australian television information archive

Two sisters separated since childhood are reunited when they inherit a vast cattle property.

The cattle ranch of Drovers Run has been in the McLeod family for generations, handed down from father to son. But Jack McLeod never had a son. So after his death, sisters Claire and Tess face the daunting challenge of running the property themselves. Claire (Lisa Chappell) is Jack’s daughter by his first marriage. After the death of his wife and son during childbirth, he married headstrong city girl Ruth, who gave him a second daughter, Tess (Bridie Carter). But the isolation of the Australian bush was more than Ruth could bear. Eventually, she fled back to the city with five-year-old Tess in tow, leaving Jack to raise Claire on his own.

Twenty years later, after Jack's sudden death, his daughters each inherit half of heavily mortgaged Drovers Run. Tess, who recently lost her mother to breast cancer, returns to Drovers in the hopes of cashing out and opening a café in the city. It is a tense reunion: Claire, who has spent her entire life on the ranch, still grieves for Jack. And she has never forgotten the hurt of being abandoned by her stepmother and half-sister. Tess, meanwhile, is forced to give up her hopes of a windfall when she learns that Drovers Run is in financial straits.

Despite this rocky start, Tess commits to helping Claire keep the business alive—a decision that will spell changes for both of them. After years in the city, Tess must learn to cope with the realities of the ranching life, from runaway livestock to the lizard in her dresser drawer. And the capable Claire must adjust to the presence of a spirited younger sibling whose outlook on life is very different from her own.

Slowly, however, Jack McLeod’s daughters mend their old wounds. And, with the help of the other women who live and work on the homestead, they begin to build a future together at Drovers Run.

Other regulars include Sonia Todd as housekeeper Meg Fountain, Rachael Carpani as her daughter Jodi, who longs for the city life, and Jessica Napier as Becky, a local girl with a troubled past. Aaron Jeffery and Myles Pollard also star as Alex and Nick Ryan, handsome brothers from a neighbouring ranch.

McLeod’s Daughters was created by Posie Graeme-Evans. The series is filmed entirely on location at Kingsford, a working farm near Adelaide, to ensure a feeling of authenticity and to take full advantage of the spectacular South Australian landscape.