As the show has had numerous characters since day one, it's high time we got started on one of these.

[[folder:Introduced in the 80's]]

!!Alf Stewart

'''Year Introduced:''' 1988\\
'''Played By:''' Ray Meagher (with Robert Jago playing him as a TimeshiftedActor in flashbacks)

Makes sense to start with him: He's the only character to stay with the show since the first episode. He started out as the most sane member of Summer Bay's most influential family, and has since undergone considerable CharacterDevelopment to become the CoolOldGuy. He has two children and two grandchildren (neither of whom use the Stewart name). He has another illegitimate daughter but she [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse was largely forgotten after 1995]].

Tropes associated with Alf:

* CoolOldGuy: This guy ''is'' the Bay.
* GoshDangItToHeck: One other thing Alf is remembered for is using outdated Australian euphemisms.
* MemeticMolester: '''[[WebVideo/MrDoodleburger Rape Dungeon]]'''.
* TimeshiftedActor: Played by TheFaceless Robert Jaco for a 2010 story that showed him in 1987.
** Also appears as a child in flashbacks

!! Ailsa Stewart

'''Year Introduced:''' 1988\\
'''Played by''': Judy Nunn

Tropes associated with Ailsa:

* ChildByRape: Shauna.
* DarkSecret: Wanting to break up Ailsa's recent engagement to her father, Roo had Morag do some digging on her. Even she was unprepared for what she found out; Ailsa had spent time in prison for murdering her father (although self-defence, Ailsa was sent to prison due to her total lack of remorse for the crime). Although shocked, Alf stood by her.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim
* TheOtherDarrin: A temporary case, as when Judy Nunn suddenly fell ill in 2000 Nancye Hayes was brought in to fill the role. Unfortunately this happened just as a big storyline was kicking off for Ailsa, as she was reunited with the daughter she'd given up for adoption as well as being forced to confront the demons of her past.
* SympatheticMurderer: The revelation of her father beating her mother and sibligs invokes this trope.

!!Sally Fletcher (née Copeland, previously Keating)

'''Year Introduced:''' 1988\\
'''Played By:''' Kate Ritchie

Second longest serving cast member (and longest serving regular female cast member), Sally first appeared in the pilot episode as a small child, when her foster family bought the caravan park from Alf. When first we saw her, she had adjusted well to her life with the Fletchers, leaving only her imaginary friend Milko. She went on to grow up before the eyes of the nation, eventually taking on a teaching job at the high school (and becoming principal after Fisher). She eventually discovered she had a long-lost brother, "Milco" ('''Mil'''es '''Co'''peland), who took over her position in the cast.

Tropes associated with Sally:

* ExpansionPackPast: We weren't told about Miles until after he first appeared: her name was given as "Keating" until it changed.
* HappilyAdopted: By Tom and Pippa in 1989.

!! Tom Fletcher

'''Year Introduced:''' 1988\\
'''Played By''': Roger Oakley

Introduced with Pippa as the lynchpin couple of the show. The first episode dealt with Tom losing his job the day after his 40th birthday, with him and Pippa deciding to relocate from the city to Summer Bay to appease the social department so their foster children wouldn't be removed. Died of a stroke in 1990.

!! Pippa Fletcher/Ross

'''Year Introduced:''' 1988\\
'''Played By:''' Carole Willessee (pilot, scenes cut) Vanessa Downing (1988-90), Debra Lawrence (1990-8, with guest appearances thereafter)

Tropes associated with Pippa:

* TheOtherDarrin: When Vanessa Downing suddenly chose to leave the series after two years (reportedly because she missed working with Roger Oakley), rather than lose their other main character in less than a year the producers recast Pippa with Debra Lawrence. Lawrence lasted eight years with many guest-spots after and became so well-known in the role that it was easy to forget there was ever anyone else playing Pippa.

!! Colleen Smart (née Hickey)

'''Year Introduced:''' 1988\\
'''Played By:''' Lyn Collingwood

Mother to Lance (or "my Lancie" as she calls him), town gossip, and the bane of Morag's life. As Irene once said, there's no one in Summer Bay she hasn't offended at some point with her interfering gossipy ways. She recently found out she's the half-sister of Alf and Morag, much to her delight and their dismay.

Tropes associated with Colleen:

* GossipEvolution
* {{Malaproper}}: To give one example:
--->'''Colleen:''' Ah, Constable Risotto!\\
'''Angelo ''Rosetta'':''' That's ''Sergeant'' Risotto now, Colleen.
* MamaBear: To Lance
* PromotionToOpeningTitles:2000.

!! Morag Bellingham (née Stewart)

Alf's formidable lawyer sister. Not the nicest of people when she first appeared, she's mellowed a bit over the years and now helps out with the many legal problems Summer Bay's residents get themselves into. Still not someone to cross though....

Tropes associated with Morag:

* HeelFaceTurn: After Alf suffered his brain tumour.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold
* GoodIsNotNice
* LargeHam

!! Donald Fisher

'''Year Introduced:''' 1988\\
'''Played By:''' Norman Coburn

Third-longest serving original character (although Irene has since overtaken him). Initially the school principal.

Tropes associated with Fisher:

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the first episode, Fisher is presented as an outright villain. He is so eager to send Bobby to jail that he suggests to Tom and Pippa that they create some fake evidence, and when they refuse he begins a campaign to run them out of town. He very quickly loses these undesirable aspects and becomes a stern but ReasonableAuthorityFigure.
* HeelFaceTurn: After his son Alan's death.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite being a hardass, he genuinely cared for his students (Viv, Shane, Angel, etc)

!! Marilyn Chambers (previously Fisher)

'''Year Introduced:''' 1989\\

Tropes associated with Marilyn:

* GenkiGirl
* PsychicPowers
* ProphecyTwist: Her 2010 storyline revolved her best friend Mitzy predicting her death. During the year, she sold her possessions and got her affairs in order...only to be dead for about 5 minutes after drowning.

!! Martha Mackenzie (née Stewart, previously Holden)

Tropes associated with Martha:

Daughter of Ruth "Roo" Stewart and Brett Macklin, Martha was the second character born on the show (the first was Tom and Pippa's son Christopher). She was initially given up for adoption but made her way back to the Bay many years later.

* FatalAttractor: OK, so one guy turned out to be NotQuiteDead, but still...
* SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome
* SpotlightStealingSquad
* {{Wangst}}
* Also a milder example of TheOtherDarrin, being played by Burcin Kapkin in her early years, with Jodi Gordon playing her when she returned.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Introduced in the 90's]]

!! Michael Ross

'''Year Introduced:''' 1990\\
'''Played By:''' Dennis Coard

Pippa's second husband, introduced six months after Tom's death when someone decided Pippa as a single mother [[StatusQuoIsGod wasn't such a good idea after all]].

Tropes associated with Michael:

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute
* HeroicSacrifice: Drowning whilst saving Sam Marshall during the floods
* RomanceOnTheSet: Dennis Coard and Debra Lawrence married during their time on the show and are still together


!! Irene Roberts
'''Year Introduced:''' 1991\\
'''Played By:''' Jacqui Phillips/Lynne McGranger

Another long serving character. Irene arrived as Finlay and Damian's nasty alcoholic mother. She got her drinking under control, became a permanent fixture in the various diners, and fostered a truckload of waifs and strays.

Tropes associated with Irene:

* AbusiveParents: Fin and Damien were removed from her care after she drunkenly tried to strangle them.
* TheAlcoholic: In her earliest incarnation and a relapse in 2009
* FatalAttractor: Her husband Mud was an abusive cheat, fiance Ken died not long before they were due to get married, boyfriend Barry turned out to be a murderer, and her latest boyfriend Lou was killed by Hugo.
* HeelFaceTurn: She went from a villain to a pillar of the community.
* TheOtherDarrin: Was played by Jacqui Phillips in her initial guest appearances. When she returned in 1993 following Fin's diving accident, she was played by Lynne McGranger who has remained in the role since.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: 1994 Season
* PsychicPowers: She had a premonition of Ken's death.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Introduced in the 2000's]]
!! Leah Patterson-Baker (née Poulos, previously Patterson)

Tropes associated with Leah:

* FatalAttractor: Two dead husbands and a boyfriend who was nearly killed by a racist gang.
* OutOfFocus: For a while but she's getting more storylines now.


!! Miles Copeland

Originally introduced as a SpearCounterpart to Sally just before she left the show, Miles has evolved into his own character. He still retains some aspects of Sally (such as his kind and generous nature), but has developed a tendency to make odd DeadpanSnarker remarks about particularly stupid decisions he observes.

* DeadpanSnarker
* CloudCuckooLander
* ([[RunningGag Yet another]]) FatalAttractor: Lost his wife, Both Kirsty and Leah miscarried his unborn children.
* PsychicPowers ([[RunningGag again]]): Weirdest example on the page: His daughter Amber appeared to him as a ghost named Rabbit. Turned out she had psychic abilities, seeing the fire at the diner, his own (possible) death and the possible deaths of Leah, VJ and Elijah
* SaveOurStudents
* WhyWontYouDie: Has been fated to do so twice (Stabbing and ceiling fan, respectively). Both times failed.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Introduced in the 2010's]]

!! April Scott

'''Year Introduced:''' 2010\\
'''Portrayed By:''' Rhiannon Fish

* GranolaGirl: At the start. Now, not so much.
* MsFanservice
* Narm: The climax of her OCD storyline, arguably the best one she's ever had, occurs when Bianca throws some of her shirts onto the floor.
* TheWoobie: Her OCD storyline, and the aftermath of Dexter's accident. Some consider this to be Wangst, though.

!! Darryl "Brax" Braxton

'''Year Introduced:''' 2011\\
'''Portrayed By:''' Stephen Peacocke

The BigBad for at least some of the 2011 season, opinion is divided on whether or not he ever made a HeelFaceTurn. Mostly, he seemed to switch from being a Type II or III AntiHero to being a Type III AntiVillain, depending on the storyline.

* AffablyEvil: One reason why most people don't hate him.
* DoNotCallMePaul: His name is Brax. Not Darryl. The only person who ever gets away with calling him Darryl is his mother.
* EvilVersusEvil: It helps that most of his more brutal acts are directed against people who are at least as bad as him if not worse.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Despite the numerous crimes committed by him and his family, there are some things, like rape and wife beating, that Brax is dead against. Whether or not he disapproves of threatening women seems to be a case of DependingOnTheWriter. Or possibly Depending on the Woman. He also scolds other River Boys for kidnapping children and elderly ladies.
* KarmaHoudini: While Brax receives no legal punishment for his crimes, he has both his girlfriend and his brother murdered by his rivals. It appears for a time that he has received a final KarmicTwistEnding when an attempt to manipulate his way out of jail results in him instead having to go on the run from his latest rival, letting his family, including his newborn son, believe him to be dead...but then that's [[AbortedArc completely forgotten about]] and he comes out of hiding to reclaim his girlfriend and son and drive off into the sunset with him.

[[/folder]]