Elisabeth "Liz" Kirkby was an Australia-based theatre and television actress and politician known as a long time member of the New South Wales Legislative Council

New South Wales Legislative Council

The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...

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Born in Bolton

Bolton

Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...

, England, Kirkby's acting career began in the UK where she spent three years working for the war effort. She then spent fifteen years living in Malaysia, writing, producing and directing for radio and the arts. Then she moved to Australia, where she wrote and produced documentaries and education programs for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

, and acted on television in guest starring roles. These included roles in The Rovers

The Rovers (TV series)

The Rovers was an Australian ocean-based family adventure television show originally screened 1969 - 1970 on the 0-Ten network.Produced by NLT Productions, the series starred Rowena Wallace, Edward Hepple, Noel Trevarthen and Grant Seiden....

, in Crawford Productions

Crawford Productions

Crawford Productions is an Australian television production company founded by Hector Crawford; the present incarnation of the company, Crawfords Australia, is now a subsidiary of the WIN television corporation.-History:...

' espionage drama Hunter

Hunter (Australian Crawfords TV series)

Hunter was an Australian espionage adventure television series screened by the Nine Network from 5 July 1967 to 1969. The series was created by Ian Jones and produced by Crawford Productions....

 and their police drama Homicide. Then came the role of Lucy Sutcliffe in soap opera Number 96

Number 96 (TV series)

Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...

, which made Kirkby a household name.

Kirkby was an original cast member of Number 96 which premiered March 1972. Unsure of how long the series would last, the producers offered the original cast contracts lasting just six weeks. The show became Australia's highest-rated television program in 1973 and 1974. Lucy endured a moaning layabout husband Alf (James Elliott

James Elliott (actor)

James "Jimmy" Elliott was a Scottish-born Australian theatre and television actor best known for his long-running role of Alf Sutcliffe in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96....

), along with a series of dramatic health concerns in the serial: a breast-cancer scare, blindness, and an unplanned pregnancy followed by a troubled birth. The episode in which it was revealed that Lucy's tumour was benign proved to be Number 96s highest-ever rated episode. In late 1973 the show had a feature film spin-off featuring much of the show's current cast, including Kirkby, reprising their television roles.

In November 1975 Alf and Lucy were written out of Number 96 as part of a drastic remodelling of the show in the wake of declining ratings. On leaving the serial Kirkby went straight into a theatre run. She subsequently made guest appearances on Australian drama series such as Glenview High

Glenview High

Glenview High is an Australian television drama series produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Seven Network between 1977 and 1978.-Story:...

 (1977), and again appeared in Homicide.

Kirkby later became a politician and was elected to the New South Wales legislative council in 1981. She was the Australian Democrats

Australian Democrats

The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...

' New South Wales state leader for many years, and became the longest serving Australian Democrat Member of Parliament before retiring in June 1998.

As of 2011 she resides on a sheep and wheat farm in Temora, New South Wales

Temora, New South Wales

Temora is a town located in north east part of the Riverina area of New South Wales, south-west of the state capital, Sydney. At the 2006 census the population of Temora was 4,086.-History:...

. She provided a commentary in the DVD release Number 96: Aftermath of Murder.

Kirkby's daughter, the Princess Diana lookalike Debbie Baile, became an actress who appeared in Number 96 in 1975, and in The Young Doctors

The Young Doctors

The Young Doctors is an Australian early evening soap opera. The series was set in the fictional Albert Memorial hospital and primarily concerned with romances between younger members of the hospital staff, screened on the Nine Network from Monday, 8 November 1976 until Wednesday, 30 March...

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