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One of the more controversial
relationships in Home and Away’s history saw Kirsty
Sutherland fall in love, and eventually marry, the man
who only a year prior to their relationship, had raped
her elder sister, Dani. Having undertaken a recent
mediation, Kane had come to realise his error, although
Dani was far from mentally healed.
Shipwrecked
Part of the Summer Bay Centenary saw the MV Mirigini
play host to an exclusive cruise – part of the
celebrations. Kirsty, despite having been grounded and
having won her ticket in a raffle, snuck on board, and
was stunned that her parents were also in board. Keen to
avoid a confrontation, Kirsty chose to hideout in the
crew room… and early trouble brewed as Kirsty ran into
Kane. When Kane’s presence on board was discovered, a
face off between Kane and Josh and Rhys ensured that the
wounds of the previous year were still raw. However, no
one was prepared for the storm that was also brewing
around the ship, and it wasn’t long until the Mirigini
was in trouble. Amidst a massive row between Kirsty and
Shelley, the Mirigini sank. Unable to reach the
lifeboats, both Kane and Kirsty found themselves in the
water, with Kirsty assisting Kane to get to shore.
In the bush, Kane saved both the
lives of she and of her mother, Shelley, receiving a
snake bite during his efforts. Now in a bad way himself,
Kane and Kirsty spend time tallking, with Kane opening
up about his rough and abusive childhood, and she about
her own rebellious phase. As Kane slipped gradually out
of consciousness it was obvious that Kirsty was
desperate for him to survive, and a plane spotting them
at that minute ensured that all three of them returned
to hospital.
‘Trauma bonding’
Having spent so much time together out in the bush, it
was natural for Kane and Kirsty to want to spend time
together after the incident, and her family were stunned
and infuriated when Kirsty publicly spoke to Kane. She
was asked not to see him again, and although she gave
Shelley her word, she continued the friendship in
secret. The bond continued to grow, and it wasn’t long
before the pair shared a kiss.
Secret Affair
Unable to hide their feelings, Kane and Kirsty
eventually embarked upon a secret relationship,
understandably keeping their flourishing relationship
from the Baysiders – particularly her family, who
remained oblivious to Kirsty being in contact with Kane.
Although Shelley and Jade became aware of a man in her
life, it didn’t connect that the man was Kane.
Caught out
A stray shirt eventually led Shelley to put the pieces
together and discover Kane and Kirsty’s relationship. At
first confronting Kirsty and demanding that she never
see Kane again, she was forced to tell Rhys the full
story when Kirsty snuck out again to meet Kane. A
confrontation on the wharf ensued, where Kane was
comforting Kirsty, and the pair are torn apart by her
parents.
On the Run
Knowing that her family will not allow them to be
together, Kane and Kirsty make the drastic decision to
run away together. Although all goes well at first, the
lack of proper accommodation and having to do
labour-intensive fruit picking for cash takes its toll.
The final straw occurs when a man attempts to break into
their room when Kirsty is alone – Kane is furious upon
his return, and after hitting the guy responsible the
couple were on the road once more.
Kane departs
In a heartbreaking conclusion to the 2002 KK story, Kane
makes the decision to return Kirsty home, as he feels
that he is unable to give her all that she deserves. As
Kirsty sleeps, Kane drives them back to Summer Bay, and
upon her awakening she finds herself at home. When his
rational way of explaining the situation fails to make
her leave the car, Kane tells her that she is a kid who
can’t handle being on the run. He demands that she leave
the car, insisting that he never wants to see her again.
As she stands in the road in tears, he drives away,
bursting into tears as he is out of sight…
Love triangle
Kane returned less than a year on… only to be met with
the fact that Kirsty and Seb Miller had become a couple.
Although Kirsty was adamant that her relationship with
Seb was for keeps, it was clear from the outset that a
spark remained between she and Kane… and it wasn’t long
until they shared a kiss – spotted by Seb himself.
Kirsty made the decision to break up with Seb, and to
acknowledge her feelings for her former love.
Secret romance
Although Kane and Kirsty attempted to keep their
rekindled romance quiet, it wasn’t long before Kane’s
colleague Hayley and Kirsty’s twin Jade got wind of the
romance. Things were to worsen upon Rhys’ return to the
Bay after a short time away, and again he attempted to
ban Kirsty from having any contact with her lover.
However, all his attempts failed and eventually Dani
agreed to accept the romance, adamant that Kirsty is
making a mistake but unwilling to drive her sister away.
Return of Scott Phillips
The return of Kane’s dastardly brother, Scott Phillips,
threw another spanner into Kane and Kirsty’s
relationship, as it was revealed that, before returning
to the Bay, Kane unwillingly took part in an armed
robbery. The only witness? Feral and amnesic newcomer
Tasha Andrews. Kane rescued Tasha from his brother’s
grasp, and Kirsty’s suspicion arose when she spotted
them together. However, she and Kane remained together,
on the promise that he would tell her everything from
then on. A snubbed Scott departed, swearing that one day
Kane would pay for his betrayal…
Hit and Run
Kirsty and Kane planned to depart the Bay… but were
prevented from doing so by the intervention of Scott and
Dani. Having been fired from the gym by Dani’s best
friend Hayley, in desperation Kane turned back to crime,
going out to rob a warehouse in the middle of the night.
On the same night, Dani attended dinner at her
lecturer’s house – an evening that culminated in a kiss.
Driving home in the rain, teary and wiping her eyes,
Dani’s car runs into something out on a lonely road.
Climbing out of the car, she is unable to see what she
has hit, and returns home distressed under the
assumption that she has hit a kangaroo. However, morning
brings the news that Kane has been critically injured in
a hit and run on that road, and as he awakes he points
the finger at Dani – an accusation that results in
Dani’s arrest. Kirsty is distraught, but stands firmly
beside her boyfriend, and is distressed when she is
informed that Kane has been transferred to a city
hospital to cater for his serious spinal injuries. She
follows him there, only to return with a bombshell for
Jade – Kane asked her to marry him…
Trial and engagement
The hit and run debacle reached its climax in Dani’s
court case, as Kane testified to the court that Dani has
seen him and deliberately ran him down – despite his
relationship being under threat if Dani was convicted.
Noah and Josh’s statements add nails to Dani’s coffin
and she is found guilty and sentenced to three years by
Morag. Kane moves out of Kirsty’s caravan to allow her
to reconnect with her family, but stays in the area to
find himself a job – and a place to stay at Irene’s –
before asking Rhys for Kirsty’s hand in marriage. He was
knocked back flat, but vowed to go against Rhys’ will if
he had to.
Mineshaft horror
The season finale episodes of 2003 saw four members of
the Sutherland family – Rhys, Kirsty, Jade and Max,
trapped in an ancient mineshaft and gradually running
out of oxygen. Kane was amongst those who saved the day,
selflessly digging through the rubble with his bare
hands, and the family were saved. Not before, however,
he was accused of having something to do with the
family’s disappearance, having previously threatened
Rhys at the school dance.
Ultimatum and marriage
It was after the Drop In Centre fire and his heroics to
save both Noah and Max that Kane decided Summer Bay
would never forgive, or let him move on from, what he
had done to Dani, and he issued Kirsty with an ultimatum
– he would leave in two weeks time, with or without her.
After a great amount of angst and upset, Kirsty agreed
to leave, but was clearly having second thought before
she even climbed into the car. They married in a secret
ceremony, before setting up home a few hours away from
the Bay. However, Kirsty’s unhappiness at being away
from her family led Kane to agree to take her home – but
this time they would face the music together.
Web of lies
Upon their return to the Bay, Kane and Kirsty met with a
predictably hostile front from her family, and Rhys was
set on having the marriage annulled – as Kane had faked
his signature on the documents. However, Kirsty’s
announcement that she was pregnant turned events upside
down, leaving Kane ecstatic and Rhys dumbfounded.
Kirsty’s revelation to Jade – that it was a lie blurted
out to stop Rhys annulling the marriage – disgusts her
twin, but Kirsty’s plan seems to be doing the trick, as
she and Kane attend a family dinner together. She
attempts to get pregnant for real, but her increasingly
tense and angry attitude eventually results in a huge
row with Kane – in which she tells him that she wants to
get rid of the baby. In the midst of the heated
argument, he raises his hand to strike her… stopping
himself in time, stunned by his actions. She runs out,
and whilst he takes out a cruise she packs her bags,
going to stay with her mother in the city.
AVO and ‘miscarriage’
A shock AVO arriving for Kane was the first heard from
Kirsty in the city, and although it was instigated by
Shelley’s lawyer boyfriend David in order to keep Kane
away, it refused to allow Kane anywhere near his wife.
The news, however, that Kirsty had suffered a
‘miscarriage’ whilst in the city, led Kane to blame
himself and to desperately try to get in contact in
order to apologise. An arrest followed, and although
Flynn and Sally stumped up the bail money, Kane chose to
break the terms of bail by attempting to seek out Kirsty
in the city. Although he failed in his mission, a
compassionate plea from him to Rhys and Shelley allowed
Kirsty’s parents to see the full extent of his anguish
over the supposed miscarriage. Kirsty returned home to
the Bay not long later, and she and Kane were reunited.
Lies revealed
When Kirsty collapsed at school, she received a shock
diagnosis from Flynn, as she discovered that she was in
fact pregnant. As her lies began to crumble around her,
Kane inevitably discovers the truth eventually.
Infuriated, he announces the end of the marriage and his
decision to leave Summer Bay. It is Rhys and Dani who
talked him into staying – for the sake of his unborn
child – and he returned to Kirsty’s side.
Kidney problems
Further trouble was only around the corner, however, as
Kirsty discovered that she had a potentially fatal
problem with her kidneys. Tests revealed an urgency for
a transplant, and she was hooked up to dialysis. The
knowledge that her condition was declining, more
chemicals could harm her unborn child, and that she
couldn’t have a transplant whilst pregnant – therefore
her ‘best’ option would be to terminate – proved too
much for Kirsty and she chose to run from the hospital,
thus putting her life in further danger. She was
discovered in time by Kane, and Tasha, in the bush, and
was rushed back to hospital in the knowledge that she
had miscarried. The transplant, therefore, could go
ahead, although initially it seemed that the only option
would be Laura, Kirsty’s newfound identical twin.
However, Shelley revealed that she too was compatible
and the transplant took place successfully.
Recommitment
The idea of a recommitment ceremony – complete with the
family and friends absent from the initial ceremony –
seemed just the thing to cheer up Kirsty following the
upset of her miscarriage and transplant. Having their
ceremony on the same day as Noah and Hayley, they shared
the reception, which was attended by close family and
friends.
Sarah’s reign of terror
Kane swiftly put himself in harms way by standing up to
Felix Walters, Dani’s latest stalker, with Scott, whilst
Kirsty lay recovering from her operation. Felix’s murder
placed more stress on Kane, as he was investigated for
the assault and Felix’s girlfriend Sarah also sought
revenge. Lying to Kirsty that she was having an affair
with Kane saw only the start of her terror, as her
revenge culminated in a siege at Leah’s house, where
Kirsty and Kane – amongst others – were held at
gunpoint. The pair escaped unscathed, but the newlywed
Noah Lawson was her final victim.
Calm before the storm
For a while it was plain sailing for the couple… but
typically it wasn’t to last…
Cancer and lies
Kane’s discovery that he had testicular cancer just as
Kirsty was preparing to undertake her HSC exams led him
to keep his condition from her. With the support of
Flynn, Sally and even Colleen he hid the truth, faking
charters instead of going into hospital and shaving his
head to cover up the effects of the chemo. Kirsty found
out early, though, and despite being incredibly
supportive, she feared that she would not be able to
cope with her final exams. Drafting in Laura’s help to
cheat in her Physics paper, their plot was uncovered by
Dan Baker, and Kirsty finally sat the exam herself.
Gus Phillips returns
The return of Kane’s abusive father, Gus, caused further
turbulence for Kane, as Gus insisted that he was there
primarily to make amends for the past and repair his
relationship with his estranged son. Although initially
reluctant, Kirsty’s persuasion made Kane listen to his
father, and tentative bridges were built between the
pair. Gus shared in the celebration when
Armed robbery
Gus, desperate to repay a debt to old associate Greg
Harvey, undertakes a job involving a gun. Calling Kane
to give him a life home, it ends in tragedy for Kane and
Gus does a runner when the police catch up with them –
deserting Kane with the weapon and the cash. Swiftly
arrested for armed robbery, Kane’s case looked dire as
the evidence mounted up against him. Even Morag as his
representative didn’t seem to be getting them far –
until his brother Scott agrees to testify about what Gus
had told him about the robbery. As the trial loomed,
there appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel.
Trial and departure
The start of the trial saw Kane receiving glowing
character references from Irene, Kirsty and Hayley,
although the prosecution endeavoured to twist their
testimonies. Changing his statement on the stand, Scott
Phillips delivers a damning testimony – telling the
court that Gus did visit him in jail… but that he swore
he never pulled the job – Kane did it. With his case
looking dire, Kane and Kirsty return home to await the
verdict, less optimistic than ever. Kirsty admits that
she doesn’t think she will cope without him, and upon
feeling his unborn child kick for the first time, Kane
decides that he’ll never leave them – the authorities
can’t lock him away if they can’t find him…
Telling no one of their departure, Kane and Kirsty bid
Irene farewell, she with the assumption that she will
see them in court.
As the verdict is read – guilty – Kane and Kirsty drive
out of Summer Bay, heading for a new life together.
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