before the evening news. The series followed the lives of the residents of the country town that gave the show's title. It ran from 1967 until 1977 and though ratings were moderate the show had a devoted following, especially in rural areas. The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of Our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... The ABC or Australian Broadcasting Corporation is the national, Australia. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

Principle cast members included Maurie Fields, Carl Bleazby, Lynette Curran, Elspeth Ballantyne, Gerda Nicolson, Peter Aanensen, Carmel Milhouse, Moira Charleton, Terry Norris, Robin Ramsay, Ian Smith, Anne Phelan, Dennis Miller. Gerda Nicolson, (November 11, 1937-June 12, 1992) was an Australian theatre and television actor possibly best known for her portrayal of governor Ann Reynolds in the popular Australian television soap opera Prisoner. ... Ian Smith (Born 1939) is a corpulent Australian character actor and television scriptwriter who now looks set to achieve immortality as the irascible coffee shop owner, Harold Bishop, in TENs long running Neighbours. ...

External links

• Aussie Soap Archive: Bellbird (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~fangora/bellbird.html) — Overview and review