The Lawsons

The Lawsons was an Australian radio serial broadcast by the ABC and created and written by Gwen Meredith that ran daily from 21 February 1944 to 25 february 1949. It was a forerunner to the better known Blue Hills. The show began as a propaganda series to introduce modern farming methods. Merredith researched it at a station near Gunnedah. The serial was hugely popular immediately and ran for five years. Meredith adapted the series into a play and a novel.

Premise
The adventures of the Lawson family who live on a farm. Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, Sue and Jean and there four boys Wally, Chris, Ted and Brian, Described as the typical Australian country folk, they raise sheep and poultry and grow wheat and vegetables, but are not as burlesque as Dad and Dave or Doreen and Ginger Mick.

Stage Play
Meredith wrote a stage play version of the radio serial. It toured New South Wales regional areas in 1950 with a cast including Ed Devereaux. The play was presented by J.C. Williamson's Ltd.

Cast of 1950 Tour

 * Pamela Bygrave as Sue
 * George Simpson Lyttle as mr Lawson
 * Jean Blue as Mrs. Lawson
 * Billee Lockwood as Hilda
 * Dorothea Dunstan as Emmy
 * Edward Devereaux as Ted Lawson
 * Peter Morris as Brian
 * Mary Bartholomew as Jean Lawson
 * Pat Penny as Max Ralston
 * Edmund Allison as Joe
 * Ben Lewin as Archie.