Editing Soap opera (section)

===Early serials===
The genre began in Australia on radio, as it had in the United States and the United Kingdom. One such radio serial, ''Big Sister'', featured actress [[Thelma Scott]] in the cast and aired nationally for five years beginning in 1942. Probably the best known Australian radio serial was the long-running soap opera ''[[Blue Hills (radio serial)|Blue Hills]]'', which was created by [[Gwen Meredith]] and ran from 1949 to 1976. With the advent of Australian television in 1956, daytime television serials followed. The first Australian television soap opera was ''[[Autumn Affair]]'' (1958) featuring radio personality and ''Blue Hills'' star [[Queenie Ashton]] making the transition to television. Each episode of this serial ran for 15 minutes and aired each weekday on the [[Seven Network]]. ''Autumn Affair'' failed to secure a sponsor and ended in 1959 after 156 episodes. It was followed by ''[[The Story of Peter Grey]]'' (1961), another Seven Network weekday series aired in a daytime slot in 15-minute installments. ''The Story of Peter Grey'' ran for 164 episodes.

The first successful wave of Australian evening television soap operas started in 1967 with ''[[Bellbird (soap opera)|Bellbird]]'', produced by the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]. This rural-based serial screened in an early evening slot in 15-minute installments as a lead-in to the evening news. ''Bellbird'' was a moderate success but built up a consistent and loyal viewer base, especially in rural areas, and enjoyed a ten-year run. ''[[Motel (TV series)|Motel]]'' (1968) was Australia's first half-hour soap opera; the daytime soap had a short run of 132 episodes.