Shirl's Neighbourhood
Encyclopedia
Shirl's Neighbourhood was an Australia
n afternoon children's television series aired on the Seven Network
between 1979 and 1983. The half-hour show featured former Skyhooks frontman Graeme "Shirley" Strachan and co-host Liz Rule alongside a cast of characters including Norm The Kangaroo, Ol' Possum, Claude The Crow, Stanley The Snake, Greenfinger the Garden Gnome, Yippee the Bunyip, Bartholomew the Sheep and a band of monkeys. Franciscus Henri
appeared in the show as a regular, both as himself presenting musical segments and as "Professor Henri" in comical sketches. He left the show in October 1980.
Norm the Kangaroo was played by Don Bridges. The other characters were puppets created and brought to life by Ron Mueck
. Shirl's Neighbourhood was produced by Jennifer Hooks and Richard Bence of Puppetstuff. It ran from 1979 till 1983 and clocked up over 900 episodes. Jennifer Hooks later went on to head Film Victoria and Cinemedia.
The show was very popular with kids and adults alike. This was due mainly to the character of Claude the Crow. Claude had a slightly more cynical view of the world than the other characters, and adults could identify with this.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n afternoon children's television series aired on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
between 1979 and 1983. The half-hour show featured former Skyhooks frontman Graeme "Shirley" Strachan and co-host Liz Rule alongside a cast of characters including Norm The Kangaroo, Ol' Possum, Claude The Crow, Stanley The Snake, Greenfinger the Garden Gnome, Yippee the Bunyip, Bartholomew the Sheep and a band of monkeys. Franciscus Henri
Franciscus Henri
Franciscus Henricus Antheunis, professionally known as Franciscus Henri , is an internationally known musician and children's entertainer. He is Dutch born. He has dual Dutch/Australian nationality...
appeared in the show as a regular, both as himself presenting musical segments and as "Professor Henri" in comical sketches. He left the show in October 1980.
Norm the Kangaroo was played by Don Bridges. The other characters were puppets created and brought to life by Ron Mueck
Ron Mueck
Ronald "Ron" Mueck is an Australian hyperrealist sculptor working in the United Kingdom.-Early work:Ron Mueck began his career working on the Australian children's television program Shirl's Neighbourhood...
. Shirl's Neighbourhood was produced by Jennifer Hooks and Richard Bence of Puppetstuff. It ran from 1979 till 1983 and clocked up over 900 episodes. Jennifer Hooks later went on to head Film Victoria and Cinemedia.
The show was very popular with kids and adults alike. This was due mainly to the character of Claude the Crow. Claude had a slightly more cynical view of the world than the other characters, and adults could identify with this.