A Harvey Taft production, made at Crawford Studios.
In 1997 a new Australian drama series started on Channel 10. The acclaimed cast included Wendy Hughes, Bob Baines, Elaine Smith and Christopher Stollery. It was aimed at becoming a top rating show.
State Coroner is not just another police or court drama, it's something in between. A State Coroner's inquest is not a trial (but it can lead to one). It is there to establish if the death was a crime or not. This is serious stuff and most of the episodes are treated that way, but certainly not in a boring way. It gives us a good look inside what happens at an inquest, what a forensic pathologist - chracter Dr.Julie Travis played by Elaine Smith - does, how someone died and who was involved.
Not all the cases are as straight forward as it might look and that gives each episode a good unexpected twist. Wendy Hughes - also known for her role as Kathleen O'Neill in Snowy River The McGregor Saga - plays Kate Ferrari, the State Coroner. Her marriage with lawyer Hugh - played by Robert Grubb - is unsuccessful and when she's offered the State Coroner's job she doesn't need to think about it and takes it.Kate approaches every case in a very professional but also human way. She isn't the office type but goes out and about to investigate.Sometimes this calls for a strong stomach !
Some episodes are very emotional and personally linked to a member of the State Coroner's office. The 2nd series just startes. Most of the cast are returning in the new series. Unfortunately the character of Dermot McLeod - played by Christopher Stollery, better known as pilot Johnno Johnson in The Flying Doctors - has been written out of the series. In the '98 season premiere (a double episode), his character Dermot dies after being hit by a car. The new man taking his place is Detective sergeant Colin Decker - played by Andrew Clarke, who was also known from Snowy River the McGregor saga where he played Wendy Hughes husband Matt McGregor.
In the 2nd series, a new love interest for Kate Ferrari is introduced. His name is Liam Pierce - played by James Reyne - and he is a barrister and Kate's next door neighbour !

Cast:
Kate Ferrari, State Coroner - Wendy Hughes
Clive Trimble, Deputy State Coroner - Bob Baines
Sgt Dermot McLeod, State Coroner Assistant - Christopher Stollery
Detective Sgt Colin Decker, (new) State Coroner Assistant - Andrew Clarke
Dr. Julie Travis, Forensic Pathologist - Elaine Smith
George Cardillo, Senior Coroner's Clerk - Nick Carrafa
Sharon Riley, Coroner's Clerk - Elise McCredie
Paul Weiss, Coroner's clerk - Kristian Pithie
Sen. Constable Daniel Ferris - Chris Garbardi
Dudley Mills, Attorny General - Alan Dale
Claire Ferrari - Asher Keddie
Liam Pierce - James Reyne

STATE CORONER (series II) A fast-paced television drama set within the fascinating environment of a State Coroner's office complex. Each day a team of highly trained professionals deal with the questions of deaths,murders, suicides, fires, drownings and even the odd natural cause. We see their battles with grieving families, slow or meddling authorities and organised crime, from the initial inquiry through to the courtroom appearances and the coroner's final verdict and recommendations for trail or reform. The story begins when deputy Coroner, Clive Trimble (Bob Baines) is beaten to the position of State Coroner by a rank outsider, ex-magistrate and former law lecturer, Kate Ferrari (Wendy Hughes). Trimble is bitterly disappointed and doesn't hide his antagonism towards Kate when her first day on the job calls for brilliant presence of mind and a very strong stomach. The State Coroner's office is populated with a hybrid of professionals - the Pathologist who fears she may never marry, the Coroner's Assistant who'd rather be doing "real" police work, the ambitious Coroner's clerks, the middle-aged night clerk afraid of the computer and the super-bike riding, young female day clerk.

Chris Stollery as Detective Sergeant Dermot McLeod and Wendy Hughes as Kate Ferrari

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