The Lawsons was an Australian radio serial broadcast by the ABC and created and written by Gwen Meredith that ran daily from 21 February 1944 to 25 February 1949. It was a forerunner to the better known Blue Hills.[2][3] The show began as a propaganda series to introduce modern farming methods.[4] Meredith researched it at a station near Gunnedah.[5] The serial was hugely popular immediately and ran for five years.[6] Meredith adapted the series into a play and a novel.[7]