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Australian Story Season 13 Episodes
Season 13 Episode Guide
39 Episodes 2008 - 2008
Episode 1
Hell or High Water
30 mins
The inside story of Ben Potts, the young Australian who sailed into worldwide controversy when he boarded a Japanese harpoon boat in the Southern Ocean. Potts and Briton Giles Lane, both members of the Sea Shepherd conservation group, were held for several days before being freed in a deal worked out by the Australian Government. Potts returned to Australia at the weekend after a month in Antarctic waters on board the Sea Shepherd vessel, the 'Steve Irwin'. On Australian Story, Potts along with his friends, family and cabin mates reveal surprising behind the scenes details of the dangerous drama for the first time...
Episode 2
That's What Friends Are For
30 mins
Fashion designers Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton (Sass and Bide) speak for the first time on television about the personal crisis that rocked their universe. Middleton and Clarke had the world at their feet and seemingly perfect personal lives as well. But twelve months ago, misfortune arrived from an unexpected quarter when Heidi Middleton was diagnosed with breast cancer the day after the birth of her second child. Faced with the ultimate challenge of juggling a business, family demands and gruelling cancer treatments, Heidi Middleton describes her journey in detail - and tells of the crucial friendships that sustained her throughout the past year. The program also includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Sass and Bide's recent appearance at New York fashion week.
Episode 3
The Candidate
30 mins
The wave that carried Kevin Rudd to victory last year left behind one of Labor's most conspicuous candidates. Nicole Cornes, former newspaper columnist, is married to an AFL legend. To the Labor party, she looked like an ideal candidate to challenge the Adelaide seat of Boothby in last year's federal election. But after a failed first press conference - for which the Labor Party admits she was woefully under prepared - she became an object of national ridicule. Pilloried in the media and fighting constant negative headlines, she pushed on in a daunting campaign to convince a dubious electorate. In this week's Australian Story, Nicole Cornes reveals, for the first time, a harrowing saga which was playing out behind the scenes of her very public humiliation.
Episode 4
Nothing But the Truth
30 mins
One of Sydney's best known and most colourful barristers is profiled on Australian Story this week. Charles Waterstreet, also a film producer, writer and partner of a string of high profile women, reveals that he battled depression and alcoholism for many years. 'Saint Augustine was my role model. That is I could commit every sin imaginable and still be saved... now I'm waiting to be saved', he says. He suffered a nervous breakdown in 1996 after being sued over a property dispute by his former partner, actor Kate Fitzpatrick. After recovering, he used his legal skills to investigate the death of his mother in 1967, an event that scarred him. He discovered that she had died of chloral hydrate poisoning after being prescribed 10 times the recommended dose. His recollections about growing up in a pub in Albury have been turned into two best-selling books. Now the actor and director Richard Roxburgh is developing a television series based loosely on Charles Waterstreet's life.
Episode 5
Take It to the Limit
30 mins
Speed skier and Paralympian gold medalist Michael Milton clocked more than 213 kilometres an hour to win the coveted title of the fastest Australian skier ever. When those accolades weren't enough he trained his sights on the velodrome, giving himself just two years to learn how to cycle and compete in the Beijing Paralympics. Michael's world of extreme sport becomes all the more impressive when you learn he's achieved these awards with just one leg after losing the other to bone cancer as a child. But just as he locked down his career as a legendary athlete - and found contentment at home - another extreme challenge appeared from a very unwelcome quarter. Now Michael Milton faces the supreme test of his life...
Episode 6
None Shall Sleep
30 mins
A mysterious death, a determined ex cop and one of the nation's oldest cold cases... Thirty one years ago the body of World War II veteran Hughie Wilson was discovered by the side of a road in Colac in regional Victoria. Peter Goonan was the young policeman called to the scene. A coroner's inquest at the time recorded an open verdict. Peter Goonan was accused by some townspeople and police colleagues of being an overzealous 'new broom' in town. After Mr Wilson's death, he was dogged by 'malicious rumours' connected to the death. Mr Goonan and his family moved north to Queensland but he could never forget what had happened in Colac. Finally the Ethical Standards Division of the Victorian police re-opened the investigation. Last year, the remains of Hughie Wilson were exhumed and investigators are now turning their attention to what is said to be credible evidence that a police car was involved in the death...
Episode 7
Bomber and Roy
30 mins
Brisbane grandparents Tony 'Bomber' Bower-Miles and Roy Chamberlain are not living out their golden years quietly. Instead they're making peace with their past lives by detonating Cambodian landmines with nothing but the bare basics: dental probes, pliers, skill and the help of former boy soldier and local mine clearer extraordinaire, Aki Ra. Like many Vietnam veterans, Bomber and Roy were traumatised by their experiences. After a chance meeting in a psychiatric ward three years ago, they teamed up to help deactivate landmines in one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. Spurred on by the thanks of amputee children, the men are now going strong. Roy says, 'I feel worth something now. It's completed a circle for me. I can actually give something back.'
Episode 8
Access All Areas
30 mins
Legendary rock music promoter Michael Chugg reveals the quiet man behind his loud shirts and even louder voice in Access All Areas. Michael Chugg has been a key figure in the Australian rock music industry since the late 1960s, responsible for bringing international acts like Robbie Williams and Elton John to our shores and managing artists including Richard Clapton.Australian Story goes backstage with 'Chuggie' at a series of concerts over six months with Elton John (who introduces the program), Crowded House, Barnsey, Missy Higgins, John Butler, Toni Collette and others. Chugg is famous for his chain smoking and on-stage rants full of profanities - which feature in the colourful opening of tonight's program. The tirade will almost certainly set a new record for the most F-words aired on ABC TV at 8pm.
Episode 9
Father of the Man
30 mins
The consequences of the traumatic death of Steve Irwin are still unfolding in unexpected ways. Certainly the world wide fascination with the Irwin legend and with Australia Zoo is undiminished . Bob Irwin is the father of Steve Irwin. By all accounts he's always been a very private man. Now, at the age of 68, he's left the Zoo he started 35 years ago. Bob Irwin's been under intense pressure to respond to recent international and domestic media speculation about a family rift. Finally, he is telling his story...
Episode 10
It's a Beautiful Day
30 mins
Twenty four year-old banking analyst, Jessica Disteldorf is beautiful, witty and smart. But she's caught in a race against time to find the man of her dreams, settle down and start a family. Jessica Disteldorf's life ambitions are no different from those of many Gen Y-ers. But she faces daunting odds. Jessica has cancer and doctors say it's terminal. Jessica began documenting her journey with a video diary for Australian Story that captures the raw, powerful and sometimes amusing twists and turns of her life. Australian Story viewers first met Jessica well before she was diagnosed, on a high school research trip to the killing fields of Gallipoli. The resulting program, 'Carve their Names with Pride' became one of the program's best loved episodes. Six years later, the program caught up with her again as a 23 year-old. Between the first program and this one, Jessica had survived a rare form of cancer and been told she was completely cured...
Episode 11
Woman of Steel
30 mins
Riding instructor Anne Skinner isn't meant to be alive. She spent years teaching children with disabilities the joy and therapeutic values of horse riding. A freak car accident made her the first person to survive such extensive spinal and pelvic injuries. An Australian surgeon needed to invent a world-first metal bolt device to enable her just to walk again. After a total of twenty operations and three months spent re-learning how to walk, Anne returned home and eventually, back into the saddle and back into competitive riding. On the path to the Beijing Paralympics, she crossed paths with Queensland horse, Cossack, who had also survived a harrowing car accident. Having both cheated death, this unlikely pairing has produced a unique chemistry.
Episode 12
Friday's Child
30 mins
On Friday, 2 November 2007 Channel Ten announced that a hugely popular member of its on air team would not be reading the news from Sydney that night. Charmaine Dragun was a rising star who seemed to everything to live for - a brilliant career and secret plans to marry her boyfriend on her 30th birthday on Good Friday. But at 29, Charmaine Dragun drove to 'The Gap' in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and jumped to her death. She had been receiving treatment for depression and her family says she had recently changed her medication... The tragedy shocked all those who knew her. Her family, partner and close friends speak for the first time as part of the process of trying to make sense of what happened and in the hope that Charmaine's story may help others.
Episode 13
Show of Force: Part 1
30 mins
Australia has a proud history of entertainers visiting war zones to lift the morale of our troops. On the face of it, a tour of Afghanistan and Iraq would not appeal to everyone. But this program is about a group of entertainers who did step forward to sign up for the journey. They were rewarded with the ride of a lifetime. Warning: This program contains coarse language.
Episode 14
Show of Force: Part 2
30 mins
The team heads into Iraq and experiences a frightening trip along the infamous Route Irish in Baghdad, where six people are killed that day. This is followed by a spot of golf on the top floor balcony of one of Saddam Hussein's bombed out palaces. The final gig is a farewell concert for Australian troops who will be pulled out of Iraq in June. Everyone belts out the unofficial anthem of the defence force, The Angels' Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again to the Iraqi sky.
Episode 15
The Sum of Sam
30 mins
A few years ago, 'Secret Life of Us' actor Samuel Johnson was one of the rising stars of the Australian film and TV industry. He was dubbed 'Mr Everywhere Man'. Then, as suddenly as he had appeared, he disappeared. Johnson's career and personal life went into well publicised free fall in 2005 after the final series of 'The Secret Life of Us'. In his first television interview since the sudden death of his girlfriend, Samuel Johnson talks about the turmoil of the last three years - and his life changing involvement with Open Family Australia, a charity that works with vulnerable young people. He was one of the key drivers of an Open Family project that recently took eleven young people on a retreat for a crash course in film-making and a journey of emotional self discovery and personal expression.
Episode 16
Body and Soul
30 mins
How far should someone go to save the life of a perfect stranger?Body and Soul revisits the tense triangle involving a young man, his mother and a stranger from half-way across the world, who wants one of his kidneys... Ashwyn Falkingham, 23, is a member of the Jesus Christians, a group labelled the 'kidney cult' because its members donate kidneys as a way of helping others. In May last year, Falkingham travelled to Canada to donate his kidney to a woman, Sandi Sabloff, he 'met' on the internet. But surgery was cancelled when his parents alleged he was being coerced. Falkingham and Sabloff met again in March, this time at a clinic in Cyprus, for a second attempt at the transplant. But, just before the surgery is due to start, his mother suddenly arrives from Australia...
Episode 17
Show No Mercy
30 mins
At fourteen, schoolgirl Candice Falzon became Australia's youngest-ever professional ironwoman. During controversial teenage years, the young champion from Maroubra Beach in Sydney gained a media profile for her private life as much as her sport - and a reputation for being ambitious, competitive and strong-willed. By April 2007, Falzon's reputation was in tatters after media reports that she had been photographed with rugby league star, Sonny Bill Williams, in the toilet cubicle of a Sydney hotel. Daily Telegraph Editor David Penberthy, who is interviewed for the program, says it became the most read story on the paper's website for about six months. Now aged 23, Candice Falzon confronts her critics and reveals the personal cost of public ridicule.
Episode 18
The Boy Next Door
30 mins
How do you mourn the death of your daughter while holding the hand of her killer? When Jody Galante was reported missing in January 2006, her grief-stricken husband Mark appeared on national television pleading for help in finding his young, pregnant wife. But other family members were struck by the fact that his tears weren't real and his sorrow seemed a sham. When Jody's body was found one week later, NSW Police confirmed that they were investigating a murder... but how to catch the killer...
Episode 19
Abby's Road
30 mins
How far should you go to save your child's life? Two years ago Nicola and Jim Walker got the news every parent dreads. Their precious two-year-old daughter, Abby was diagnosed with leukaemia. When told they may lose her, the Walkers came up with an unusual solution. They decided to have another child, in the hope that a new life will save their daughter. But will 'the saviour child' stem cells work?
Episode 20
The Waiting Room
30 mins
Two years ago, the very different journeys of a brilliant doctor and her former patient collided tragically during a busy shift at a GP clinic in the Melbourne suburbs. The smashed front door of the medical centre was the visible reminder of the crime that took the life of Dr Khulod Maarouf-Hassan. She was stabbed more than thirty times in a frenzied attack in her own consulting suite by a mentally ill Sudanese refugee called Samuel Benjamin. For the first time family and friends of Dr Maarouf-Hassan tell her story... from her homeland in Syria, to a milk bar on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, to life as an outstandingly popular GP in a culturally diverse suburb. Medical colleagues speak out about the warning signs they say were ignored. And members of the Sudanese community, and relatives of Samuel Benjamin, trace his tragic path to the surgery.
Episode 21
William Tells
30 mins
Acclaimed actor and author William McInnes turns the tables on Australian Story in an irreverent, 'behind the scenes' look at this own life and the filming process. McInnes was the subject of a very popular episode of the program in 2005. From a comfy armchair in his eccentric Melbourne warehouse, McInnes provides an update on his own life story, along with his unique brand of commentary on what it's like to be the subject of an Australian Story episode. Caroline Jones warns 'Once he got started, there was simply no stopping him. Nothing was off limits, and no-one either. I suppose we did ask for it...'.
Episode 22
She's Not There
30 mins
This program deconstructs one of the most devastating moments in Australia's Olympic history. When Sally Robbins stopped rowing in the final of the Women's 8s in Athens, it started a controversy that continues to this day. Four years on, the other women in the boat are finally breaking their long silence...
Episode 23
No Man's Land
30 mins
Descended from a legend, raised by a single mum and groomed by a powerful man, can Queensland Premier Anna Bligh now make history in her own right? We follow Anna Bligh from the Cabinet Room to the lounge room - from finalising the State Budget to washing out her sons' 'stinky socks' and juggling family responsibilities. Critics, close family and friends also have their say about a woman who is being carefully watched as she tries to establish her 'different' brand of leadership.
Episode 24
The Money Shot
30 mins
When Nicole Kidman gave birth to a baby girl in Nashville earlier this month, she may have been relieved to be several thousand kilometres away from the long lens of Sydney paparazzo Jamie Fawcett. As the self-styled 'Prince of Paparazzi', Jamie Fawcett has established a prominent profile in a tough and often controversial business. Over the last three years he's been embroiled in legal battles resulting from his pursuit of Ms Kidman. Tonight on Australian Story, Jamie Fawcett is facing his critics, and speaking openly for the first time since his latest courtroom drama.
Episode 25
Looking for Kate
30 mins
For someone who's been on our TV screens every night for twenty years, little is known about two time Gold Logie winner and Most Popular Actress, Kate Ritchie. Australians know more about the coming of age, the turmoil and the triumphs of her Home and Away character, Sally Fletcher, than the girl who portrayed her. For the past four months, an ABC Australian Story crew has been following Ritchie at pivotal moments in her life and career: She shares how agonising it was saying goodbye to Sally, and reveals what it's like to live an unscripted life, as just 'Kate'.
Episode 26
This Boy's Life
30 mins
Five years ago Australian Story featured the journey of Jenny Newman and her family. This week we revisit the Melbourne grandmother to find that her worst fear is being realised. In 2001, baby Beanca Newman was killed by her mother, Rebecca Mae Haliday and her boyfriend Daniel Green. It was a case that shocked even the judge who described the abuse as 'unimaginable cruelty'. Haliday and Green were jailed for six years for manslaughter. After Beanca's death, Newman spent her savings on legal fees to secure full custody of Beanca's older brother Chris. Chris, now nine, is severely autistic and hasn't uttered a word since his grandmother rescued him. Now, five years later, Chris's mother Rebecca Mae Haliday is out of jail, and pregnant again.
Episode 27
It's Not Easy Being Green
30 mins
Bill McHarg had it all. As the Victorian Chairman and one of the founders of Colliers International, a hugely successful global property firm, he wielded enormous power and influence. Last November Bill McHarg told the company that he was about to do something 'outrageous'. And sure enough he was. Frustrated by what he viewed as the Federal Government's lack of action on climate change, he launched a guerrilla-style attack against the former Prime Minister John Howard, in his seat of Bennelong. What drove such a conventional man to do such unconventional things? And what happens when a member of the establishment takes up arms against one of their own?
Episode 28
Reality Bytes
30 mins
Daniel Meadows lives his life on the internet. Through his video diaries on YouTube, the shy young recluse has found friendship and fame. When love beckoned in the real world, Daniel Meadows left the security of his parent's home to follow his heart across the globe. But his American dream became a border security nightmare, sparking a frenzy of outraged vlogging and blogging around the world.
Episode 29
Til Death Do Us Part
30 mins
They say everybody has a breaking point. Catherine Smith is a mother of six. She endured sadistic violence on a scale described as being among the most extreme ever witnessed in Australia. In May this year she went on trial for the attempted murder of her husband and staggering details emerged that brought tears to the eyes of court officials. But, to this date, Kevin Smith is still a free man and it's not over for the Smith family.
Episode 30
The Finishing Line
30 mins
John Maclean was a footballer and aspiring professional athlete when he was hit from behind by an eight-tonne truck 20 years ago. With his back broken in three places, he was left a paraplegic. But he was determined to resume his sporting career and became the first wheelchair athlete to complete the Hawaii Ironman contest and to swim the English Channel. Now at age 42 John Maclean is having one last crack at his Paralympic dream having switched sports from wheelchair racing to rowing.
Episode 31
The Girl Least Likely
30 mins
Hannah Modra was beautiful, clever and popular. She came from a close-knit Melbourne family and was a committed Christian. But within the pages of her diary, she kept a secret that ultimately took her life.
Episode 32
A Piece of Her Mind
30 mins
They say politics is no career for the faint hearted and in the case of Federal Labor MP Belinda Neal that's just as well. A self described forthright woman, she's been accused of bullying, browbeating and worse and her marriage to NSW cabinet minister John Della Bosca has attracted unflattering scrutiny. It started in June when a night out at a restaurant triggered the so-called 'Iguana-gate' scandal and a police investigation. Two weeks ago Belinda Neal and John Della Bosca were told that no charges would be laid. In an exclusive interview Belinda Neal, joined by her husband, speaks about the events of the last few months, her reputation, and their marriage...
Episode 33
The Still of the Night
30 mins
Rebecka Delforce and Darren Stratti were primary school sweethearts. Life took them on different paths but when they met again as adults, they knew that they were meant to be together. Darren Stratti talked about 'falling in love twice' - once with Rebecka and again with her dream to build a children's village in Africa. In 2007, after four years of planning and fundraising, the couple moved to Tanzania to start putting up the buildings. But three months ago tragedy struck in an event that became headline news back home in Australia.
Episode 34
More Fireworks in the Family
30 mins
For nearly 90 years, the Howard name has been synonymous with spectacular fireworks displays around the world. Spanning four generations, the Sydney based dynasty is responsible for shows at the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games and international New Year's Eve celebrations. Eight years ago, Australian Story profiled the Howard family and found it was a house divided with two brothers running rival businesses after a bitter family feud. Now we revisit the dynasty to find much has changed, the death of a brother, the end of one company and the next generation forced to deal with the biggest challenge to the family business so far.
Episode 35
The Big Picture Man
30 mins
The man who's launched thousands of headlines always kept his personal life off limits, until now. In 'The Big Picture Man', Australian Story reveals the private life of sporting legend, Kevin Sheedy. After 40 years of either playing or coaching top level football, Sheedy was unceremoniously sacked as coach for Essendon Football Club in 2007. For the first time he talks candidly about leaving Essendon and the new goals he's kicking. His wife, Geraldine, and four children reveal what it's like living with a legend and the personal impact of his dismissal. This is a timely look at a man whose personal mantra, 'keep developing yourself', has been tested to the limit these past twelve months.
Episode 36
A Sea of Troubles
30 mins
What would drive a woman to blackmail a state premier? Merri Rose is a former politician who went from high school drop out, to cabinet minister, to prisoner in sensational circumstances. In May last year she was jailed for attempting to blackmail the then Queensland Premier Peter Beattie. She now lives a spartan life, on an island, as the partner of a fisherman. But Ms Rose - and even her family - still face imprisonment if they discuss the so called secret at the heart of the case. Despite what she calls her terror of being returned to jail, Merri Rose is speaking out for the first time.
Episode 37
Fruit of the Vine
30 mins
Earlier this year a massive explosion in a Hunter Valley winery killed owner Trevor Drayton and another man. William Rikard-Bell, Trevor's talented assistant winemaker, was walking just behind him when the explosion occurred. He survived by running to a nearby dam but was left with burns to eighty percent of his body. Reeling from the tragedy and unable to harvest any grapes, the family was unexpectedly saved by neighbours who came forward to harvest the crop.
Episode 38
A Letter from Richard Flanagan
30 mins
Richard Flanagan is a Rhodes Scholar, an adventurer, and an internationally acclaimed author. A hearing impediment meant he was 'virtually deaf' for the the first six years of his life. But at the age of seven he wrote a letter in which he predicted his own success as an author. Recently, he's been involved in helping to write the screenplay for the epic new Nicole Kidman-Hugh Jackman movie 'Australia'. But in his own home state of Tasmania, he's been accused of treachery because of his environmental activism. In the program, he talks about writing, campaigning to protect forests, and working with Baz Luhrmann on the keenly awaited 'Australia'. Singer Paul Kelly introduces the episode...
Episode 39
All the Boys in Town
30 mins
This rousing edition of Australian Story brings together some of the best known names in Australian rock music history - from Chrissy Amphlett to Jimmy Barnes to Neil Finn and Midnight Oil. The story centres on Rick Grossman who was a bass player for the The Divinyls when he became hooked on heroin. His decision to step back and get help came at a cost when the band quickly replaced him and moved on. Now drug free and playing with the Hoodoo Gurus, he's assembled an all-star cast of Australian musicians to produce a blockbusting fund raising CD to help 'The Buttery', the Northern New South Wales charity that helped him recover. Grossman's close friend Jimmy Barnes introduces this final Australian Story of 2008.