Patrol Boat is an Australian television drama series that screened on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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

. Patrol Boat was created by James Davern and two series were produced, in 1979 and 1983, with a total of 26 episodes.

Patrol Boat was about the activities of the crew of a Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 patrol boat which patrolled Australia's coastline. The series was produced with the co-operation of the Royal Australian Navy.

Two fictional RAN patrol boats were depicted in the series. Attack class patrol boat

Attack class patrol boat

The Attack class patrol boats were small coastal defence vessels built for the Royal Australian Navy and operated between 1967 and 1985...

 HMAS Ambush (portrayed by HMA Ships and ) was used in the first season, with filming taking place during 1978 and 1979 around Sydney Harbour, Pittwater, Ku-ring-gai Chase, and the Hawkesbury River. For the second season, the crew transferred to the newer Fremantle class patrol boat

Fremantle class patrol boat

The Fremantle-class patrol boats were coastal patrol vessels operated by the Royal Australian Navy from 1979 to 2007. Designed by British shipbuilder Brooke Marine and constructed in Australia by North Queensland Engineers and Agents, the Fremantle class were larger, more powerful, and more...

 HMAS Defiance (portrayed by HMA Ships , , , , and ).

The series is similar to the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 series Warship

Warship (TV series)

Warship was a popular British television drama series produced by the BBC between 1973 and 1977. It was also dubbed into Dutch and broadcast in the Netherlands as Alle hens...

, screened by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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

 from 1976, before Patrol Boat. Although the 2007 drama Sea Patrol

Sea Patrol (TV series)

Sea Patrol is an Australian television drama, set on board HMAS Hammersley, a fictional patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy . The series focuses on the ship and the lives of its crew members....

is based on the same subject, it is not intended to be a follow on to Patrol Boat.

Cast

• Andrew McFarlane as Lieutenant David Keating
• Robert Coleby
  Robert Coleby
  Robert Coleby is a British actor who has spent most of his career in Australia. Active since the 1970s, he has over 70 film and television credits to his name. Coleby has acted on stage in numerous productions for Queensland Theatre Company based in Brisbane, Australia.Robert's real name is Robert...
  
   as Lieutenant Charles Fisher
• Danny Adcock
  Danny Adcock
  Danny Adcock is an Australian actor, best known for his work in television and theatre.His television acting roles include Matlock Police as the killer of Michael Pate's character, Division 4, Homicide, Patrol Boat, Sons and Daughters as Joe Parker, Prisoner as male warder Geoff Carlson, A Country...
  
   as Petty Officer "Buffer" Johnston
• Tim Burns as Able Seaman "Chef" McKinnon
• Robert Baxter as Petty Officer "Swain" Reynolds
• Mervyn Drake as Petty Officer Peter Brown
• Grant Dodwell
  Grant Dodwell
  Grant Dodwell is an Australian producer, actor, writer and director.He has also worked as a drama teacher.Dodwell has more than 30 years' experience in the entertainment industry in theatre, film and television appearing in many of Australia's best known stage shows and television series. He is...
  
   as Bluey
• Margo Lee as Matron Whylie
• Alan David Lee
  Alan David Lee
  Alan David Lee is an Australian actor.Television and film credits include Prisoner, Special Squad, The Cowra Breakout, Murder Call, All Saints, Water Rats, Blue Heelers , McLeod's Daughters and H2O: Just Add Water....
  
   as Walshy
• Zoe Bertram
  Zoe Bertram
  Zoe Bertram is an Australian actress, whose first major role was in the teen-oriented television soap opera The Restless Years as Olivia Baxter from 1977 to 1981.Bertam has guested in numerous television series and appeared in movies, as well on stage...
  
  
• Janet Andrewartha
  Janet Andrewartha
  Janet Andrewartha is an Australian actress. She is famous for playing on-going roles in two popular Australian soap operas: that of Reb Kean in Prisoner and Lyn Scully in Neighbours.-Biography:...
  
  
• Philip Parnell as Radio Operator "Nobby" Clarke

Episode list

Season 1:

1. "We Lie in Wait" 28 June 1979
2. "Rogue Mine" 5 July 1979
3. "Fish-Heads and Birdies" 19 July 1979
4. "Another Bunch of Reffos" 26 July 1979
5. "Follow the Leader" 2 August 1979
6. "My Dad's a Sailor" 9 August 1979
7. "Conduct Prejudicial" 16 August 1979
8. "Don't Call Me Borgia" 23 August 1979
9. "Incident at Mencken Bay" 30 August 1979
10. "Which Way's Mecca?" 6 September 1979
11. "The Enemy You Know" 13 September 1979
12. "Man Overboard" 20 September 1979
13. "Never Under the White Ensign" 27 September 1979

Season 2:

1. "Something Old, Something New" 19 May 1983
2. "Tango Victor" 26 May 1983
3. "Nice Day For a Cruise" 2 June 1983
4. "Hands to Bathe" 9 June 1983
5. "Cold Turkey" 16 June 1983
6. "Spoils of War" 23 June 1983
7. "All the Nice Girls" 30 June 1983
8. "Make and Mend" 7 July 1983
9. "Operation Christmas" 14 July 1983
10. "The Albatross" 21 July 1983
11. "Par for the Course" 28 July 1983
12. "A Skunk on the Radar" 4 August 1983
13. "Beggarman Thief" 11 August 1983

External links

• Media clip of show introduction and theme from ABC Television
• Patrol Boat at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Patrol Boat Pictures - Andrew McFarlane Fansite