Ray Meagher

Intro

Ray Meagher is an Australian actor best known for Alf Stewart in Home and Away. He appeared in the soap’s first episode in January 1988, beginning a sustained association with the fictional community of Summer Bay. His career also includes Australian films, television miniseries, British pantomime and the musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

Career snapshot

In a 2022 TV Week interview, Meagher described a route into acting that began after years of rugby. He grew up on a Queensland cattle station and played representative rugby before pursuing performance. An invitation from someone at a football club led him into amateur theatre. The account presents acting as an opportunity he gradually followed, rather than a childhood career plan.

The entry point

His official 2017 honours citation records television work in A Country Practice, Prisoner Cell Block H, Colour in the Creek, A Fortunate Life and The Great Bookie Robbery. It also lists the film Breaker Morant. Those credits place his familiar soap role within a broader screen career that had already developed before Home and Away began.

Screen identity and style

Alf became the role through which successive generations of viewers encountered Meagher. A 2022 This Is Your Life retrospective brought him together with former colleagues, including Kate Ritchie, while Chris Hemsworth contributed a recorded tribute. Ritchie reflected on growing up alongside him on the production, and Hemsworth recalled the encouragement he received as a younger cast member.

Collaborations and patterns

On stage, Meagher played mechanic Bob in Priscilla Queen of the Desert. After appearing in the Sydney production, he joined the West End company at the Palace Theatre in 2010 and returned in October 2011. His fellow performers in the returning company included Don Gallagher, Richard Grieve and Oliver Thornton. The engagement gave him an extended part in a live musical alongside his television work.

Era reflection

Meagher has also used breaks from the soap to perform in British pantomime. In discussing Priscilla with Official London Theatre, he recalled the enthusiasm he felt on first seeing the stage production. His awards include the 2010 Gold Logie, while his 2017 Medal of the Order of Australia recognized service to the performing arts as an actor. The honours citation also records support for charitable awareness campaigns.

Legacy and rediscovery

The photographs below show two separate public appearances, both photographed by Eva Rinaldi. The first is a portrait at the 2011 Logie Awards in Melbourne. The second shows Meagher with Gilly Meagher at the Sydney opening of An Officer and a Gentleman: The Musical in May 2012. The latter records attendance at that event, rather than a performing credit in the production.

Selected roles

• Home and Away: Alf Stewart — From 1988
• Priscilla Queen of the Desert: Bob — Sydney and West End
• Breaker Morant: Film cast — 1980

A career in pictures

Two distinct event photographs by Eva Rinaldi, from 2011 and 2012.

Logie Awards (2011)

Ray Meagher at the Melbourne awards

Eva Rinaldi photograph, May 1, 2011.

Sydney theatre opening (2012)

Ray Meagher, left, with Gilly Meagher

Eva Rinaldi photograph at An Officer and a Gentleman: The Musical, May 18, 2012.

Rewatch notes

• Meagher first appeared as Alf Stewart in January 1988.
• He played mechanic Bob in Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
• He received the Gold Logie in 2010.