Award-winning screenwriter Tony Morphett is being remembered for making a massive contribution to film and television over more than half a century.
Mr Morphett, 80, died over the weekend in the Blue Mountains.
Born in Granville in Sydney's west, he started work as a copy boy at The Daily Telegraph in 1956 and spent 10 years at the ABC.
He went on to create several miniseries, write or co-write 10 feature films, 11 telemovies and hundreds of episodes of Australia's most popular and iconic TV dramas.
He co-wrote the film The Last Wave with director Peter Weir and was the author of six books.
He was also the force behind much-loved Australian shows including Certain Women, Boney, The Sullivans, Water Rats and Blue Heelers.
In recent years he wrote series one and two of A Place to Call Home and from 2008 to 2010 wrote Packed to the Rafters, both for the Seven Network.
In an interview about his craft, he described his screenwriting for The Sullivans as "like a couple of Dickens novels strung together because so much happens to the characters".
Mr Morphett said the work of a fiction writer is to "be a storyteller" and "sit in the village and tell stories about what's going on there".
A Logie Award winner for Best Scriptwriter, he told TV Times he "avoided social engagements" when writing a series.
"There's an old showbiz saying that you're only as good as your last script," he said.
He described the job as being "a bit seasonal … like cane cutting. You expect periods of sitting around and your earnings seem to fluctuate".
Friend and fellow screenwriter, Stephen Measday told the ABC that Mr Morphett's scripts were riveting because his stories had "terrific plots and strong, believable characters".
"His dialogue was fantastic and he had an ability to get to the essence of his characters."
"He was able to tackle big subjects that were epics like Robbery Under Arms and The Shiralee, those stories were so extensive in the Australian folklore."
Mr Measday said behind the scenes the veteran screenwriter was a generous collaborator and supporter of other writers.
Apart from writing hundreds of TV shows, Mr Morphett was extensively involved with the TV and film industry on the Writers' Guild, Australia Council and the Australian Children's Television Foundation.
He is survived by his wife Inga Hunter, six children and 11 grandchildren.
