It is a little-known fact that actor Shane Porteous began his acting career in Stanthorpe.
Best known for his role as Dr Terrence Elliott in classic Australian television drama, A County Practice, Shane first graces the stage in a Stanthorpe production: as ‘ the b aron ’ in his Sunday School production of Cinderella.
Shane returned to Stanthorpe in a different role 25 years ago, as one of the special guests at the 125th anniversary celebrations of his primary school, Stanthorpe State School.
Shane moved to Stanthorpe with his family when he was seven years old and enrolled in Stanthorpe State School. He spent the next eight years of his life here before moving away to attend high school.
When in town for the theatre production of Arms In The Man in the late 1990s, Shane took time out to visit his old playground at Stanthorpe State School, and look at what had changed since his days behind a desk and on the playground.
He said some of the changes were obvious. “Where the library is now was the principal’s office and the stadium was a small orchard,” he said. “We had a pine plantation. There was also something that was called the horse paddock.”
The winter sport for almost all of the kids at the school was soccer, but a ‘breakaway group’ used to play rugby league down in the horse paddock. Naturally, Shane was part of that group, although, he admitted himself, not too successfully.“ I was short and skinny in those days. Not the ideal player,” he laughed.
“There were a lot of activities for the kids in those days. There was a bee-keeping club, an orchard club. We were all taught a bit about forestry. But it was part of the curriculum. It wasn’t done in our spare time.”
However, one thing about school he said he was not fussed on was corporal punishment (the cane), with which he only had ‘a couple of incidents.“ There was no such thing as detention. One teacher, Mr Burke, used the ruler to devastating effect”, he said. “Once, I wasn’t paying attention. Probably drifted off again or chatting to someone, and I was backhanded halfway across the room!”
Stanthorpe, he said is still “absolutely and utterly recognisable”. The shops have obviously changed hands in town, but you can see the bones of what it used to be”, he said. “The house we first moved into in Bridge Street is still virtually the same as when we lived there all those years ago.”
Before his last brief visit, Shane was last in Stanthorpe in 1986 for the 30th Reunion of the scholarship class of 1956.
At the height of his A Country Practice fame, Shane was the guest of honour, of which he said he was extremely proud.
He said growing up in Stanthorpe was a great advantage for his portrayal of a country doctor in the long-running Australian classic television show. “I understand what part in a country town a doctor plays,” he said. “Australia was definitely not egalitarian. There was a class system, as we knew that doctors were the top dogs in town.”
A career in acting was the furthermost thing from Shane’s mind as a boy. He did not consider a career in acting until he was studying Arts at Queensland University, when he helped with set design.
“There was no such thing as professional actors in those days,” he said. “Sure we went to the movies and dreamt of being up there, but being an actor was synonymous with being in America, You had to get away from Australia to be a real actor.”
There was no television in those days, so Australian actors were found on the nation’s radios. “Radio actors were stars,” Shane said. “But they all lived in Sydney.”
But on 15 May, Shane was only thinking about his home town Stanthorpe.
