Martha Jane MacKenzie (2005-)
Jodi Gordon
Episodes: 3928-
Parents: Brett Macklin and Ruth "Roo" Stewart (biological parents); adoptive parents
Siblings: 3 adoptive brothers
Marital Status: Jack Holden (2006-2007 / 2008 - deceased)
Roo Stewart, daughter of Summer Bay stalwart Alf Stewart, gave birth to a baby fathered by Brett Macklin. However, due to a lack of stable family environment, Roo gave her up for adoption to a family called the McKenzies. Martha grew up on the McKenzie's farm, until her adoptive parents tragically died. Leaving behind the farm and her adoptive brothers, Martha went in search of her biological parents.
Unfortunately, her father didn't want to know her. Luckily, she was able to form a relationship with Roo and went to live with her in America. When Granpa Alf and Great Auntie Morag came to visit, Martha made the big decision to leave her mother and return to Australia to live with her relatives.
A self confessed tomboy Martha seemed to be outspoken and fun when she arrived in the Bay, hooking up with older man Jesse and forming a strong friendship with Tasha. She was actively involved in the protest against the Macklin orporation, headed by her father Brett Macklin, even being arrested for chaining herself to a caravan. Involved in a car crash in episode 4000 she lost the use of her legs only to regain them after a few weeks.
For better or for worse Martha's life was to be changed when constable Jack Holden arrived in town, initially winding her up the wrong way, responding to a complaint that the noise was too loud at Tasha and Robbie's house party and then pulling her over for speeding. Martha was further infuriated when he moved in next door to the Hunter's and after realising he was hiding a secret. Determinedly set about unearthing it. When Harry Chambers came to town with the news that Jack was responsible for the death of his daughter, the locals, led by Martha reacted with fury. A town meeting allowed both sides of the story to be heard as it was revealed Jack shot the girl in self-defence as she carried out an armed robbery, the Summer Bay community accepted Jack's innocence.
Though Martha apologised she still refused to be friends with him, retaining her resentful attitude. Jack however liked her and pursued her with some serious flirting eventually asking her out only to be met with the response: "I'd rather listen to 'my heart will go on', on repeat than go on a date with you." Jack refused to give up though and it quickly became obvious that despite her protests Martha liked him too. A series of practical jokes ensued, a game of pool where Jack pretended to play badly, staking a nude run on the outcome, only to win the final game leaving Martha to accept the dare, which she did and a drinking competition followed which Jack won. In an attempt to even the stakes Martha found out from Tony that Jack was terrified of spiders so planted one in his room but it backfired spectacularly when he found it, coming out of the shower, fell and hit his head and was found with blood pouring from his ear.
After surgery it became apparent that Jack had a problem with his hearing and when more surgery failed to solve the problem he was told that potentially he may have lost his hearing for good, spelling the end of his career. He quickly cheered up though when Martha came to visit him but failed to tell him she was responsible. She was busted later though when Jack found the fake spider and realising what had happened, reacted furiously to her eventual confession. After a pep talk from Tony he decided to forgive her but refused to be friends but this time Martha wasn't taking no for an answer. She returned with beer and Jack finally caved on the condition she did something for him. The condition turned out to be jumping off a cliff, Martha's phobia but Jack never thought she would go through with it so as she prepared to jump, he stopped her and they finally shared a kiss.
Their relationship was soon to be threatened again when Jack returned to work, lying about his hearing and Martha found out, insisting he told his superior. When Jack failed to do so, Martha and Lucas told Tony sparking more fury from Jack who admitted he still hadn't forgiven her for the spider prank and they split up.
Refusing to admit that she wasn't over Jack, Martha persuaded Tasha to go to a party at the club but just as she prepared to leave the Diner she began flirting with Corey Henderson who was embarrassed to realise he was chatting up his police partner Jack's ex. When Jack arrived on the scene he quickly claimed he wasn't interested declaring that Martha could date who she liked. Later at the club Martha accepted a lift from a stranger but instead of taking her home he parked up at a secluded area and started to get heavy until Jack saved her with his sudden appearance. Refusing to admit that she had been out of her depth Martha refused to get a lift with Jack leading Corey to offer her a lift instead. Serious flirting followed and the next day Corey asked Jack's permission to ask Martha out, to which Jack agreed and Martha agreed to go out with him.
Following Irene's declaration that Corey was poisoning her Jack started investigating and tried to warn Martha off but she thought he was just jealous and accepted Corey's invitation to move to the City with him. On the day she was due to leave Jack finally found the evidence that Corey had been drugging Irene and after saving her went looking for Corey only to find he'd already left with Martha. Meanwhile, as they stopped for a picnic Martha found the mercury in Corey's bag and came to the conclusion that he had been poisoning Irene so she phoned Jack only to be caught out by Corey. Managing to tie him with barb wire to a tree she escaped in the direction of sirens to be reunited with Jack but on leading them back to Corey found he was no longer there. Seconds later he jumped out from behind Martha, who hit him with a bottle opener leaving Jack to tackle him and bring him down.
Afterwards Jack found Martha in Noah's and tried to comfort her but Martha remained terrified until Jack forced her to confront Corey and cured her fear. At this point the two went back to being friends but they continued to flirt until at Baby Noah's christening a comment from Matilda and Lucas suggesting that they were meant to be together led to Jack and Martha doing just that, sharing a kiss and reuniting.
Following Martha's revelation that she wanted to marry Jack planned a prank whereby he convinced her he was against marriage in order to stop her guessing that he was about to propose. It backfired though when Martha failed to show for the dinner after considering ending things but after an explanation from Tasha, Martha surprised a disappointed Jack with rose petals all over the front room and proposing to him.
A near death experience for Jack at the hands of Zoe convinced Martha to bring their wedding forward and the perfect wedding was planned until Zoe crashed the reception by exploding the venue. Jack was seriously injured and rushed to hospital where it was revealed his liver was damaged and he underwent a liver transplant. Martha meanwhile was part of a group of burn victims who Rachel arranged to go to the city for plastic surgery, except that the helicopter crashed in a storm and Martha was missing, presumed dead. In her absence Jack grew closer to Tasha who, with Robbie missing, was feeling the same as him but both were relieved when Martha and Robbie were found alive and JM were reunited. Martha went through terror on her honeymoon, when Jack couldn't go so Tasha went along instead and they became embroiled in Mamma Rose's twisted plan to get Tasha's baby. With the help of Jack and Robbie they managed to escape but the writing was on the wall for Jack and Martha and after a series of rows about Jack working too and not putting enough effort into their marriage, Martha moved out.
The split became permanent when Jack, on realising that Peter Baker was still alive, was badly bashed and ended up in hospital. Martha donated blood to help him through surgery but confided in Alf that she no longer loved him. Whilst Jack was in hospital Martha met and spent the night with a man who introduced himself as Ash Nader, he was later revealed to be Jack's old friend. After much agonising Martha and Ash finally told Jack about their night together and Jack finally realised that his marriage was over.
In the meantime Jack started dating his physiotherapist Sam and Martha and Ash became closer, except that Ash was hiding a secret from her. After some digging from her Aunty Morag it was revealed that Ash was actually married with two children but Martha, despite everyones warnings continued to stay with Ash believing he would leave his wife and kids for her. Eventually finding out the truth, at a time when her family was going through hell with her cousin Ric's false imprisonment following Sally's stabbing, Martha also realised she was pregnant. Taking the decision to terminate her pregnancy she turned to Jack for support planting a kiss on him and despite her protests that she was dealing with her termination, dreams of an empty pram and a subsequent spiral into alcohol suggested that she hadn't dealt with the termination at all.
Falling for older man Cam Reynolds, quitting her job and Noah's to work in Cam's strip club Martha began to alienate all those around her. Moving out of Sally's into the Doiner flat, Martha was vulnerable and easy prey for Cam to manipulate into pole dancing at his club. Despite being busted by her family at Peter's stag do, Martha refused to see she was doing anything wrong, pushing her loved ones further away.
An attempt by Jack to have Cam done for drugs backfired when Cam planted them on Martha and she was arrested. Jack disposed of the evidence and so the charges were dropped but still Martha refused to see through Cam. With Jack's drug bust public news, Cam's business started to fail and in need of further investment to keep the loan sharks at bay, Cam turned to wealthy business man Lou Baines. Problem was that Lou wanted Martha. Initially rejecting his advances, Martha eventually agreed to help Cam out but when Lou went too far and tried to attack her, Cam left it to the very last minute before coming to her rescue.
With his business handed over to his creditors and Martha refusing to forgive him, Cam got drunk and phoned Martha. Racing to the club to help him, Martha was locked in the office as she hid from the new owners and Cam then torched the place, not knowing Martha was inside. Fortunately Jack was around to recuse her and Martha returned to the loving fold of her family.
Finally admitting that she had made a mistake over her abortion Martha and Jack grew closer only for her to tell Jack she only wanted friendship. Opting to stay in the Diner flat, she took on a flatmate in the form of new Doctor in town Hugh. They became close and at one point it seemed like they might be more but Hugh admitted he was in love with someone else and Martha told him she wasn't ready for anything new.
She continued to be friends with Jack and both did a good job of convincing the other that they were interested in other people. They eventually agreed to try a date and went on a picnic in the country but when a farmer started shooting at them Jack went into police mode and chased after him. With it starting to rain, a furious Martha began walking back and when Jack returned for her she was nowhere to be seen. He returned to her flat and shouted an apology to her but Martha wasn't there, she had crashed down in a barn.
She was discovered by Annie and Geoff Campbell and Geoff gave her a lift back into town. She treated them to milkshakes and had a shouting match with Jack, causing Geoff to intervene on her side. Jack tried to make up for it with flowers and chocolate but Martha gave them to Geoff telling him that despite being married Jack still managed to get her flowers she was allergic to and chocolates she hated.
Deciding to stay friends they spent a day skinny dipping before being caught by Lara. They arranged a dvd session together but whilst in Noah's Jack accidentally found the divorce papers that Martha had received weeks before. Angry with her, he made her believe he really wanted a divorce when the opposite was the case. Convinced that Jack really was over her Martha convinced him that she too wanted a divorce and they both reluctantly signed the papers.
A few days later Jack was assumed missing in a boat in a storm and a frantic Martha destroyed the papers. The occupants of the boat later turned up safe and well but Jack wasn't with them, he had never been on the boat. Martha went round to his house to tell him she didn't want a divorce but found him with his ex girlfriend Sam installed in the front room.
She gained a new flatmate in Matilda but it quickly became clear that they were too different to really live together. Meanwhile Jack began confiding in her about his problems with work, infuriating Sam whom Jack had failed to tell. Sam insisted Jack break off his friendship with Martha which, much to her disgust, he did.
Martha began to get close to Henk when he arrived in the bay, despite Rachel warning her off. He eventually got with Cassie, leaving Martha, who had kissed him, feeling like a fool.
With Jack proposing to Sam, Martha was forced to admit that she had never sent the divorce papers and after a few days of leaving Jack dangling he finally admitted that he cared for her but that his future was with Sam. Martha agreed to press ahead with the divorce but they were told they needed marriage counselling. Dan had a session with them but decided that in his opinion divorce was not the way forward and Jack was left with some explaining to do when Sam found out.
To get away from things Martha took off in Alf's Ute but it ran out of petrol and the car she flagged down for help was driven by Jonah Abrahams, Tasha's rapist. She attempted to call Jack for help but he blocked her call so she called Irene who came to get her but at that point Jonah had already left her a can of petrol and departed. He later grabbed her outside the Diner but Martha was more surprised that he seemed more scared of her.
When he was revealed as Bruce Campbell's new farm hand Martha set on a crusade to force him out of town and graffitti'd his van but Jonah caught her and gave chase. They both fell into a disused mineshaft which collapsed trapping them in. They were eventually found and rescued but not before Jonah, now called Michael, had saved her life and comforted her as she slept. She began having dreams of kissing him and he pursued her, convinced she felt something for him.
She took Michael's side when he informed her that Jack was helping a crooked colleague and pressed Jack to tell the truth or she would. She and Michael later shared a kiss and then slept together but were seen by a disgusted Annie who made their relationship public. Despite disapproval and her still having feelings for Jack, Martha continued to see Michael and when he was kicked off the farm he moved in with her.
She attempted her help the Campbell kids keep the farm and appealed to the bank manager on their behalf but whilst there she was caught up in an armed robbery and was witness to Jack's dodgy colleague's involvement. With Jack shot in the robbery Martha refused to visit him, not feeling it was her place. When she did eventually go in Jack woke up and told her that he had been waiting for her and still loved her.
Michael told her that he loved her to which she replied that she cared for him. Jack had a nightmare and raced round to see Martha who sent him away. The next day she confronted him and told him she didn't think he should be marrying Sam. Unfortunately Rory overheard and Jack was forced to explain to Sam, who banned Martha from the wedding.
When Martha ended up taking delivery of Sam's dress she couldn't help try it on but was caught by Sam who reacted furiously. Martha was later attacked by the hospital stalker after Sam failed to escort her to her car and Jack took Martha's side causing Michael to hit him. He and Martha decided to take a trip up the coast to get away for a while but before they leave she shared a kiss with Jack.
The next day he asked her to meet him but he was held up by Rory and by the time he arrived she had given up and headed off. She and Michael held farewell drinks, which Jack, thanks to Sam and Michael, failed to attend and they left the bay. As they travelled up the coast it quickly became clear that Martha's heart wasn't in it and whilst she was asleep he returned her to the Bay and tearfully left her, telling her to sort things out with Jack. After a heart to heart with Cassie, she raced to the church to tell Jack how she felt but left it too late and witnessed them pronounced husband and wife.
After some time away from the bay she returned and continued with her old tricks of getting drunk and chatting up random men but eventully broke down to Lucas and Matilda, admitting she was still hung up on Jack. She conspired with Henk to get Cassie to take a blood test but was there to support her when she was diagnosed with HIV.
She then took a shine to new guy Roman and decided to ask him out. Despite the presence of Morag, their first date went very well. But their relationship progressed much quicker than planned when Martha was forced to move in with Roman following the Diner's collapse. However, this worked out well for them and they grew closer.
However, their happiness was shortlived when Sam implicated Martha in her death. She set it up to look like Martha had killed her when really she had commited suicide. Martha was arrested by police on suspicion of murder but Morag fought to be given 24 hours to prove her innocence. Luckily Morag's theory was proved right and Martha was released without charge. During the ordeal Martha and Jack grew closer and couldn't keep away from each other, despite knowing that it could harm Martha's case. When Roman realised that Martha was still in love with Jack he broke off their relationship. Martha and Jack then both realised that they were meant to be together and decided to reconcile. However, this did not down too well with Tony and Morag who thought it was too soon after Sam's death to get back together. Because of this Martha and Jack left the bay for a while to let the dust settle. When they returned, Morag still felt very strongly about them getting back together and this rejection hurt Martha. Following some pressure from Alf, Morag eventually accepted them, much to Martha's relief.
Their relationship continued to grow and, following Martha urging Jack to go back into the police force, she suggested they get married again. Jack agreed but they decided to keep it a secret so they didn't take the limelight away from Tony and Rachel. However the secret was soon out and they had a big party at the surf club to celebrate.
Soon after Martha discovered she was pregnant but she didn't know if Jack or Roman was the father. She didn't tell Jack initially but Roman figured it out for himself. When she did eventually tell Jack he was over the moon and assumed the baby was his. However, when Jack found out that Roman had a DNA testing kit he put two and two together. Jack was devastated that he might not be the father and went missing temporarily, which upset Martha. When he returned they decided that they wouldn't find out who the father was until the baby was born.
Just as things seemed like they were back on track, Martha found a lump in her breast which turned out to be cancer. Martha was totally devastated but remained focused on her baby rather than her own health. She then decided to have a mastectomy to increase her chances of survival. Following the operation Martha decided to have a DNA test to find out who the father of the baby was once and for all. When it turned out to be Roman, Jack was upset but vowed to stand by Martha. Despite needing chemo to help fight her cancer, Martha refused to terminate the pregnancy to have the treatment. Jack tried to pursuade her but Martha was adamant that having the baby was too important to her. When Martha returned home she tried to push Jack away as she didn't want him to see her scars. After a while Martha felt comfortable enough to show him her body and their relationship got back on track.
When Rachel went missing before her wedding, Martha helped try and find out what happened to her. However, Martha felt ill and Jack took her to the hospital immediately. She was then diagnosed with a blood clot on her lung and Martha struggled to deal with yet another blow. Jack and Martha then decided to get married straight away in the hospital grounds. Following the ceremony, Martha collapsed and she was rushed straight into the hospital. Jack and her family watched as the doctors attempted to revive her. Just as everyone thought all hope was lost, Martha heart started beating again. Unfortunately the ordeal proved too much for the baby and she didn't survive. This devastated Martha and caused her to struggle to focus on her own recovery. Colleen suggested a memorial ceremony to say goodbye to baby Lindsay and this seemed to help Martha move on.
Martha then decided to go ahead with the chemo, much to Jack's relief. Before her first session Martha bumped into Bridget Simmons on the beach who she quickly struck up a friendship with when Bridget told her of her own battle against cancer. Following her first chemo treatment, Martha wanted to try and keep working at the bar. However during her first shift back, her hair started to fall out and she was found crying in the storeroom. Martha decided that she should take it easy and concentrated her mind on matchmaking Alf and Bridget.
Following further chemo sessions, Martha began to suffer really badly and collapsed on a number of occasions. Just before the last round of chemo, Martha said she didn't want it as after that there was nothing left to protect her from cancer. Rachel explained that she needed it to move on to the next stage of her recovery. Jack also talked to her and said that she needed to do it to give her the best chance of survival. Martha went ahead with the treatment but was dealt a further blow when she found out the development site could have been the cause of her cancer. She wanted to get as far away from the Bay as possible and went to a retreat for a few weeks to recover properly.
When she returned to the Bay, she seemed to have a spring in her step and she bought Jack a boat to show him how much she loved him and appreciated his support. They also slept together for the first time since Martha's operation and their relationship seemed stronger than ever.
Tragedy struck though when Jack failed to return home one night and after hearing about the formal disaster, Martha became convinced he was trapped inside. She went in looking for him and collapsed. She was rescued by who she thought was Jack but turned out to be Angelo and she was devastated when Alf later told her that Jack was dead. She spent all night sitting with him in the hospital, talking to him but was still unable to come to terms with him being dead.
She pushed everyone away but when Angelo broke down on her, she comforted him and opened up to him slightly. Just before Jack's funeral she found his notebook in which he detailed his suspicions about Angelo and she confronted Charlie with it. She was devastated to hear from Charlie that Angelo was a suspect for Jack's death but Charlie swore her to silence. She kept her silence through the service despite Angelo doing a reading but she broke down when he arrived at the wake and confided in Tony. Tony promptly confronted Angelo and he admitted his guilt.
She became close to Jack's cousin Hugo and asked him and Xavier to move in with her but Xavier continued to play up and Hugo was unable to deal with him, causing Martha headaches. She was devastated to find out from Hugo that Roman was in love with her and pushed him away but Charlie helped get their friendship back on track and he was able to support her through her breast reconstruction surgery. She helped Tony launch Jack's boat but after finding out that Angelo was being released she took the boat out alone and was caught in a storm. Hugo found her washed up on the beach and took her to hospital where she seemed upset to be alive. Rachel was worried about her state of mind but when confronted by Roman she admitted that on the water she felt close to Jack.
She received Jack's life insurance money and used it to buy the Campbell's old farm, returning to her roots. For a few months things ticked along happily, she grew closer to Hugo, getting to know him and helping him with his brothers Xavier and Hugo. Her world was shattered though when Tony told her that Angelo was back in the bay and he later came to the farm to see her. Martha broke down crying and when Tony found her she admitted she was furious with herself for not saying anything. Later when she ran into him at the hospital she told him exactly what she thought of him.
Thanks to Nicom for help with this profile.