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26 Episodes 1976 - 1976
Episode 1
A journey spanning five decades, this series documents John West's life from his impoverished youth during the depression of the 1890's to his death as a self-made millionaire. Out of work and struggling to just put food on the table, John comes up with a scheme for he and his mates to make some money by fixing pigeon races. Finding success, they move up to horses.
Episode 2
1896. John West's brother, Arthur, returns home an embittered man after 12 years in jail. John secures protection from the police for his bet making operation but faces new competition for workers when the factory reopens. Arthur asks his brother to help a friend break out of prison. A rival bookmaker causes trouble and one of John's men goes to prison.
Episode 3
1898. Jim Tracey gets out of prison looking to settle the score with John for not looking after his wife while he was inside. Despite increased precautions at the Tote, a police raid catches them unprepared. John escapes but faces a betrayal from one of his own. Nellie faces a choice between the two men who love her.
Episode 4
1899. John West hires an expensive barrister to represent his men who are facing gaming charges. Fortunately, the man's ethics are in line with John's and he suggests paying off the police's main witness. John proposes to Nellie but he is late for the engagement party when he is arrested on bribery charges. Through legal and other means, the case against John falls apart.
Episode 5
1899. Rumours give Nellie some last-minute doubts about her marriage to John and she seeks Father O'Tool's advice. John helps and old friend and gets rid of a thorn in his side once and for all. With Martin Vaughan as John West, Rosalind Speirs as Nellie, Heather Canning as Mrs Moran, Irene Inescort as Mrs West, John Wood as Sugar Renfrey, Michael Aitkens as Piggy Lewis, George Mallaby as Barney Robinson, Tim Connor as Paddy Cummins, Tim Robertson as Arthur West, Leon Lissek as David Garside, Sean Scully as Eddie Corrigan, John Murphy as Father O'Toole, Leila Hayes as Florrie Robinson, Reg Evans as Bob Standish, David Ravenswood as Sgt Devlin, Esme Melville as Mrs Finch, Ray Burgess as Captain.
Episode 6
1900. With pending gaming legislation that could shut down his tote, John shifts his focus to politics and backs an independent candidate in the local by-election. John buys a house. John provides the money for the bribes Arthur must make to break his friend, a convicted killer, out of prison.
Episode 7
1902. Sgt O'Flaherty, now running the Gaming Squad, steps up his pursuit of John West, a freshly minted millionaire. John has plenty of other officers on his payroll, including the Chief Commissioner of Police but when the police occupy the Tote after another raid, John turns to the legal system hoping to force the Chief Commissioner to retire and doubling down on the opponents of gaming by proposing a state-wide ban on all gambling. Fearing the fallout of a scandalous newspaper article, John escalates matters. Nellie is expecting her and John's first child. New gaming legislation shuts down the Tote for good.
Episode 8
1903. With the closure of the Tote, John has severed his ties with Carringbush and shifted his focus to horse racing and winning the Victoria Cup. Despite the increased scrutiny surrounding the major sporting event, John is determined to use his influence to guarantee a result for his new horse. His victory is challenged and John receives a lifetime disqualification. Nellie gives birth to a daughter and John's brother Arthur is married. Nellie learns John was behind the bombing of Sgt O'Flaherty's house.
Episode 9
1913. Ten years have passed and John West has branched out once again, this time into the world of boxing. MLA Frank Ashton has his eye on a federal seat. John makes the difficult decision to cut ties with a longtime friend and colleague by promoting him to an out-of-the-way job. John's mother dies in her Carringbush home. Arthur devastated and John learns she never spend the money he was sending her. With John and Nellie growing apart, Nellie finds herself drawn to a labourer from Carringbush.
Episode 10
1913. Nellie continues her affair with brick layer Bill Evans but breaks things off out of fear of being caught. John learns Piggy Lewis is involved with a series of robberies at union offices. Nellie questions her mother about her father, whom she never knew. John West confronts notorious gunman Snoopy Tanner and offers him a job. John's fighter winner his big bout. John learns of Nellie's affair after Bill's wife confronts Nellie at their home.
Episode 11
1916. At the outbreak of World War I, John West joins the Army and organises a Sportsmen's Thousand to recruit sporting men to fight in the war. Never more distant from her husband, Nellie is pushed to the edge of despair when she receives a letter from Bill Evans who has died in the war. John backs the government's effort to enact conscription but the issue divides his men just as it does the country. John cuts ties with his church when he is publicly shamed for his donations, or lack thereof. Barney helps John's boxer, Lou Darby, slip out of the country so he can continue to fight in America. It is a black eye for John who uses his contacts to see Lou never fights again. The loss of the national referendum shakes John and causes him to stop supporting the war effort. Barney resigns after learning of Lou Darby's death.
Episode 12
John reestablishes ties with the Catholic church when Archbishop Malone visits him to express his regrets for the way John was treated by his priest. Ron Lassiter asks for John's help with an upcoming union election. John's men break into the offices of the Trades Hall but the heist goes awry when a police officer is fatally shot and Piggy Lewis is arrested and charged with murder. Gunman Snoopy Tanner blackmails John into convincing Piggy he will be acquitted so he doesn't think of squealing. Piggy is convicted and pleas for clemency are denied. He is hanged.
Episode 13
1920. Eddie Corrigan is among those wanting to unite the country's Socialist parties into an official Communist Party of Australia linked to the international movement. To help found the party, Eddie hopes to recruit Frank Ashton who has been giving speeches praising Bolshevism. John asks Ashton to stand down so T.J. Real, the premier of Queensland, can run for federal office and lead the Labor party back to power. Even with a significant financial incentive, Ashton refuses. With their children home from boarding school, John finally allows Nellie to eat dinner at his table and allows her to resume her duties as wife and mother. Archbishop Malone only agrees to march behind the Union Jack during a St Patrick's Day procession if he can choose the standard-bearer.
Episode 14
1921. Archbishop Malone returns from the Vatican with a warning for John about the danger of the Socialisation of the Labor Party. John assures him with Sugar Renfrey running for pre-selection for a seat in state parliament, their key rival, Maurice Blackwell, can be neutralised. Despite their shared goals, the Archbishop informs him they can no longer publicly associate with one another. John reaches out to Barney Robinson, now barely making ends meet writing for a boxing paper, wanting him to go out to Perth to talk to some politicians about their plans to make race courses public property. Financial perks and a hard word from Sugar convince Barney to agree. Sugar tries to get proof that Maurice Blackwell is a communist but a pamphlet reveals John's behind-the-scenes election manipulations. Sugar's political aspirations are over. Despite traveling under a false name, Barney is shot and killed getting off the ship in Perth.
Episode 15
1926. Frank Ashton in the running for the leader of the Labor party much to the dismay of John and Archbishop Malone. Their search for a more suitable choice focuses on Ted Thurgood, the premiere of Queensland but a late entry into the leadership race forces Frank Ashton to drop out. Marjorie's acting in an "immoral" play puts her offside with the Archibishop. Mary goes to Rome to study music.
Episode 16
1927. Sugar Renfrey is in line to be the next mayor of Carringbush. Snoopy Tanner is bootlegging booze into the United States for John West but their business association ends when Snoppy's gang steals from John's warehouse. Mary seeks direction in her life but risks crossing her father to do so. Ceding to her parents' wishes, Mary returns to the church. Brendan takes his first steps in the world of his father's business. John looks to seize control of the country's horse racing. The police finally catch up with prison escapee Dick Bradley. John's lawyer, David Garside, dies. Snoopy Tanner threatens to kill John, but is it John who strikes first.
Episode 17
1928. Marjorie West returns home and introduces her family to the man - the German man - the non-Catholic German man - she met while studying overseas. Convinced Paul is after his daughter's money - his money - John forbids his daughter from marrying Paul. Nellie's mother encourages her to stand up to John and allow Marjorie and Paul to wed in secret. When Mary admits the truth to her father, John meets with Paul only to have him try to blackmailed him into providing a dowry. Paul and Marjorie depart for Europe.
Episode 18
1929. John and Frank Ashton are called to testify before a Royal Commission in connection to John paying Frank to vacate his seat for Ted Thurgood. Ashton rebuffs John's attempt to buy his silence and at the urging of Harriet Marshall, who has jumped from Labor to the Communist Party, contemplates exposing John. John hands off the management of his professional wrestling interests to his son, Brendan. A critical newspaper reporter gives Brendan his first challenge - and his first look at how his father's associates do business. John's hiring of a housekeeper doesn't sit well with Nellie's mother who has been running the household - the exact reason behind John's actions following Marjorie's marriage.
Episode 19
1929. Labor's election victory has made Jimmy Summers the nation's new PM. A letter from Marjorie announces the birth of John and Nellie's first grandchild but it's not enough to soften John's heart and accept her back into his house. A growing financial crisis is exacerbated by a stock market crash in America. Martha Ashton is institutionalized after she tries to take her own life. John wants government protection from imported spirits to increase workers at local distilleries - and his profits. Frank Ashton pushes the government to nationalize the banks but his colleagues have no appetite for another election.
Episode 20
1931. The Depression has hit the country hard, although some are affected more than others, a fact made increasingly clear to Mary as she continues to live her lavish lifestyle. Eyebrows are raised when Mary volunteers at a soup kitchen operated by the Communist Party. Ted Thurgood is forced to stand down from caucus to clear his name upon accusations of fraud resulting from the Royal Commission. After returning from law school, Brendan finds his father's business tactics more distasteful than ever when he sees first hand the ruin he has wrought. Brendan's drinking leads to a fatal car accident.
Episode 21
1933. Frank Ashton is driven from the stage while speaking before a meeting of the Unemployed Workers Movement. Disheartened, he resigns his seat in Parliament and retires for politics. John has Nellie's mother is hospitalised despite her daughter and granddaughter's objections. Mary has a new boyfriend and continues her involvement with the Communist Party. John begins stepping out with a widowed publican.
Episode 22
1934. Troubling news out of Europe tells of the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany. On a personal level, Marjorie's husband has joined Hitler's Brownshirts. John drops his support for the current mayor of Melbourne amidst allegation of corruption but he won't go quietly. At the behest of her Communist friends, Mary convinces her father to provide his stadium for a rally against fascism. However, the government bars their main speaker, Egon Kisch from entering the country. Mary's ex, Peter Monton, asks her father for financial assistance with a business venture. John asks Sugar to investigate Mary's current boyfriend, Ben Worth. Kisch gets his chance to speak at a peace march but afterwards, news reports on the Communist-themed event drive John West to give his daughter an ultimatum - give up her Communist friends or leave his house.
Episode 23
1937. John, a milk marketer, is upset by allegations in the newspaper about his influence over the Victorian parliament in efforts to prevent passage of the Milk Supply Bill. John uses his connections to track down Mary's new job and sees that she is fired. Sugar's misguided efforts to intimidate replacement workers during the milk carters strike help lead to a Royal Commission into the milk supply business. Mary and Ben get married (with no family present) and honeymoon at their friends' house in the country. Her friend's husband decides to go oversees to fight the fascists in Spain. Ben decides to join him.
Episode 24
1939. A letter arrives from Germany with unsettling news from Marjorie - Andreas has left her and the children. Nellie wants to help her daughter come home but John won't do anything unless his daughter asks him for help herself. Mary is in good spirits anticipating Ben's return from Spain but there is a somber mood at the celebratory party after Mary discovers Ben lost his sight fighting in the war. The signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact surprises everyone. Mary pleads with her father to help Marjorie before it is too late and is surprised to learn he's already sent her money to come home but it may be too late. Great Britain has declared war on Germany. Australia is at war.
Episode 25
1945. The war is over but it's still business as usual for John West who is championing a new candidate for the state by-election. However, a new challenger poses a problem. The man is part of a secret Catholic movement formed to fight communism in the unions that has now spread into politics. John hopes to combine their efforts but refuses to do so by withdrawing his candidate. Attacks on his personal and business lives only strengthens his resolve and causes him to look for new allies. Ben collapses at home and is admitted to hospital with a suspected brain tumour. He dies on the operating table. Frank is writing his memoirs but burns his chapters on Frank West after a day out with his old friends. John's man losses in the by-election to a team of active, young Catholic voters. Searching for direction, Mary decides to travel to Europe to look for Marjorie who hasn't been heard from since the end of the war. She asks her father to fund her venture reminding him of all the shares in his various businesses he put in her name over the years. He writes her a cheque and tells her he never wants to see her again. She responds by saying she has no intention of ever returning to Australia. Despite parting on bad terms, when Mary boards her ship to depart she is surprised to learn her father has paid to upgrade her cabin to First Class.
Episode 26
1948. Mary is living in London with Marjorie's children. Marjorie's fate remains unknown. Archbishop Malone won't turn his back on John as requested by the anti-Communist Catholic Movement who don't see him as an ally. The Archbishop brings the two sides together and gets John to agree to fund their movement. John is shaken by news from Mary confirming Marjorie's death five years earlier in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. John is slowed by a heart attack but comes out fighting after allegations of corruption are made against him by Michael Kiely in a political debate. A phone call from Mary highlights Christmas day for the Nellie and John. Archbishop Malone convinces John to put aside his feelings and support Kiely in the election. With his health failing, John unburdens himself by confessing to a lifetime of sins. John decides to leave his business interests to Mary but they are disheartened to receive a letter from Mary informing them of her hospitalization. They fear it is cancer. Sugar pays John a visit so they can listen to the football match together but John passes away while sitting in the garden.