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The Gibson Family
Laura Gibson
Played by Sigrid Thornton
A divorced attorney who moves to Pearl Bay and becomes the new magistrate.- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Laura has sexual tension with the scruffy Diver Dan and snide Max. Averted when she decides to marry Warwick only to cheat on him with Max.
- Babies Ever After: Laura finds out that she's pregnant to Max in the series final. Their daughter Stella would later appear in the 2019 revival.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Her character arc throughout Series 1. The rest of the town sees her as this regardless.
- Humanizing Tears: Whenever she's reminded of Diver Dan leaving, Laura has to hide away and let the tears loose. Given her usual uptightness, it's quite humanising.
- Lethal Chef: Laura's workaholic habits have not done her culinary skills any favours. She's enthusiastic about cooking though, so once Diver Dan gives her some guidance she gradually gets better.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: You can tell from her outward appearance that she's a city gal, especially compared to the rest of the sun-kissed locals.
Jack Gibson
Played by Paul English (season 1) and Patrick Dickson (season 2 and 3)
Laura's ex-husband. He had an affair with her sister and committed a series of white-collar crimes, prompting a complete overhaul of the family's lives.- Took a Level in Jerkass: While Jack was never a beacon of moral fibre to begin with, he at least had a friendly disposition in Series 1. Come Series 2 (along with a change in actors) and he's quite vitriolic.
Miranda Gibson
Played by Cassandra Magrath (Original series), Brooke Satchwell (2019 revival)
Laura's daughter.- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Miranda and Felix in season 2 (played with in that he's not really bad, Laura just doesn't approve because he's a nomadic Pyromaniac fire fetishist- but, he's not a criminal).
Rupert Gibson
Played by Kane McNay
Laura's son.- It's All My Fault: Rupert takes this attitude after he saw an older student he knew by sight sitting by himself, crying, and didn't try to comfort him. Said student later killed himself, and Rupert spends a lot of the episode blaming himself for doing nothing, even though he didn't know the student and couldn't have known that said student was suicidal. Diver Dan manages to get him to cheer up, though.
Stella Connors
Played by Ella Newton
Laura and Max's daughter, introduced in the 2019 revival.- History Repeats: While visiting Pearl Bay several months before the series, Stella's boyfriend cheated on her with Miranda, getting her pregnant, creating parallels with Laura, Trudi and Jack at the start of the original series. Laura references this when confronting Miranda about it.
The Boat Shed
"Diver" Dan Della Bosca
Played by David Wenham
A fisherman and chef.- Abusive Parents: Diver Dan's father, repeatedly hinted at (though no actual info was given).
- Alliterative Name: Diver Dan Della Bosca.
- Literal-Minded: Diver Dan tends to do this to irritate people. It works really well.
- Mellow Fellow: He maintains a friendly and laid-back demeanour most of the time, provided his ex-wife or childhood aren't brought up.
- Put on a Bus: He moves to the Galapagos at the start of Series 2, right when he and Laura had become an official couple.
- Happy Ending Override: After spending the entire first series building up to a romance with Laura, Diver drops everything and moves to the Galapagos. Jack's animosity is implied to be a factor in his decision.
Max Connors
Played by William McInnes
A foreign correspondent who moves back to Pearl Bay to work on his novel.- Happy Ending Override: The third series seemed to end on a hopeful note for Max and Laura. By 2019, Max has had a breakdown after his journalism career was ruined, and he ended up being arrested in Germany after getting drunk and aggressive on a flight. Laura leaves him and ends up volunteering in Africa, but is forced to return to Pearl Bay to sort out a Visa issue, where she's reunited with Miranda, still resentful over Laura leaving her with Jack years earlier to follow Max to Europe.
- Knight in Sour Armour: His gruff disposition can make it easy to forget that his correspondence career takes him to places where he'd be exposed to moments that would bring out his sympathetic side.
- The Lost Lenore: His wife died shortly after they arrived in Pearl Bay.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: David Wenham opted not to return after the first season, so Diver Dan is replaced as Laura's love interest with Max Connors. The 2019 revival replaces him with Ben Russo.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He loves getting under Laura's skin, likely because he's sensed the attraction between them and wants to keep things spicy.
Carmen Blake
Played by Alice Garner
Max's apprentice.- Babies Ever After: Averted in Series 1, where she has a miscarriage.
- Granola Girl: She's been to enough protests to realise that the easiest way to stop a demolition team is to shout "Smoko!".
The Jelly Family
Bob Jelly
Played by John Howard
An unscrupulous real estate mogul.- The Con: Bob Jelly fakes an auction over the phone in order to increase the price of the house Laura wants to buy.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Bob Jelly is probably the only one of these without an actual corporation behind him.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Diver Dan does this sometimes. We only see it once, but judging by the other characters' reactions, he does it often enough that everyone knows things won't end well.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Bob's a Jerkass most of the time, but he can usually be trusted to put the community first, so long as it doesn't cost him.
- Small Name, Big Ego: His character bio
states that his greatest achievement is himself and his biggest fear is to be forgotten. - Trumplica: He's the wealthiest person in town, is lacking in social graces and obsessed with expansion regardless of any negative impacts it may have.
Heather Jelly
Played by Kerry Armstrong
Bob's wife and the estranged lovechild of Meredith and Harold.- Characterization Marches On: Heather becomes more independent over time, eventually finding herself siding with Meredith when she runs for mayor against Bob.
- Hidden Depths: Heather's character bio reveals that her favourite film is Silence of the Lambs.
- Stepford Smiler: While Heather maintains a bubbly exterior, the wavers in her voice make it clear she's got some personal demons that aren't getting any attention from her husband.
Craig Jelly
Played by Cameron Nugent
Bob and Heather's son.- Faux Yay: Craig Jelly in one episode tries to convince Miranda he's gay to get close to her... Logic was never one of his strong points.
- Kind Hearted Simpleton: In spite of his sheltered intelligence, Craig does show interest in social issues and with a bit of prompting will stand up to his dad.
Jules Jelly
Played by Bryony Price (original series), Emm Wiseman (2019 revival)
Bob and Heather's daughter.- Bratty Teenage Daughter: Unlike Craig, she doesn't take an interest in the town beyond her own personal bubble.
- It's All About Me: It goes from 'annoying' to 'horrifying' when she actually tries to make the suicide of a guy she dated for a while all about her, when the only link between them was their short-lived relationship that went nowhere.
Pearl Bay Administration & Law Enforcement
Harold Fitzwalter
Played by Alan Cassell
Ex-magistate and Heather Jelly's long-lost father.Karen Miller
Played by Kate Atkinson
Police constable and fiancee of Angus.- Characterisarion Marches On: Once Karen decides to stop doing what society expects of her, she lets her hair down, travels the world and most glaring of all, nearly breaks off her engagement to Angus as she's no longer sure why she wants to marry him now.
- Uptight Loves Wild: Raised in a conservative household and took on a job as a police officer, but is engaged to surf-junkie Angus.
Angus Kabiri
Played by Tom Long
Courtroom clerk and fiancee of Karen.- Domestic Abuser: Downplayed as he does love her, but Angus is pretty negligent to Karen and has postponed their engagement out of laziness.
- Hidden Depths: He's actually smarter than he lets on, having reached second-highest in his class right before dropping out of his law degree.
Graeme Grey
Played by Bruce Alexander
Police Sergeant.- Hidden Depths: He dreams of being on the police marching band, but repeatedly fails the annual audition. Grey sabotages his latest audition by playing a jazz tune instead of the marching tune he was expected to play, as by this point he'd rather be true to himself than conform and be rejected again.
Locals
Meredith Monohan
Played by Jill Forster
Hotel manager and Heather Jelly's long-lost mother.- Photographic Memory: Meredith remembers everything. It becomes a point of concern when she starts to forget in Series 3.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Revealed to have died in the 2019 miniseries.
Kevin Findlay
Played by Kevin Harrington
Local repairman.- End-of-Episode Silliness: Each episode ends with Kevin talking to his son Trevor, often having a random and amusing conversation that just barely relates to the events that took place in the episode. The 2019 revival has brought this back with Kevin and new character Zac Bell, and their conversation in the first episode includes an amusing discussion of whether anyone would remember them in 20 years. Various other characters fill in for them when Kevin is on his honeymoon with Phrani.
Trevor Findlay
Played by Christopher Lyons
Kevin's son.- Those Two Guys: Either with Rupert or Kevin.
Phrani Gupta
Played by Georgina Naidu
Manager of the town's souvenir shop and unofficial mystic.- Dark and Troubled Past: Phrani has escaped an unhappy marriage and is reluctant to try again, despite her growing feelings for Kevin.
- Magical Negro: Magical Hindu in this instance. Phrani is usually the go-to for any spiritual advice in a majorly-white town.
- Relationship Upgrade: Finally marries Kevin in the 2019 revival.
Bucket
An unseen local who manages to get into some bizarre misadventures.- The Ghost: Bucket never appears onscreen, but everyone knows who he is and he's got a reputation for getting himself into trouble.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Revealed to have died in the 2019 miniseries.
Outsiders
Trudi Dawson
Played by Fiona Corke
Laura's sister. She had an affair with Jack, which lead to the Gibson family's upheaval.- Chocolate Baby: She's pregnant in Series 2 and it's assumed Jack is the father... then it turns out the baby is unmistakably Asian.
- Head-Turning Beauty: Most of the Pearl Bay bachelors trip over themselves trying to impress her.
Warwick Munro
Played by Shaun Micallef
A court reviewer and Laura's new love interest in Series 3.- Extreme Doormat: Warwick goes out of his way to endear himself to Laura. A key moment being when they had a movie night and Laura brought The African Queen and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Warwick picked African Queen because he figured it would impress Laura, but when she gave him some leeway he picked Terminator 2, to her disappointment. Warwick switched back.
- Nice Guy: To an almost superhuman degree. Warwick puts up with all the things Diver Dan and Max would give Laura crap over. Unfortunately for Warwick, Laura secretly craves adversity.
Morton Tregonning
Played by Mark Mitchell
A shady businessman who wants to build a tunnel to Pearl Bay.- Arc Villain: He plans to build a tunnel, which is later revealed to be a storage space for nuclear waste. Morton keeps Bob in the dark by offering to help him become mayor.
- Creepy Monotone: Has the emotional range of a corpse.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Morton, as in morte, which is French for "dead". He carries himself with the most sinister presence imaginable, like an angel of death.
- The Stoic: Morton always maintains a disapproving and unfeeling composure. He gives off the impression of being not a man, but a malevolent force of nature.
