Stories from Here

  Growing up in Australia, A Country Practice (ACP) was an Australian television soap opera staple. It ran on the Australian Seven Network for 1,058 episodes at 7.30 pm Monday and Tuesday nights, from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993.  The shows exterior locations were filmed in Pitt Town, Maraylya and Oakville on the outskirts of Northwestern Sydney. It also featured a number of native Australian animals, particularly the iconic Fatso, the Wombat with the lilting sounds of bell birds throughout the episodes adding to its enduring appeal both domestically and internationally. After the series was cancelled in 1993, A Country Practice was the longest running Australian TV drama. At its height, the show attracted 8–10 million viewers weekly, when Australia's population at the time was a mere 15 million, the show was sold to 48 countries. I have watched almost all the episodes of the show over time and was amazed at the cutting edge nature of the show in dealing with topics...