Richard Wright wrote:

In my experience this is normal. The first flowers fall off without
setting fruit. I think this may be a Sydney thing.

The plant is a perennial. If she is not in a frost prone area of
Sydney then it is worth leaving the plants in over the winter and wait
for a harvest next year. The leaves will look tatty at the end of the
winter, but the next lot of flowers will set.

Thanks. Most will probably survive the winter as we have a new garden
area to break in this winter. Next time we will probably plant them in
an area they can enjoy for a longer time.

The perennial idea seems interesting. We have a neighbour with a
capsicum in its second year. Need to look at other plants.