Tom and Liz continue to be drawn together by their mutual contempt for the outback.

However, Tom steadliy begins to see things differently when he starts to respect those who live in such an isolated location.

A town meeting is held where George Baxter voices his displeasure with Dr Callaghan. Harry manages to quell the dissention but it is too late, Tom has heard enough and quits his job on the spot. Tom and Liz leave Cooper's Crossing for Sydney where Harry tracks them down in an effort to bring Tom back. Tom tries to help Diana and Doug through their predicament but his advice to return home only results in Diana's father throwing him off the property. Pamela Stoneham is recued when an emergency call is received. Tom goes out on a call to assists Jean Hennessey who has gone into premature labour, she is brought back to Cooper's Crossing where Tom successfully delivers her baby.

An english family, the Robertsons, arrives in Coopers Crossing, looking for work. They get a tip that a farmer outside town needs workers so they decide to go there. However, they get lost, and have to stay in the car over night. The next morning, the man goes for help and tells his wife to stay near the car with their two sons, Alfred and Alexander, and babydaughter. It is incredably hot and mr. Roberson gets dehydrated and finally collapses. Since the family didn't show up at all at the farm where they were expected, a search is organized. They find mr. Robertson, and he will be ok. At the car, mrs. Robertson has been really angry with the two boys and they run off. When they want to go back they discover they are lost. The search party manages to find the car where mrs. Robertson is very worried about her sons. Eventually the two boys are found, but too late - one of them died of dehydration.

A theatre group comes to town, but their director and head-actor, Rick, breaks his leg. In hospital Chris discovers he's got a disease that needs treatment in Sydney but he won't go. Their manager then runs with all their money, but the town help them out. Joe gets a part instead of the one Rick should have had and is a success. He is offered to go with the group but refuses. Rick decides to go to Sydney after all.

Two thieves are troubling everyone, they want pills and medicins to sell to schoolkids. They hassles both Kate and Jack. But one of them is injured and is nearly killed! Chris saves him though. Violet organizes the Queen of the Outback contest in Windoona, but everything goes wrong. Violet and Emma are arguing about clothes and Emma says she's quiting. Chris manages to make a compromise. Than the decorations is wrong, and the band doesn't play the right music. And Violet blames Chris for all of it!

The ""Queen of the Outback"" competition is held in Windoona and Emma wins! On the way back Gibbo has to fly, even though he is on vacation because the other pilot was drunk. The engines catches fire, and he has to do an emergencylanding. Everything seems to be all right, but Gibbo is seriously ill. He has to fly to Broken Hill but on the way he dies. George Baxter is elected new M.P of the district.

A woman named Barbara Freeman finds out she's got a braindisease. It's hereditary, but her husband Robert won't tell their son Michael, he doesn't want him to worry. But Michael hears it anyway, and steals Baxter's airplane. The plane is grounded, and finally Jack manages to talk him down. DJ wants to start a disco to get the youngsters calm, they've caused lots of trouble. Jack lets him build a gym. Jack's boss Kevin has heard complaints about the youngsters and shows up. He decides to transfer Jack, but when he sees how Jack talked Michael down from the plane he changed his mind. Finally DJ gets his disco and celebrates with a huge party!

A carnival comes to Coopers Crossing and people get killed. The murderer seems to be a boy from the carnival. Chris father starts to be in the way for Chris and the others.

An aboriginal couple, the woman pregnant, has a car accident, but is all right. The man, Joe, gets a job on a farm and his wife Sheena accompanies him. Joe gets fired and they both move to an aboriginal camp nearby. Sheena is about to have her baby but something is wrong. Joe goes for help, but is beaten up. Finally David and Geoff comes and they also find out about Sheena. Geoff realizes he won't be back in town for his wedding which will take place the following morning. Kate refuses to postpone the wedding, which means they are joined together in holy marriage over the radio!

Tom is going on holiday and with him on the Broken Hill plane are Kate, a pregnant woman and two businessmen. The businessmen want to look at a certain place which isn't on the route to Broken Hill and the pilot forges the flightplan. They crash and no one knows where they are. One of the businessmen goes for help, but it's stupid - he'll never make it without water. The woman delivers a little baby girl who is very ill. Luke and the woman's husband is out looking for them and finds the businessmen who'd gone for help severly dehydrated. They find the others as well and everybody will be all right, even the little baby!

A new RDS pilot lands himself in trouble when he gives a lift to an old rascal called Felix.

When charter pilot Doug Holland flies into Coopers Crossing to refuel his aircraft, a nightmare begins for Geoff, Kate and the other doctors.

A father, Rex, and his son Tim is heading toward Coopers Crossing whne Tim gets in the boot of the car. They have a caraccident, but is saved in the last minute before the truck burns into a wreck. Tim will be fine, but Geoff finds out Rex's got a heart disease. It isn't curable and Rex wants to spend time with his son. They leave for a farm the following morning. Tim's mother, Jess, turns up in town and claims Rex has kidnapped Tim, she wants him back! At the farm Rex and Tim finds out the person they were looking for had moved but they stay there with Di and Ellie Martin. Suddenly Rex collapses. Geoff and Kate come but Rex died in the plane. Tim decided to stay on the farm to try some country life.

The new pilot, Johnno Johnosn, arrives. An old man named Les thinks he's got asbestosis from mine-jobs. He's convinced he'll die and wants compensation money from the mining company. He's gonna give the money to a boy named Matt, who wants to be a pilot. Les finds out he's not gonna die after all, and when Matt finds out he steels Johnno's plane. Johnno manages to talk him down though.

David attempts to help a man who has his leg trapped. Back at the hospital David also notices a lump on the man's chest which he wants tested and removed.

A pregnant woman is being flown to the hospital with Kate as the only other passenger on board and they run into a bad storm. Kate is forced to deliver the baby after they woman goes into labour and she then rejects her baby and won't hold it or see it. Clare loses everything following a fire at her house. The doctors do everything they can to get the new mother to accept her new born baby.

After Vic accidentally runs over a girl, it is the beginning of a whole chain of events.

Geoff and Kate get ready to celebrate the birth of their first child. Geoff receives a visit from a paediatrician friend called Colin. After the baby is born, she is ill and needs an operation. The person who is best qualified to perform the surgery is Colin but unfortunately he is now an alcoholic. Kate finds out about his drinking problem and doesn't want him to perform the procedure but if baby Scarlett does not get the operation soon, she will die.

Rowie is riddled with guilt when Walter Morell claims to have seen a nymph in the outback. Twenty years ago, Rowie abandoned her friend Beryl in the outback and she believes the sighting of the nymph is more than just a coincidence.

Old familiar faces return to the Crossing when a party is held after Harry Cooper's diary is found. Things don't run quite as smoothly as planned though when George Baxter, who believes he owns a dairy as a consequence of what was written in the diary, crashes in to the bus carrying Chris. Tom makes it back from Africa and Emma arrives, with out Sam, but with two children in tow. When Geoff discovers that Baxter is not entitled to the diary, he decides to return ownership to the town. DJ returns from Greece and flirts with Penny, much to Steve's annoyance. It is announced that Chris will go back with Tom to Africa.

There is a major problem at the hospital when the aged washing machines break down and it emerges there is insufficient funds to buy replacement ones. When the staff goes on strike, it is up to Penny and an infamous union man to get new machines and get everyone back to work. Meanwhile Steve finds himself attracted to the Crossing's new teacher, Jane McLaughlin, and they waste no time in getting intimately acquainted.