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38 Episodes 2007 - 2007
Episode 1
30 mins
Australian Story starts 2007 with an inside look into the private world of Jake Kovco, Australia's only military fatality in Iraq. The program has obtained exclusive access to previously unseen home movie footage shot by Jake Kovco before and during his mission to Baghdad. The footage provides a disturbing soldier's eye view of life on the streets of Iraq. Australian Story filmed with Jake Kovco's family before and after last year's Military Board of Inquiry findings, as relatives continued to seek answers to the unanswered questions surrounding his death from a gunshot wound to the head in Baghdad in April last year. As the program reveals, views within the family are divided over those findings. Also speaking publicly for the first time are two of the military colleagues who were with Pte Kovco when he was fatally injured.
Episode 2
30 mins
Australian Story has the remarkable untold story of the man who's been described as the secret weapon of Australian cricket. Nugget Rees is a man who's risen from the most unlikely circumstances to become the trusted confidante and companion of the biggest names in Australian cricket. Now in his sixties, Rees tours with the South Australian and national teams and has been present, on the inside, for many of the big moments in Australian cricketing history. He has forged a unique place in the hearts of generations of test cricketers who credit him with special qualities and a remarkable role in the sport. When Steve Waugh padded up for his last test, Nugget was flown in specially to be at the game. He roomed with Jason Gillespie for the occasion. And while Waugh was batting for the final time, it was Nugget who had the honour of walking the drinks onto the field decked out in cricketing whites and the famous baggy green. He's there for all the important occasions, personal and professional - from speech maker at David Hookes' wedding, to guest of honour at the christening of Darren Lehmann's children. And he still loves to wield a bat himself. When he does, the score is the same every time. Somehow, Nugget Rees always hits a century. Now, for the first time, his story is being told.
Episode 3
30 mins
More than three years ago, 13 year old Daniel Morcombe disappeared from the side of a busy Sunshine Coast road, sparking the largest police investigation in Queensland's history. Tonight the Morcombes reveal the unexpected consequences of a harrowing crime that has had a haunting effect on people all around the nation. At the time of his disappearance Daniel was wearing a red t-shirt, a colour that has forever become linked with his case, with red ribbons tied to thousands of letterboxes as a symbol of support for the family and community anger at the horrific crime. In tonight's program, introduced by Terri Irwin, the Morcombes candidly discuss the strains in their own relationship, alcohol issues and the extent to which they have taken matters into their own hands to pursue new leads in the investigation.
Episode 4
30 mins
The story behind Craig Lowndes roller coaster 2006 season, and his close relationship with the Brock family.
Episode 5
30 mins
Australian Story looks inside a health and workplace crisis that's been described as a first in Australia and possibly the world. Arguably it's a situation that could have happened anywhere. But it happened at the national broadcaster and it involves people more used to reporting the news than making the news. The crisis became a major news story just before Christmas when the ABC announced the closure of its Queensland headquarters because of the confirmed high level of breast cancer among women employees, many of them only in their 30s and early 40s. The closure, thought to be on a scale that is unprecedented, followed a report by an independent scientific panel appointed by the ABC's new Managing Director, Mark Scott. The report found that the incidence of breast cancer among women working at the ABC in Brisbane was around six times higher than expected. The chances of this being a statistical fluke were put at "one in a million''. Mr Scott says, "breast cancer clusters like this hadn't been found anywhere else in the world.'' He recalls that when he first heard the statistic he had to check that he was hearing correctly. But no on-site cause could be found at the time, although investigations are continuing. Australian Story has the personal stories of the women who say their long campaign against the site has been justified. And the program - comprising two episodes - looks at the medical and scientific mystery that remains and the possible implications for women everywhere.
Episode 6
30 mins
Australian Story continues its look inside a health and workplace crisis that's been described as a first in Australia and possibly the world. Arguably it's a situation that could have happened anywhere. But it happened at the national broadcaster and it involves people more used to reporting the news than making the news. The crisis became a major news story just before Christmas when the ABC announced the closure of its Queensland headquarters because of the confirmed high level of breast cancer among women employees, many of them only in their 30s and early 40s. The closure, thought to be on a scale that is unprecedented, followed a report by an independent scientific panel appointed by the ABC's new Managing Director, Mark Scott. The report found that the incidence of breast cancer among women working at the ABC in Brisbane was around six times higher than expected. The chances of this being a statistical fluke were put at "one in a million''. Mr Scott says, "breast cancer clusters like this hadn't been found anywhere else in the world.'' He recalls that when he first heard the statistic he had to check that he was hearing correctly. But no on-site cause could be found at the time, although investigations are continuing. Australian Story has the personal stories of the women who say their long campaign against the site has been justified. The program - comprising two episodes - looks at the medical and scientific mystery that remains and the possible implications for women everywhere.
Episode 7
30 mins
Brian and Nerida Egan lost their farm, near Dalby in southern Queensland, from a combination of drought and post traumatic stress syndrome caused by disturbing events he witnessed as a young serviceman in the 1960s. Brian spent a year in Brisbane's Greenslopes Hospital for veterans before a remark from a psychologist led to a remarkable turnaround. "Go and find somebody worse off than you are, and see if you can help them," he was told. The comment galvanised Brian and he decided, with his wife Nerida, to start a charity to take practical help right to the farm gate. He called it "Aussie Helpers''. The charity has given away half a million dollars worth of drought aid in the last financial year and even won support from a foundation in the US set up by Hollywood legend Paul Newman. Brian Egan no longer takes medication for depression and says he has 'never been happier'.
Episode 8
30 mins
Jan Ruff-O'Herne told her shocking story on Australian Story in 2001 - a secret that took her 50 years to come to terms with before finally, she revealed it in a letter to her two daughters. An idyllic childhood in Java was brought to an abrupt end by the Japanese occupation during Word War Two. Aged 21, she was taken from her family and repeatedly abused, beaten and raped - forced to be a sex slave for the Japanese military. The term coined for this brutal sex slavery was 'comfort woman'. But since revealing her 'uncomfortable truth' Jan Ruff-O'Herne's suffering has been transformed into something affirmative. In February this year, this 84-year-old Adelaide grandmother made the long journey to testify before Congress in Washington DC. The Congressional hearing was the pinnacle in her 15-year global campaign to seek justice for 'comfort women'. Now six years since Australian Story first aired her story, Jan Ruff-O'Herne feels she is one step closer to finally achieving her ultimate goal.
Episode 9
30 mins
Episode 10
30 mins
Almost a year ago, television viewers around the world were transfixed by the race against time to rescue miners trapped a kilometre underground at Beaconsfield in Tasmania. Now Matthew Gill, the manager who ran the mine and coordinated the rescue, is leaving. He talks candidly to Australian Story about the rescue and reveals the personal toll. Key members of his rescue team also speak out for the first time. They include the men who, five days after the Anzac Day rock fall, discovered Todd Russell and Brant Webb. After 12 months of uncertainty, safety regulators have just announced their approval for the resumption of gold mining at Beaconsfield. The program has exclusive photos of the rescuers underground and reveals just how far they went in their bid to free their mates.
Episode 11
30 mins
The job of foreign minister is one of the most coveted in any government. Alexander Downer has held the job throughout the Howard years, but it has never been more gruelling and controversial than it is now.Australian Story producer Belinda Hawkins gained unprecedented access to those at the centre of power here, in Washington, and in Indonesia. To prepare the two-part documentary, Australian Story filmed behind the scenes with Mr Downer, his family and his entourage during a tumultuous few weeks that ended in disaster in an Indonesian field when Garuda flight 200 crashed killing 21 people including five Australians. Some of those who died included journalists and officials who had been working closely with Mr Downer and who were well known to him. The documentary observes the Minister as he deals with the unfolding tragedy.
Episode 12
30 mins
The job of foreign minister is one of the most coveted in any government. Alexander Downer has held the job throughout the Howard years, but it has never been more gruelling and controversial than it is now. Australian Story producer Belinda Hawkins gained unprecedented access to those at the centre of power here, in Washington, and in Indonesia. To prepare the two-part documentary, Australian Story filmed behind the scenes with Mr Downer, his family and his entourage during a tumultuous few weeks that ended in disaster in an Indonesian field when Garuda flight 200 crashed killing 21 people including five Australians. Some of those who died included journalists and officials who had been working closely with Mr Downer and who were well known to him. The documentary observes the Minister as he deals with the unfolding tragedy.
Episode 13
30 mins
Doctor and inventor Max Whisson has always taken a different view of life from most people. Where the majority would see a glass of water on a table, he would see 'a mathematical calculation for a vessel that holds liquid'. He believes he can solve the current water crisis with his Water Windmill invention, a unique technology to extract moisture from the atmosphere - partly inspired by a little beetle called Stenocara. The energetic septuagenarian's mind is always in overdrive, pursuing a multitude of interests from music to politics and biology and coming up with weird and wonderful ideas to make the world a better place. At the height of the AIDs epidemic in the 80s, he invented a retractable hypodermic needle. And he's gathering enthusiasm for his water windmills from all corners of the globe.
Episode 14
30 mins
Australian Story lifts the lid on a clash of ideologies over the future of some of the most spectacular and pristine areas of Cape York. Aboriginal leaders Noel and Gerhardt Pearson claim their own conservation record speaks for itself. But they say former allies in the green movement have sidelined the needs of Indigenous people of the Cape in a struggle over the region's rivers. At issue is Queensland Government legislation designed to conserve "wild rivers", including 14 rivers on the Cape. The Pearsons accuse The Wilderness Society and the Queensland Government of riding roughshod over indigenous interests, and putting at risk the pressing economic, social and health needs of Aboriginal people. The Queensland Government says it is seeking a balanced outcome. The Wilderness Society says it recognises the needs of Aboriginal people but the conservation issues are of global significance.
Episode 15
30 mins
Australian Story this week asks the question of how far someone should reasonably go to save the life of a perfect stranger. Ash Falkingham is a young Sydney man who's decided to go to Canada to donate his kidney to a seriously ill woman he's only just met. Since his mother found out, she's been desperately trying to stop the surgery. Ash is a member of a controversial group called the Jesus Christians. Nineteen of its 30 members have already donated a kidney, leading to them being labelled 'The Kidney Cult'. They regard kidney donation as the ultimate expression of their goal to follow the words of Jesus and to live selflessly. But Ash's mother, Kate Croft, believes her son is being pressured by the group to follow suit. Meanwhile in Canada, the woman to whom Ash intends to donate, is in worsening health. Her brother has already died from the same kidney disease and she will have to go on dialysis soon if she doesn't receive a new kidney.
Episode 16
30 mins
This week, Australian Story returns to the story of boot maker turned classical singer, Peter Brocklehurst. Brocklehurst developed a big following after appearing on the program four years ago. He released a top-selling CD, appeared at the Sydney Opera House and was feted in the press. His manager was certain he was on the brink of a major international breakthrough. But behind the scenes Brocklehurst was dragging his feet and struggling with old demons dating back to a traumatic and tragic childhood event. As we meet him again, we find he has one last chance to recapture some of the magic that once absorbed audiences around the nation...
Episode 17
30 mins
Australian Story chronicles the life of John Wall, a man who's been described as the 'fastest baby boomer on earth'. Born in Dublin and raised in Hong Kong by parents who were both prisoners of war, Wall had a cosmopolitan childhood and spoke mainly Chinese until he was eight. His started his working life in the film industry on productions with stars like Steve McQueen and Sir Richard Attenborough. Arriving in Australia in the late 1960's he worked in film, television and advertising and travelled the world extensively. He was one of the first Westerners into the Killing Fields in Kampuchea. Wall's eldest son, Sean Wall, became a heroin addict, and despite great support from the Salvation Army, died from an overdose. John Wall's song, thanking the Salvos for their help, was used as the theme music for the 1998 Red Shield advertising campaign. Wall had been a champion sprinter in his youth until he contracted tuberculosis. After Sean's death he returned to athletics. In 2006 he was ranked number one in the world in the 60 - 65 age group for both the 100m and 200m. His goal now is to win Gold at the World Masters Games in Italy in September and inspire other 'ageing' Australians to fitness and good health. He says age is no barrier to achieving your goals.
Episode 18
30 mins
Australian Story takes a second look at the unlikely friendship between multi-billionaire Irish-American philanthropist Chuck (Charles) Feeney and the late tennis great Ken Fletcher - an association that has benefited all Australians through groundbreaking medical research projects. In 1988 Forbes Magazine included Feeney in the top 20 of its 400 richest people list. In 1997 Chuck Feeney was a runner up for Time Magazine's person of the year after it was revealed he'd given almost his entire fortune over to a charitable trust. Over the past 20 years Atlantic Philanthropies has awarded grants totalling more than three billion dollars - and accumulated assets of four billion - all of which is intended to be spent by 2020. Chuck Feeney is intensely private. He wears a five dollar watch, flies economy and maintains a very modest lifestyle. Until he spoke with Australian Story in 2006, he had never spoken on television before. He says he agreed to be interviewed by Australian Story because of his affection and regard for the late Ken Fletcher - the friend who was instrumental in bringing Feeney and his philanthropy to Australia. Feeney befriended Fletcher in the 1960s in Hong Kong, where Fletcher was living after being banned from the Australian Davis Cup team because he joined a players' rebellion against the Australian Lawn Tennis Association. Feeney had just started an airport duty free shop in Hong Kong. Over the next 30 years he and his business partner held shares in more than 2000 stores - amassing huge personal wealth. Charles Feeney is also credited with playing a key role in the peace talks in Ireland in the 1990's- with Gerry Adams crediting Feeney as one of the main players in trying to put a peace process together. Because of their close friendship, Fletcher introduced Feeney to Australia and in particular his hometown of Brisbane. Feeney was so charmed by the Queensland capital he now spends three months of every year here. So far he has given more than $200 million to Australian medical research institutes and universities, making him Australia's most generous philanthropist.
Episode 19
30 mins
Broadcaster and media personality Mikey Robins has made a successful career from making Australians laugh. The big man of radio is regarded as a formidable comic - sharp-witted, incisive and highly intelligent. No subject escaped his attention - including poking fun at his own size and playing the happy fat man. But as Australian Story reveals this week, the bulky funny man had a vulnerable side. Now a slimmer, happier man, since laparoscopic surgery to fit a stomach band, Mikey Robins gives a strikingly candid, no-holds-barred account of his journey to morbid obesity and back.
Episode 20
30 mins
Fifteen months on from the Beaconsfield mining disaster in Tasmania, the family of dead miner Larry Knight is still waiting for answers about why he died. Larry's brother Shane - also a miner - talks exclusively to Australian Story about his personal search for an explanation into his brother's death. What he's found is not reassuring: a state with a history of deaths underground, and with other bereaved families who are frustrated by the lack of a clear inquiry process into miners' deaths. "All those men that have been killed, we are not going to bring Larry back, but hopefully we can put enough pressure on the system so that this doesn't happen next year to some other family," Mr Knight said.
Episode 21
30 mins
Australian Story covers the climax of a murder case that has divided the community and challenged the justice system. The case first featured on the program last year in a three-part program called Beyond Reasonable Doubt. After eight years, one inquest and two trials, three young men were convicted in Western Australia last year of the murder of Phillip Walsham. There it might have ended, but for the efforts of Mirella Scaramella, the girlfriend of one of the convicted men, Sam Fazzari. She was determined to fight the verdict and with the help of a group of prominent QCs - most of them working pro bono - an appeal was launched earlier this year. Last week the WA Court of Appeal overturned the men's convictions on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to sustain a guilty verdict. But the Appeal Court's decision has generated fresh controversy and divided opinion in the WA community. Mirella Scaramella's role has drawn praise from some quarters - but anger from Mr Walsham's parents and many others who continue to blame the three former inmates.
Episode 22
30 mins
The story of the much admired singer and actor Belinda Emmett told through the eyes of her closest circle of family and friends. Belinda Emmett's family speaks publicly for the first time since her death from cancer in November 2006. Belinda's husband Rove McManus is interviewed, as are her parents, her best friend and her musical collaborators. The program features extracts from the candid and often humorous video diary that Belinda kept over a number of years to document her experiences. The home video footage, along with the recollections of family and friends, reveal a multi dimensional human being with many more facets than the media stereotype of 'brave Belinda', which made her uncomfortable at times. Belinda's family says they have decided to tell her story now because of their concern that she was being "defined by her cancer when she was so much more".
Episode 23
30 mins
Monday's program is about worlds apart and a daughter's struggles with conflicting loyalties. Lyndall Hobbs left her family in Melbourne at the age of 20. She became a television reporter, notably on Mike Willesee's 'A Current Affair', and interviewed many of the biggest names of the era from Mohammed Ali to the Sex Pistols. She moved to London and then on to Hollywood. She established a directing career, working with Rowan Atkinson among others, before starting a seven-year relationship with Al Pacino. Settling in Los Angeles she raised a daughter, Lola from an early marriage to Chris Thompson, comedy writer/producer credited with having discovered Tom Hanks, and a son, Nick, adopted during her time with Pacino. When her ageing war veteran father became unwell back home in Australia, she faced a dilemma familiar to many baby boomers. Norman Hobbs was a Spitfire pilot and Changi veteran and in the end it was his values of love and sacrifice - and her need to honour his story - that drew her home.
Episode 24
30 mins
Early one morning, in December 2005, the lives of two drunken youths intersected for a few moments. The result was devastating. One was soon dead. The other faced a murder charge. The evidence was clear. The attack was unprovoked. There were witnesses and there was a confession. All that remained was for Jonathan Little to face trial for killing David Stevens. But Jonathan Little was acquitted. He walked from court a free man with an unblemished record. Australian Story follows the journey of David Stevens' sister as she gathers herself up from her initial anger and distress at the verdict. Families of victims of homicide are now mobilising and helping to lead a two-pronged attack to change the law and educate the community. As the campaign gains traction, there's a sudden twist. Jonathan Little finds himself in court again.
Episode 26
30 mins
In 1992 Graham Stafford was convicted of the brutal murder of a Brisbane schoolgirl. Stafford was the last person to see 12-year-old Leanne Holland alive and police were quick to charge him with the schoolgirl's murder. Despite the compelling body of evidence presented against him during the trial, a broad-based group of professionals, who had never met Stafford, joined forces to clear his name. The group - which includes a former detective, journalist, criminologist and the original jury foreman - believes that much of the evidence used to convict Graham Stafford was seriously flawed. Former detective-turned-private investigator Graeme Crowley has spent the past 15 years unravelling the Crown's evidence. Whilst initially employed by the Stafford family, Graeme Crowley has continued to pursue the case doggedly at his own expense. In this episode of Australian Story - the first of two parts - Graeme Crowley reveals the results of his research.
Episode 27
30 mins
This week's Australian Story concludes the two-part program looking into the 1991 murder of 12-year-old Leanne Holland and the subsequent conviction of Graham Stafford. Despite the compelling body of evidence presented against Graham Stafford during his trial, a broad-based group of professionals has joined forces to clear his name. The group, led by former Queensland detective Graeme Crowley, believes that critical evidence used to convict Graham Stafford was seriously flawed. In this week's episode, support for Graham Stafford's case emerges from surprising quarters. Prison guards who knew him in jail speak publicly for the first time in a show of support. The jury foreman from the original trial outlines why he is now convinced of Graham Stafford's innocence. A forensic scientist whose evidence helped convict Graham Stafford now declares that she believes Graham Stafford was wrongly convicted. And a forensic entomologist dismisses a key piece of evidence in Graham Stafford's conviction - the presence of a single maggot in the boot of his car - as an "impossible" scenario. Ex-policeman Graeme Crowley also reveals the results of his 15-year investigation into who he believes killed Leanne Holland.
Episode 28
30 mins
For three decades, Catherine Smith cared for her six children and put up with sadistic domestic violence that has been described as one of the most extreme examples ever witnessed in Australia.
Episode 29
30 mins
Fifteen years ago, Peter Couche was a successful stockbroker enjoying a happy marriage, a young family and an exciting future. But all that changed in the blink of an eye when he suffered a catastrophic stroke. Aged just 42, Peter Couche was faced with rebuilding his life with nothing left but his mind. His body was completely paralysed. Despite these hurdles he achieved the near impossible. Following his divorce, he moved out of institutionalised care and set up a new business newsletter at home, communicating with the world using just one finger and a computer keyboard. And then he tracked down the love of his life and convinced her to marry him. Against all odds, Peter Couche has survived and prospered. And he's recently published a book Lifelines about his experiences: a book that took 13 years to write. Australian actor William McInnes helps narrate Peter Couche's
Episode 30
30 mins
Jane Hansen lived a charmed life. She channelled all the opportunities of her generation - education, challenge and adventure - into a successful career as a television journalist. A life covering news-breaking events around the world was always going to sit uneasily with her desire to have a family. By her mid-30s, she'd done enough stories on declining female fertility to realise it was now or never. But her move to try for a baby coincided with a traumatic work episode. An interview went horribly wrong when the subject committed suicide. Devastated and guilt stricken, Jane found herself in the media's unforgiving spotlight. Ten years on her struggle on the road to motherhood has seen her confront every parent's worst nightmare. When Jane Hansen's baby was born three months premature, she faced a fear far worse than anything thrown at her from a war zone.
Episode 31
30 mins
When Australian Story first met teenage fiction author John Marsden in 2002 he was suffering writers block and had given up full-time teaching. Frustrated with the traditional school system and the obsession for control in the classroom, he began channelling his energy into student writing camps at his vast Victorian property. Out of the writing camps came a much bigger ambition. As a challenge to the long-held beliefs of what makes good learning, Marsden decided to start his own school. Candlebark opened in January 2006 and is the antithesis to the concrete schoolyards of Marsden's childhood. The driving philosophy is that children should be adventurous academically, socially and physically. The school has only one rule - no student can exclude another. Although Candlebark is a powerful challenge to the theories of traditional education, the jury is still out on whether the school's approach works. Celebrated as one of Australia's best authors for young people - he's sold over three million books - Marsden's new mission to inspire and challenge the next generation has given him a fresh passion for teaching.
Episode 32
30 mins
The man described as the greatest goal kicker in the history of Australian rugby league reveals the secrets to his success. Hazem El Masri, Canterbury Bulldogs winger and one of Australia's few Islamic sporting stars, speaks for the first time about the prayer he utters just before lining up a kick. "It's pretty much a connection between me and God, and asking God to hopefully make it easier for me," he says. El Masri grew up in Tripoli during the Lebonese civil war before moving to Australia with his family at the age of 11. Since rising to prominence on the sporting field, El Masri has become a reluctant role model for Lebanese youth in Sydney's south western suburbs. But he also found himself entangled in controversy when members of his team were accused of raping a young woman at Coffs Harbour. And again when a confrontation developed with police who he claimed were harassing him because of his race. He says he is worried about what it will be like for his children to grow up in a place where many people perceive all Lebanese to be criminals and rapists and has not ruled out leaving his adopted country in the future. Well-known for fiercely guarding his privacy, Hazem El Masri has granted Australian Story rare access to his private life and the people closest to him.
Episode 33
30 mins
This story is about a group of mates who may just be the unlikeliest ever contributors to the proud history of aviation in Australia. Steve Wilson and Gary Dean are a couple of Queensland tradesmen with no background in the flying industry apart from a boyhood obsession with 'Biggles'. Somehow, against huge odds and on shoestring funding, they've managed to develop a new plane entirely from scratch - and open a new market for Australia. To do it, the two rank amateurs had to recruit a genuine legend of the industry.
Episode 34
30 mins
This story is about a group of Vietnam veterans who've gone far beyond their original tour of duty. Operation Aussies Home was set up with a virtually impossible mission: to find and retrieve the bodies of six fallen comrades abandoned when Australia pulled out of Vietnam in 1973. Inspired by the American example of retrieving missing in action soldiers whenever possible, Jim Bourke pulled together a team to find the remains of Peter Gillson and Richard 'Tiny' Parker who'd disappeared during a fierce firefight in 1965. Against all odds, the team finally achieved their detective mission. Earlier this year, after weeks of fruitless searching and at the end of their tether, the men found a weapons pit containing the bodies. Finally, the families of the men could lay the bodies to rest and make their peace. And the veterans could honour their lost mates.
Episode 35
30 mins
Australian Story continues the story of a group of Vietnam veterans who set out to find and retrieve the bodies of six fallen comrades abandoned beyond enemy lines nearly 40 years ago. They call themselves Operation Aussies Home and last week we saw them finally recover the remains of two men: Richard Parker and Peter Gillson - and provide closure for the families of the dead men. But with more comrades still to find, they encountered unexpected resistance over the case of a soldier called John Gillespie. His family wanted nothing to do with Operation Aussies Home. Searching for remains meant digging up bad memories of 1971 when Gillespie died in a medivac helicopter crash in the Long Hai Mountains, not far from Saigon. Gillespie's sister Christine had been fervently opposed to the Australian involvement in the Vietnam War and time had done nothing to quell her anger. For the diggers this rejection was nothing short of devastating. It forced some to question the whole reasoning behind what they had spent five years and a lot of their own money doing. For leader Jim Bourke, it looked like the end to Operation Aussies Home. And then a turnaround. We follow Gillespie's sister on a most extraordinary journey to the site where her brother died and we witness the coming together of ideological foes. Both Christine Gillespie and Jim Bourke emerge vastly changed by the experience in a country that continues to confound all who visit it.
Episode 36
30 mins
Nine years ago, Victorian park ranger Sean Willmore was awarded a bravery medal for trying to save a drowning man off Wilsons Promontory in the state's southeast. Now the 35-year-old has become a hero of a different kind. His documentary 'The Thin Green Line', which examines the often dangerous work of park rangers in six continents, premiered simultaneously in 50 countries. About 15,000 people world-wide watched the premier of Sean Willmore's film on International Rangers Day, July 31. Even State Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger got inspired and declared July 31 California State Park Ranger Day.
Episode 37
30 mins
Neil Jenman made a fortune in real estate before deciding to switch sides and act for consumers who'd fallen foul of the property market. It was a controversial move that won him as many enemies as it did friends. Jenman uses unorthodox methods to make his point - stalking the 'bad guys' for answers, often in the company of television cameras. But he has no regrets about his style. The adrenaline of the chase coupled with naming and shaming the perpetrators can, he says, lead to quick and effective results. Tonight's Australian Story goes beyond the exuberant public persona of Neil Jenman to explore the private forces that shaped such an unusual 'crusader'. With disarming candour he tells of his troubled relationship with his father - an encyclopaedia salesman turned millionaire, with questionable ethics. And he speaks of his regrets that he was unable to protect his mother against his father's violence. A born salesman, Neil Jenman has established himself as a self-styled consumers' hero.
Episode 38
30 mins
This Australian Story is about a woman universally credited with uncovering the truth about one of Australia's most notorious serial killers, Eric Cooke. Estelle Blackburn's detective work made legal history in Western Australia and resulted in the exoneration of two men who'd been wrongly convicted for murders now linked to Cooke. She won journalism's most prestigious award, a Walkley for her work. But what no one knew was that while Estelle Blackburn was engaged on her groundbreaking investigative onslaught, she was herself trapped in a relationship with a violent but persuasive psychopath. Her violent experiences at the hands of her former boyfriend and a series of extraordinary coincidences are now raising new questions about another notorious group of unsolved murders: the Claremont killings.
Episode 39
30 mins
This Australian Story is about a woman universally credited with uncovering the truth about one of Australia's most notorious serial killers, Eric Cooke. Estelle Blackburn's detective work made legal history in Western Australia and resulted in the exoneration of two men who'd been wrongly convicted for murders now linked to Cooke. She won journalism's most prestigious award, a Walkley for her work. But what no one knew was that while Estelle Blackburn was engaged on her groundbreaking investigative onslaught, she was herself trapped in a relationship with a violent but persuasive psychopath. Her violent experiences at the hands of her former boyfriend and a series of extraordinary coincidences are now raising new questions about another notorious group of unsolved murders: the Claremont killings.