All Aussies overseas have an urge to get back and so we came home. It would have been early 1973 that Hector Crawford offered me the lead role of Inspector Reg Lawson in The Australian TV series 'Homicide' by Crawford Productions.

The family photograph for TV Week 1973

Being on the set of ‘Homicide’ was great! Crawfords was like a mini Hollywood studio system. Hundreds of people worked there. It had its own construction departments, studios and sound stages. It was always busy and there was a great creative and team environment there. It was a nursery for every type of Australian skill. I felt we were doing excellent, classy movies, which were now all in colour. I found it wonderfully exciting to be working back home again.

I got some guest roles in films like 'Petersen' by Tim Burstall's. I think we had a David Williamson script. Jack Thompson was playing the lead with Wendy Hughes and Jacki Weaver. Marvellous actors! That really confirmed to me that as film-makers, Australians knew what they were doing. The skills had been developing all those years we were away.

I became a director of such Crawford series such as “The Box”, “Bluestone Boys”, “The Sullivans”, “Cop Shop”, “Skyways” and “Holiday Island”.  I also directed Crawford Productions first stage play “Doctor in the House” and other plays in the theatre.

My final episode of 'The Sullivans' as Producer

I then produced and directed “Degrees of Change” for ABC TV, directed the film “Wilde’s Domain”, was producer of the mini-series “The Flying Doctors” and directed episodes of “Prisoner”, “Carson’s Law” and “Zoo Family”.

Things were bowling along, I suppose, very well. And then Audrey’s health started to fail. Professionally I put things on hold and settled to the fact that now I was home, looking after Audrey as well as I could. I didn’t realise what a responsible job it really is to be a sole carer.

Sadly, in the middle of 1996, Audrey died. I’d lost the love of my life, that beautiful girl I’d met in Coogee in December 1940. I’d known and loved Audrey for 56 years. We’d been married for forty-four years, eleven months and a couple of weeks. It was nearly our forty-fifth anniversary.