''Snake Gully with Dad 'N' Dave'' is a

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

1972 television series, comprising 13-episodes based on characters created by

Steele Rudd Steele Rudd was the pen name of Arthur Hoey Davis (14 November 1868 – 11 October 1935) an Australian author, best known for his short story collection '' On Our Selection''. In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, Rudd was named one of the ...

. It was adapted from the radio series ''

Dad and Dave from Snake Gully ''Dad and Dave from Snake Gully'' was an Australian radio drama series based on the On Our Selection stories of Steele Rudd. The series is more often referred to simply as ''Dad and Dave''. The theme tune was " The Road to Gundagai". The standar ...

'' rather than Rudd's original stories, and although originally titled simply as "Dad 'N' Dave", this title could not be used due to a copyright, the ''Snake Gully'' of the title referring to the fictional town in where the Rudd's resided on a farm. The series featured an instrumental version of " The Road to Gundagai" as its theme, a vocal version of same had been the theme of the radio series before it. The network had constructed 8 in-house sets with exterior scenes filmed in and around Riverstone and

Windsor, New South Wales Windsor is a historic town north-west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the council seat of the Hawkesbury local government area. The town sits on the Hawkesbury River, enveloped by farmland and Australian bush. Many of the oldest s ...

. The series was created and produced by

Ralph Peterson Ralph Peterson may refer to: * Ralph Peterson Jr. (1962–2021), American jazz drummer and bandleader * Ralph Peterson (writer) Ralph Wilton Peterson (21 February 1921 – 2 November 1996) was an Australian writer (dramatist and playwright ...

, who also wrote some of the scripts, he had worked on the sitcom ''

My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? ''My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?'' is a popular Australian situation comedy series produced by ATN7 from 1966 to 1968. Premise The situation involved a young couple, Wally and Rita Stiller (John Meillon and Judi Farr), living in Balmain ...

'' and cast

Gordon Chater Gordon Maitland Chater AM (6 April 1922 – 12 December 1999) was an English Australian comedian and actor, and recipient of the Gold Logie, he appeared in revue, theatre, radio, television and film, with a career spanning almost 50 years. Bio ...

in the role of ''Dad'' Dan Rudd, with his son ''Dave'' played by

Garry McDonald Garry George McDonald AO (born 30 October 1948) is an Australian actor, satirist and comedian. In a career spanning five decades he has had many theatre, television and film roles, and has been listed as a National Living Treasure. He is bes ...

. The cast also included

Marion Edward Marion Edward is an Australian actress. She has appeared on stage in '' The Ballad of Angel's Alley'', on TV in '' Snake Gully with Dad and Dave'' and on film. She was nominated for the 1981 AFI Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for he ...

as ''Mum'' Sarah Rudd,

Robert McDarra Robert Bundy McDarra (1931– 23 December 1975) variously credited as Robert McDara and Bob McDara was an Australian stage, television and film actor. He won the 1973 AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his work on the film '' 27A'' ...

as neighbour Bill Smith and his daughter Mabel played by Michelle Fawdon, the series was rounded out with supporting players John Armstrong as Uncle Clarence and Buster Fiddess as Ted Hamilton. After the pilot, a regular series was commissioned and filmed in color but Fiddess had died, so he was replaced in the role by

Noel Ferrier Noel Ferrier AM (20 December 193016 October 1997) was an Australian television personality, comedian, stage and film actor, raconteur and theatrical producer. He was a regular panelist in Graham Kennedy's popular game show '' Blankety Blanks ( ...

, Armstrong was replaced by Harry Lawrence and as Fawdon had been cast in a production of '' Jesus Christ Superstar'', she to was replaced by actress

Diane Craig Diane Mary Craig (born 1949), sometimes credited as Di Craig, is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress best known for her performances in film and television. She was born in County Down, and since 1971 has been married to award-winning Aust ...

, another actor to feature in the series as the Mayor was

Redmond Phillips Redmond Bernard Phillips (5 June 1912 – 3 November 1993) was a New Zealand actor and writer, particularly of theatre and television, who worked in his native country, as well also worked in England and Australia. Biography Phillips was born i ...

. The series was not popular with both viewers and critics alike and was cancelled. Though the series was unsuccessful, writer Peterson did win an

AWGIE award The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previou ...

for writing of an episode.Don Storey, "Snake Gully with Dad'n'Dave", ''Classic Australian Television'', 2008
accessed 31 January 2013

Cast

as Dave *

as Dan Rudd (Dad) *

as Sarah Rudd (Mum) *

as Bill Smith * Michele Fawdon /

as Mabel Smith * John Armstrong / Harry Lawrence as Uncle Clarence * Buster Fiddess /

as Ted Hamilton *

Maggie Kirkpatrick Margaret Anne Kirkpatrick (née Downs; born 29 January 1941) is an Australian stage and screen actress who starred in the cult TV series ''Prisoner'' (otherwise known as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'' in the UK and North America), where she was bes ...

References

External links

* 1970s Australian television sitcoms 1972 Australian television series debuts Seven Network original programming Works by Ralph Peterson {{Australia-tv-prog-stub