The character, then named Nick Schultz, was created by Hal McElroy and Tony Morphett to be the only detective posted to the Mount Thomas Police Station.

Martin Sacks came to the role as an experienced actor, having first appeared in a bit part in The Love Boat and then in the cast of Australian soap opera The Restless Years.

[5] In later years, the death of both of his fiancées, the departure of many of his friends, and the changing attitude of his highly respected boss combine to make Mount Thomas feel like less of a home for P. J., and the character chooses to depart the town for pastures new.

His exit storyline, which sees him leave for Melbourne to join the Cold Case Squad, was intended to allow the character to return for future guest roles, but the show ended before this could eventuate.

In February of that year, the annual Mount Thomas Cup brought an array of colourful characters to the town, and provided him with the prospect of settling an old score with Barry Raymond "Apples" Maxwell.

[9] Later in the first season, P. J. was reunited with a former flame when Stock Squad detective Hillary Edmunds (Jennifer Botica) arrived in town to investigate cases of cattle-duffing.

When a building on the property is destroyed by arson, P. J. found himself drawn into the dispute by his relationship with Hillary, whose single-mindedness regarding the case threatened any chance of them learning the truth.

The IID officer assigned to search his house was Monica Draper, the detective who had reported corruption on the Regional Gaming Squad and had long suspected him of being "on the take".

While the investigation was on-going, the news of a crashed prison bus saw P. J. placed back on duty, working with IID to question Susan Croydon (Beth Buchanan) about drugs found during the earlier raids.

When Adam Cooper (Damian Walshe-Howling) and Chris Riley (Julie Nihill) are taken hostage in the Imperial Hotel, P. J. joined his colleagues in cordoning off the pub and, after Tom is shot, he took part in the interview of the shooter and the take-down of the escaped prisoners.

With her friend's career on the line, Maggie Doyle (Lisa McCune) approached her father, Pat (Dennis Miller), for help and together they uncovered evidence that Grantham had framed P. J., allowing him to return to duty.

[8] Late in 1996, the return of young offender Luke Darcy (Jonathan Brooks) from the juvenile justice system corresponded to a spike in assaults and thefts, leading the police to investigate the family.

The situation came to a head when Nick Schultz (William McInnes) and Adam Cooper responded to a domestic disturbance at the Darcy house, followed shortly by P. J. and Maggie Doyle.

The investigation took an unexpected turn when the new miners, Matt Kinsella and Jamie Burgess, discovered a nugget of gold just when the police are on hand to play witness.

[17] While waiting for rescue, the trapped couple discussed, among other things, their hopes and dreams for the future while managing to stay hydrated thanks to water dripping from the mine ceiling.

The rescue was complicated by the fact that the blast which caused the cave-in had made the rest of the tunnel unstable, but the State Emergency Service volunteers managed to extricate them both before the roof caved-in completely.

[23] After Maggie's return, P. J. briefly entertained the prospect of standing aside in favour of allowing her to have a relationship with Ben Stewart (Paul Bishop), but ultimately he proposed to her after an altercation with a group of Y2K survivalists.

[2] As P. J. and his fellow officers tried to cope with their grief, the evidence had begun to pile up which fingered P. J. as the murderer and, to make things worse, his service weapon was missing from the safe.

[29] Helena returned the following year, this time with her new boyfriend in tow, and immediately complicated when they purchased a collectable pottery item believed to be stolen goods.

After being rescued by P. J., Jo was put in peril once more Marko turned on her and joined his father in reclaiming some valuable paintings, only for both to be murdered in a revenge killing in front of her.

Despite pointing out on more than one occasion that he didn't actually answer to the station sergeant, P. J. formed a strong bond with Tom Croydon (John Wood) over their time working together, built on their mutual respect for one another.

Other than Tom, his closest friend on the force was probably Nick Schultz (William McInnes), with whom he often teamed up to tease the junior constables at the station, and with whom he shared a house for some time.

[9] After a rough start due to their shared attraction to Maggie Doyle, he also formed a close bond with Ben Stewart (Paul Bishop), who was also his house-mate for a time.

After the station bombing, P. J. is joined in Mount Thomas by a second detective, Amy Fox (Rachel Gordon), and her abrupt arrival coming immediately after the end of his engagement and Jo's death, leads to friction between them.

[39] Bad experiences in his early career as a detective caused him to develop a distrust of the Ethical Standards Division (ESD), particularly of Monica Draper (Peta Doodson), whose testimony had seen him transferred to Mount Thomas from his cushy job on the Regional Gaming Squad.

The character of P. J. Hasham was conceived as a cowboy detective, and was initially portrayed as a womaniser, with his first appearance in the show seeing him observe Maggie Doyle's car approaching and telling Nick Schultz he was taking the next one while conducting random breath testing on the highway.

Since the death of his father, he has become a skeptic, particularly when it comes to matters of faith, and prefers to deal in facts, being doubtful of anything that he can't find a logical explanation for.

[7] This contributes to his struggles to deal with grief, which sees him go to extreme lengths to either prevent the deaths of those close to him or, in the case of his two fiancées, ensuring that their killers are brought to justice.

[33] Although Blue Heelers was not expected to become a popular programme, the show became a hit shortly after it began airing, with much of this success credited to the quality of the ensemble cast, including Martin Sacks as P. J.

As a result of his time on the show, Sacks became one of the most recognisable faces in Australian television, with as many as 4 million viewers watching his will-they-won't-they romance with Lisa McCune's Maggie Doyle on a weekly basis.