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The Sullivans : Australian wartime drama

The Sullivans : Australian wartime drama

When war broke out, life would never be the same again for the Sullivan family of Camberwell. Brothers Tom and Terry were keen to join up, while John's communist views led to frequent clashes with his father, Dave. Even young Kitty, as she grew older, was not to be spared from knowing the tragedy of wartime. And through all this, matriarch Grace watched and fretted over her family, little expecting what fate had in store for her...

Of all the Aussie soaps, The Sullivans was the least sensational and most down to earth. Its portrayal of the Sullivan family and their neighbours during WWII was character driven and rarely fell into melodrama. Dave, Grace and their children were at the centre of the storylines, but supporting the characters was a large group of extended family, friends and neighbours. Most of the action took place in the Sullivan household, but other frequent locations were the Great Southern pub, run by Maggie Hayward; the general store (originally owned by a German family before being passed into the hands of Harry and Rose and then Alice and Jim Sullivan); and the home of gossipy neighbour Mrs Jessup and her succession of lodgers.
Image: cover of The Sullivans novel published during the show's run

Not that the show was without excitement. Whilst most of the action centered around the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell, many plots followed the adventures of Norm Baker and young Tom Sullivan as they fought the war in Crete, Holland, Singapore and other far flung places (although all actually filmed in the countryside surrounding Melbourne!). These storylines were often the source of the show's more tense cliffhangers.

When the soap began, the Sullivan children were quite young, and over the years, viewers were given the opportunity to see them grow. John Sullivan went from an idealistic conscientious objector to a brave war hero, while Tom and Terry spent time as prisoners of war in Changai. Little Kitty blossomed into a young woman, becoming a nurse and then wife and mother. The Sullivans gained another child when they adopted Geoff Johnson, the brother of a soldier killed while serving with Tom and Norm.

Despite the often gentle nature of the soap, it did not shy from big issues. However, rather than sensationalise, it handled these issues in a sensitive way. Problems that the characters had to face included death, divorce, miscarriage, adultery, alcoholism and gambling addiction (and that was just Alice Sullivan!). Dave Sullivan was not the only character to be widowed; Norm Baker's Greek wife was executed by Nazi soldiers, Harry's first wife Rose drowned, and Kitty's husband Robbie committed suicide after witnessing the effects of the bombing of Hiroshima.

In the past thirty years, The Sullivans has been sold to over 30 countries, from India to the UK. In the UK it became the longest running and most successful overseas daytime serial, running at lunchtime on most ITV network stations for over a decade.

The show did struggle in its final years. With the war over, and many of the original cast gone, it was in danger of losing its focus. New additions to the Sullivan clan, in the form of Dave's cousin's wife and her family, kept things going for a little longer, but the show had passed its peak. However, of all the classic Aussie soaps, this was probably the one that ended its run with its original themes and principles most intact.

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