Marking the twentieth anniversary of the first publication of the book, the screen adaptation of one of Australia's most iconic novels has been a story in itself.

With the rights initially sold overseas and the adaptation going down the path of a feature film, it soon became apparent that cloudstreet could not fit into a feature format and that Australia should be its true production home. Showtime Australia had started to pursue its interest in cloudstreet in 2002 dealing with a wide variety of highly skilled, and dedicated producers. In 2008 Screentime, one of Australia's most highly regarded production companies, in partnership with Showtime Australia, negotiated to secure the rights to produce a truly Australian story in its rightful home - Perth, Western Australia.

Producer Greg Haddrick worked closely with Tim Winton on the architecture of the adaptation, after which Tim wrote the final draft of his and Ellen Fontana's screenplay based on his novel. Executive Producers Kim Vecera and Des Monaghan and Producers Greg Haddrick and Brenda Pam began recruiting the rest of the creative team.

In 2009 Matthew Saville was appointed as Director. Combining his innate ability to create beautiful character-driven drama with a delightful comedic twist, the multi-award winning Director was perfect to steer the production from the script to the screen.

Production Designer, Herbert Pinter, was one of the first members of the crew signed to the project. With an outstanding list of credits including Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, Breaker Morant and Mao's Last Dancer, Herbert set about re-creating the iconic cloudstreet house for the screen. Built over eight weeks, No.1 Cloud Street, and the street itself, was built on an old bitumen carpark at the Old Sunset Hospital site on the banks of the Swan River, not far from where the novel is set. With over 30 construction workers, including 24 carpenters, 4 scenic artists and 2 set decorators working in 40 degree heat, the house began to take shape and the setting for cloudstreet was created.

With other principal sets including the interior and exterior of 'Dolly's Pub', the 'Squatters Shack' and the interior of 'Bairds' also built on the Sunset site, as well as several existing buildings turned into production offices, art department, and wardrobe department, the old Hospital fast turned into a backlot for the duration of production.

Meanwhile, the casting agents Mullinars Casting had no shortage of outstanding actors all wanting to be involved in the project. With over 130 different roles and 385 extras, there was a 5 month casting process.

Actor Stephen Curry who had collaborated with Director Matthew Saville on The King was the first person cast in cloudstreet as Sam Pickles, and Essie Davis completed her audition in the morning and that evening was told she had been cast as the beautifully tragic Dolly Pickles.

The script called for Lester Lamb to play the ukulele, the banjo and the accordion. A keen musician, Geoff Morrell was cast and with happenstance is a banjo player! So with little instruction it really is Morrell playing and singing in many of the scenes.

Kerry Fox was cast as his wife Oriel Lamb, after sending an audition from London. Feeling she was born to play this role, and to get into character as preparation for the audition, Fox darned a pair of stockings showing Director Matthew Saville her handiwork at the end of the audition. She also purchased a sewing box from a second-hand shop and used it not only as a prop in some of her scenes, but its contents were used as buttons and trim on many of her costumes, designed by Terri Lamera.

Mullinars' Ann Robinson was given one of castings greatest challenges: having to match younger and older actors to play the same roles of Rose, Quick and Fish as well as all the other Lamb and Pickles children.

Emma Booth and Lara Robinson were cast as Rose Pickles and Young Rose Pickles respectively. Though they share a resemblance, Emma Booth had to wear brown contact lenses during the shoot to match Lara's eye colour.

TV Week Logie Award winner Todd Lasance was cast as Quick with Callan McAuliffeas Young Quick. Recent NIDA graduate Hugo Johnstone-Burt was cast as Fish with Tom Russell as Young Fish. During pre-production and the shoot, actors Hugo Johnstone-Burt and Tom Russell collaborated on the nuances of the characterisation of Fish, with Johnstone-Burt observing Russell's first scenes and practicing gestures and mannerisms Tom brought to the role. Also cast was Kelton Pell as the ethereal Bob Crab and Oliver Ackland as the debonair Toby Raven.

In February 2010 principal photography commenced, but not before a smoking ceremony was conducted on the Old Sunset Hospital site - which housed many of the main sets and production offices. A former rehabilitation hospital, many of the cast and crew were affected by spirits inhabiting the site. Actor Kelton Pell seconded the help of a friend, and together they performed the ritual throughout the area. With life imitating art, it was not dissimilar to the cleansing smoking ceremony his character, Bob Crab, conducts through No.1 Cloud Street in the third part of the series.

With locations from Moore River at Guilderton to Karnup, Coogee to Chidlow, and Bicton to Guildford the production took full advantage of Western Australia and it's picturesque surroundings. The quality of light is unique in Western Australia and that, coupled with the stunning locations, aided Director Matthew Saville and Director of Photography Mark Wareham with the composition of many of the beautiful scenes. There was an instant rapport in their partnership, and the creative collaboration was as evident on set as it is on screen. Shot on HD, they both credit the quintessential West Australian light and the outstanding production design with much of the beauty in the frame.

The Costume Design was incredibly important in re-creating the era. Designer Terri Lamera worked closely with Matthew Saville and Herbert Pinter on the look and feel of the world of cloudstreet, including the colour palette and choice of fabrics for camera. With over 500 different roles to dress, Terri put together an extensive team to source existing era-correct costumes, as well as design, make and hand sew many of the dresses and shirts. Given how poor both families were, the wardrobe department not only screen printed and died fabric for many of the outfits, but also put them through an extensive ageing process to ensure they looked worn - appropriate for the era.

With Sam Pickles losing the fingers on his right hand within the first minutes on screen, make-up designer Peta Hastings had to source a hand double with a matching injury. The production put out a call for someone to 'lend them a hand' which was answered by a Perth local.

Once on board a cast was made of his right hand and from it a prosthetic fitted to actor Stephen Curry's hand. Each shooting day Peta fitted Stephen with the prosthetic, in a process that took over an hour in itself. On occasion the hand double was called in for some of the more manual tasks – such as when Sam Pickles builds the backyard fence.

The weather was a major factor in the production, with 40 degree heat and a total fire ban throughout Perth and its surrounding areas. In March 2010, during shooting and with absolutely no warning, a massive hailstorm hit Perth. In the midst of shooting scenes in the back garden when the storm hit, the cast and crew had to take shelter in the House. Ever the creative opportunist, Matthew Saville instructed the camera crew to keep filming from the safety of the back verandah, in case the footage could perhaps be used in the edit. For those with a keen eye - snippets of it can be seen in part two of the mini-series. As testament to the construction of the hero house, it sustained just one broken tile close to the chimney in contrast with the devastation that the storm caused on other houses in the surrounding area.

Part of the beauty and character of cloudstreet is the split house and garden. When Sam Pickles inherits the old house and two hundred quid from his brother - he promptly goes to the track with the cash and loses 'the lot' at the races. With only the old house to live in - he comes up with the idea of splitting it in two (with the corridor as 'no man's land') and renting the other half out - garden and all, complete with a dunny each, separated by a makeshift fence.

When the enterprising Lamb family move in, their side takes shape as a thriving local store with a burgeoning market garden out the back. This in direct contrast to the Pickles' side - which remains as barren and derelict as the day they moved in.

To dress the Lamb garden, production had to source plants and vegetables at various stages of growth to mark the passing of time. The centerpiece of the Lamb Garden is the Mulberry Tree under which Oriel pitches her tent. Where a beautiful old tree was found and replanted with care in the middle of the garden - it had to also show the passing of seasons by going through the various annual stages of a tree's life, including bearing fruit. To assist the process, production design commissioned 600 silicon mulberries which were hand tied on to its branches to show it in full fruit.

Also in the garden there was a menagerie of animals - a Red Kelpie played Bill (and according to Matthew Saville one of the most reliable actors on set - 'he never missed his mark' - remarkable given he is a show dog and cloudstreet was his first screen experience!), galahs, magpies, chickens and a pig.

Unable to go to school, Fish virtually lives in the garden with the animals as his friends - especially Bill and The Pig - who talks (voiced by actor Bruce Spence. Again to show the passing of time, on screen The Pig was played by 3 pigs - a piglet (with no name) which actor Tom Russell as Young Fish interacts with, followed by a medium pig called Crackle and ultimately a huge one called Chopper.

Actor Hugo Johnstone-Burt as Fish had to literally spend full days rolling around the pig pen - with either Crackle and Chopper - getting covered from head to foot in everything a pig pen contains. On a couple of occasions a pig would escape the pen and run riot through the yard much to the hilarity of the cast and consternation of the crew. Kerry Fox as Oriel on at least one occasion was heard to call (in character) "pig's out!"

Birds play a large role in the production. Sam adopts a Galah who rarely leaves his side (on screen at least). In reality 'Ace the Galah' was also an escape artist - and on one occasion decided to fly away mid scene. Production had two others on stand-by (Lenny and Pauly) but it was not until the end of the shooting day that one of the child actors found 'Ace' down by the river and he was returned to set.

Recreating 1940s and 1950s Australia was not only taken into consideration in the look of the production - but also in its sound design as well. Brenda Pam spent many hours sourcing licensed radio and music tracks of the era to form part of the sound design, but it was the more natural sounds of Australia they had to allow for on set. Then, the sound of magpies pervaded the air and so two of the security guards on the lot were seconded to feed the 'maggies' in the morning to encourage them to hang around the set. Conversely, the production was plagued with the very modern sound of aircraft, not assisted by the running of an air race up the Swan River during the middle of principal photography.

Upon conclusion of the 65 day shoot the production dismantled the set and decamped to Melbourne for the post-production process. Over 7 months Editor Geoff Hitchins worked together with the Executive Producers, Producers and Director to mould the mini-series into its final form.

Scott Zero of Chromamedia created the various VFX requirements including the steam train scenes, which were unable to be shot due to a total fire ban and the Catalina flying boat (with the interior scenes shot in a real Catalina at the Aviation Heritage Museum in Bullcreek) other VFX included animation, the flying fish, Quick glowing and the talking pig, as well as Fish floating through the wheatfields to rescue his brother.

Highly regarded composer Bryony Marks wrote and produced the beautiful and evocative score, recorded by the Melbourne Studio Orchestra with the Melbourne Grammar School Chapel Choir.

Over 14 months from the start of pre-production to delivery - the adaptation of an Australian classic was complete.