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40 Episodes 2010 - 2010
Episode 1
30 mins
Red Symons might be the funny 'bad guy' of radio and television, but appearances are deceptive. Behind the scenes Red Symons and his family have been on a journey with their eldest son Samuel that no one could wish for. It's a chapter they've kept out of the public spotlight until now. Australian Story producer Belinda Hawkins has known the Symons family for several years and, with their agreement, first started documenting Samuel's experiences two years ago...
Episode 2
30 mins
This program is about an unlikely alliance between a GP, a group of oyster farmers and a Sydney scientist. They banded together to investigate mysterious water quality issues in one of the most beautiful areas of Tasmania. Faced with what they saw as government indifference, local doctor Alison Bleaney and marine ecologist Dr. Marcus Scammell spent tens of thousands of their own money. What they eventually found was the very opposite of what they expected.
Episode 3
30 mins
Local doctor Alison Bleaney was concerned about rare cancers among her patients. Marine ecologist Marcus Scammell had been called in to investigate oyster mortality and deformities. At the same time, the Tasmanian Devil facial tumour disease was first found in the same small pocket of NE Tasmania. Was a connection remotely possible and was there a link to something in the water? Faced with what they saw as government indifference, Bleaney and Scammell launched a private investigation, paying out of their own pockets for expensive laboratory testing. They expected to find pesticide contamination. But they were wrong. Instead, it is suggested, they 'stumbled across' something as significant as it was unexpected. Part 2 of this program exclusively reveals the results of the detective work in laboratories here and overseas... and the worrying implications.
Episode 4
30 mins
Three orphans band together to take on the world. Introduced by world motor cycle champion Mick Doohan As a little boy, Glenn Scott dreamed of becoming a motorcycle champion... just like his heroes Mick Doohan and Casey Stoner. Bikes were a family obsession but it was a passion that led to tragedy six years ago when Glenn's parents were killed during a road trip on their motorbike. Glenn was only twelve at the time. His teenage siblings took over the tasks of raising the baby of the family and running their parents' nursery business near Sydney. To the astonishment of many, the Scott kids also continued to race motor bikes. Glenn won the Australian 125 championship and by the age of sixteen he was competing internationally. Then, with family funds threatening to run dry, eighteen year old Glenn lined up in Spain for the most important race of his life...
Episode 5
30 mins
Introduced by musician and mentor John Butler Lachlan McCarthy first came to John Butler's attention in 2005 when he applied for a grant from a seed fund run by the musician. Captivated by the then thirteen year old's application and the story behind it, Butler provided some much needed money for violin lessons. Five years later, Lachlan McCarthy's single-minded ambition to overcome the twin demons of poverty and the memory of a family tragedy led to him to become the first in his family to try and finish high school. His mother Cherie is doing all that she can to nurture his talent, but as Australian Story follows Lachlan through his final year at school, will his dream to study music at university survive tumultuous times?
Episode 6
30 mins
From Perth policeman to a life of high fashion and celebrity in New York, Russell James is one of the world's most influential fashion photographers. His work graces the covers of Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and Sports Illustrated and he counts amongst his friends designer Donna Karan, entrepreneur Richard Branson and former Australian of the Year Professor Fiona Stanley. But despite fame and the lure of celebrity, Russell James was struggling in his personal life. After a period of anguish and self reflection, he returned to Australia to work on an art collaboration with Aboriginal artist Clifton Bieundurry. During a trip to Clifton Bieundurry's home country, Russell James' personal interpretation of Prime Minister Rudd's apology to indigenous Australians led to the creation of a new and heartfelt project and the desire to make a difference where it counts.
Episode 7
30 mins
Episode 8
30 mins
Graham Stafford served almost fifteen years in jail for murdering a twelve year old girl - a crime he has always claimed he did not commit. Instead of quietly merging back into society upon his release four years ago, he has continued to argue his innocence and seek redress from the legal system that incarcerated him. He was supported by a diverse and determined band of followers who continued to question the evidence that originally convicted him. Graham Stafford made legal history when he became the first person to gain access to an Appeal Court in Queensland for an unprecedented third time. On Christmas Eve last year, the conviction was quashed and a retrial ordered... With his future again hanging in the balance, Graham Stafford is speaking out, exclusively and for the first time.
Episode 9
30 mins
What drives a young Sydney woman to drop her glamorous career in the film industry to open an orphanage in Cambodia? Tara Winkler was just twenty-two when she established the Cambodian Children's Trust in Cambodia. She is now 'mother', mentor and older sister to twenty-seven orphans, some as young as two. Her grandmother was a holocaust survivor and she strongly identified with the plight of children in a country still scarred by genocide. Tara Winkler's work has helped her overcome her own demons. As a teenager, she suffered depression, now she says she simply 'doesn't have time' to be depressed... PROGRAM EXTRAS
Episode 10
30 mins
It was described as possibly the most inept bank robbery of all time and it made headlines around the world. It happened some five years ago in the glamorous ski resort town of Vail in Colorado, USA. The perpetrators were two holidaying Australian teenagers - both from solid middle class homes. The stunt earned them the names 'Dumb and Dumber' and landed them straight in the penitentiary. Now, one of them, Anthony Prince, is back home in Byron Bay, much chastened and speaking for the first time. Also speaking out is the young woman who was behind the counter when it all happened...
Episode 11
30 mins
This week's program centres on the small township of Harcourt in Central Victoria. Two years ago the harmony of rural life was ripped apart after a fatal car accident involving five young friends. The crash was trauma enough for two grieving families. But what happened next made it a tragedy of epic proportions. This week, for the first time, family members are speaking out. This is the story of the Chaplins...
Episode 12
30 mins
In this program Australian swimming champion Meagen Nay reveals the story behind the toughest months of her young life. Meagen is the 21 year old daughter of Robert Nay, an Olympian and Ironman champion, who won gold at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch. Nay battled demons after he left the pool and lost his life in a car crash when Meagen was only three. Following his lead, Meagen soon became an elite swimmer too. She set a new Australian record for the 200 metre backstroke and a year ago she beat her friend Stephanie Rice in the 200 metre freestyle. Great hopes were held for her at last year's World Championships in Rome. But incredibly, history repeated itself and less than 24 hours before she was due to race Meagen learned that her only brother Amos had just been killed in a traffic accident. Meagen somehow completed a relay heat swim before flying home to bury her brother. For some time she considered giving up her sport... but the crucial Commonwealth Games trials in Sydney last month saw her re-emergence. Could she let go of the past, retrieve her form and make it onto the Games team?
Episode 13
30 mins
By his own admission, Chris 'Douggs' McDougall has lost at least fifty friends participating in the BASE jumping and skydiving sports he loves. The most confronting example was his girlfriend, who plunged to her death in front of him when her parachute failed to open on her 200th skydive. Despite these sobering losses, Chris 'Douggs' McDougall maintains he never feels responsible for anyone else's death and that the sport is well worth risking his life for. After winning the World BASE Jumping Championships in Malaysia in 2003, he went on to pioneer further death-defying feats, including the development of a dangerous cliff-tracking technique with a tiny margin for error. Today Chris 'Douggs' McDougall admits he's living on borrowed time - but having survived to age thirty-three, now says he expects to make it to eighty years old.
Episode 14
30 mins
In August 2008, Bundaberg photojournalist Nigel Brennan was kidnapped in Somalia, along with Canadian reporter Amanda Lindhout. The governments of both countries requested a media blackout as they began negotiations with the kidnappers, who were demanding a multi-million dollar ransom. By May 2009, all the attempts to rescue Nigel Brennan had collapsed. Increasingly desperate, his family took matters into their own hands and began to negotiate directly with the kidnappers. Australian Story followed the family exclusively throughout these negotiations. With Nigel Brennan's life at stake, his family navigated uncharted territory with just one goal in mind.... to bring their son safely home.
Episode 15
30 mins
This episode of Australian Story centres on a case that could have stepped straight from the pages of an Agatha Christie novel. It concerns a peaceful Queensland rural community; a group of passionate beekeepers; and the murder of a popular local man called Tony Knight. When the police forensic investigation gets underway it uncovers not just the secrets of a killer, but some completely unexpected family history as well.
Episode 16
30 mins
Part One of the program about a young Australian Army Major, marked out for great things in the military. Matina Jewell accelerated through the ranks and served with distinction on challenging overseas operations. But it wasn't until she served as a UN peacekeeper during the 2006 Lebanon conflict that she experienced the horrors of war first hand, with catastrophic consequences. When it was over, Matina Jewell discovered the battles at home were every bit as difficult as surviving in a war zone.
Episode 17
30 mins
In 2006 Army Major Matina Jewell - then a Captain - was undertaking her fifth overseas mission, stationed on the disputed Lebanon-Israeli border as an unarmed UN peacekeeper. Just before she was due to complete her assignment at the remote UN Patrol Base Khiam, war broke out between Israel and the Hezbollah. Caught up in the middle of the war, Matina Jewell was seriously injured during a dangerous transit through the middle of the conflict to reach the UN's coastal headquarters in the Lebanese coastal port town of Tyre. Part Two of The Blue Beret explores the ongoing battle she faced at home in Australia once it became clear her days as a career soldier were over.
Episode 18
30 mins
The distressing death of Dianne Brimble on a cruise ship nearly eight years ago, created a controversy that transfixed and divided public opinion. Just recently, after an extended court process, the last of three 'persons of interest' faced with charges over her death, walked free. For the two men who loved Dianne Brimble, it marked the end of an exhausting struggle. Tonight for the first time they talk about the bond they forged through a long campaign. This is the story of Mark Brimble and David Mitchell.
Episode 19
30 mins
Peter Roberts isn't a musician who works in the public eye. He doesn't entertain or play his music on stage yet he's played to thousands of people and had a lasting impact on each and every one of them. An accomplished musician, he opted to give up a lucrative career as a businessman and retrain overseas at his own expense to become Australia's only music 'thanatologist'. It's a little-known specialty that involves playing music to ease pain and give solace to the dying. Such a job would be confronting to many, but Peter Roberts has chosen to meet Western society's taboos about death and dying head on and make his own personal contribution to a 'good death' for as many people as possible. His particular brand of music has found a receptive audience of doctors, nurses, patients and their families and the physiological benefits are now verified in a range of medical studies.
Episode 20
30 mins
With prescient timing, an in depth look at the woman who has just made history by becoming Australia's first female Prime Minister. This episode features a significant amount of previously unseen footage, shot at the time of the program's first profile of Julia Gillard in 2006 and contains fresh interviews and analysis from former Labour leaders. It also includes exclusive and candid insights from close family. Those insights are even more relevant and telling as Ms Gillard takes over the top job in the nation.
Episode 21
30 mins
'Pay it Forward' is a marvellously inspirational tale of sportsmanship, mentoring and redemption across three generations of Australian Rules Football. At the centre of it all is a young man called David Conway. Five years ago he was a rising teenage AFL star and on the way to a solid sporting career. But behind the facade, David Conway was struggling with unresolved childhood demons. When his thoughts turned to suicide, his desperate mother cold called his hero, Carlton premiership player Glenn Manton and asked for help. In an act of compassion, Glenn Manton opened his home and his heart to David Conway and mentored him on the path to recovery. It turned out to be a case of history repeating itself in a profoundly moving way.
Episode 22
30 mins
Shane Dolan was a small businessman doing comfortably well when he came across a job advertisement for an aid worker in Africa. Wanting to build a better world and keen to offer his skills as a water technician, he signed up with Community Aid Abroad and embarked for the war torn province of Tigray, in Ethiopia. In the midst of war and drought and famine, Shane Dolan set to work building wells with co-worker Peter Morrison. Part of his extraordinary job brief was to risk life and limb running gelignite across the border from Sudan - an executable offence and something that came back to haunt him during his years back in Australia. Late last year he finally managed to put the ghosts to rest when he was invited back to Tigray for a life-affirming trip to discover the fruits of his labour.
Episode 23
30 mins
Kiff Saunders' passion is hot air ballooning and he turned it into a highly successful business as well. But, despite all his success, something was missing, and Saunders admits to being at odds with himself. Already reeling from two major traumas, a motorcycle accident finally pushed him to the brink. During the long process of physical recovery, Saunders rediscovered important personal values. It all culminates in a stunning hot air balloon flight over Lake Eyre
Episode 24
30 mins
This week's program is introduced by David Graham, who became a household name as 'Farmer Dave', the gay guy who 'came out' on Big Brother on national television. It's the story of a well manicured Brisbane housewife who has become an unlikely advocate for gay rights. Shelley Argent had only one ambition - to become a mother. But when her oldest son announced that he was gay, she was spurred to action. Now she's the national spokesperson for the international organisation PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and a 'gay icon' in her own right... As the program reveals, her own husband was a self-confessed homophobe and late convert to the cause, but now he marches with his wife and son at gay pride events...
Episode 25
30 mins
Glenn Wheatley is an undisputed legend of the entertainment industry. He's guided the careers of huge stars like John Farnham, Delta Goodrem and the Little River Band. But three years ago, amidst screaming headlines, he was convicted and jailed for tax fraud. Glenn Wheatley has served his time and tonight he tells his story.
Episode 26
30 mins
It's seven years since a young American bride, Tina Watson, died during a honeymoon scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef. Her husband Gabe was accused of murder but eventually convicted and jailed for manslaughter, amidst controversy over the role of the Queensland DPP. Back in Alabama, the authorities are convinced there's been a failure of justice and they still want Mr Watson back in the dock in his home state. It remains a baffling case, involving the justice system of two countries, and a series of events that are hard to explain in any terms.
Episode 27
30 mins
This week's program continues our story about young American bride Tina Watson who died seven years ago during a honeymoon dive trip on the Great Barrier Reef. Her husband Gabe Watson was charged with murder but convicted only of manslaughter, sparking controversy about the role of Queensland prosecutors. Tina's parents and authorities in her home state of Alabama have refused to let the case rest. When Gabe Watson is released from jail in Queensland, he could still face a murder trial back home in the US.
Episode 28
30 mins
Julia Gillard's election campaign has been dogged from the outset by the Rudd factor. There's been no escape even in her own Victorian seat of Lalor where Kevin Rudd's nephew is one of her opponents. Van Rudd is an artist and he's running in the PM's seat as an independent backed by the new but tiny Revolutionary Socialist Party. It further demonstrates the complex heritage of the extended Rudd family, some of who are speaking publicly for the first time, to show support for the young candidate. Now Van Rudd tells his story...
Episode 29
30 mins
In this edition of Australian Story we meet someone whose role in the 2010 Federal Election will be hotly debated in the years to come. From homeless teenager to the youngest ever leader of Australia's oldest union, Paul Howes is living a life accelerated. Separated from his parents at fourteen and a father by twenty, Paul Howes took over as leader of the Australian Workers' Union at just twenty - six years of age. Two years later, after a meteoric rise, he intervened as one of the 'faceless men' who dispatched former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Our cameras followed Paul Howes on the gamble of his professional life as he waits alongside the rest of the country for the election outcome.
Episode 30
30 mins
Jack Heath is a former diplomat and political adviser who became a high flying speech writer and confidante of a prime minister. But the murder of a close friend, followed by the suicide of a young cousin, led to an emotional watershed that forced him to confront his own repressed childhood trauma. Seeking a more meaningful life, Jack Heath shocked his family and friends by turning his back on a promising political career to establish an innovative not-for-profit organisation committed to supporting and inspiring troubled youth. Now, after ten years of success in Australia, he is expanding the concept internationally with help from one of his strongest supporters, Rupert Murdoch.
Episode 31
30 mins
Fourteen years ago Ivan Milat was convicted of one of Australia's most infamous serial killings. His victims were seven young backpackers whose bodies were found in the Belanglo State Forest, south of Sydney. In the past week, more human bones have been found in the forest, so not surprisingly there has been speculation they could be the remains of another Milat victim. While it's too soon to know if this discovery is connected with Ivan Milat, investigators have always maintained that he may be responsible for other murders. In this Logie-award winning program, we hear from Ivan Milat and several members of his family.
Episode 32
30 mins
Michael Ware's fearless reporting from the world's deadliest war zones has made him a star on US television. He's a regular on the big American talk shows, but his jaw dropping exploits are little known at home. Working in Afghanistan and Iraq for Time Magazine and then CNN, Michael Ware willingly went where no other reporter could or would. Seemingly 'addicted to danger', he was kidnapped three times and was only seconds away from being executed in the street by Al Qaeda. Now he's back home in Brisbane, to reunite with his young son, and finally confront his personal demons. In this compelling two part program, he tells his own story for the first time...
Episode 33
30 mins
Michael Ware's fearless reporting from the world's deadliest war zones has made him a star on US television. He's a regular on the big American talk shows, but his jaw dropping exploits are little known at home. Working in Afghanistan and Iraq for Time Magazine and then CNN, Michael Ware willingly went where no other reporter could or would. Seemingly 'addicted to danger', he was kidnapped three times and was only seconds away from being executed in the street by Al Qaeda. Now he's back home in Brisbane, to reunite with his young son, and finally confront his personal demons. In this compelling conclusion, Ware reveals the real cost to his psyche of all that he's witnessed for so long. In moving and emotionally charged scenes, he finally reunites with his 'band of brothers' - former Iraqi staff now resettled in Australia. And he finds hope for the future with his young son.
Episode 34
30 mins
Andrew Mallard was a young man living homeless on the streets of Perth when he was charged with the murder of Pamela Lawrence. He was convicted of her murder in 1995. He served twelve years in prison before the combined efforts of a journalist, a politician and a team of high profile lawyers - who took the case all the way to the High Court of Australia - finally saw him exonerated. Andrew Mallard is speaking out for the first time about the circumstances leading up to his wrongful imprisonment and the failure of the justice system that put him there.
Episode 35
30 mins
This week's program continues the story of Andrew Mallard who was wrongfully convicted of the murder of Perth woman Pamela Lawrence in 1995. It took fourteen years of lobbying by a journalist, a member of parliament and a team of lawyers before he was first released and then finally exonerated. Recent inquiries into how such a mistake could happen and why it took so long for justice to be done have revealed evidence of serious misconduct on the part of the police and the prosecution who put him behind bars. Andrew Mallard has been speaking for the first time as pressure continues for those involved to be brought to account.
Episode 36
30 mins
Introduced by Her Royal Highness Princess Alia bint Al Hussein of Jordan Jan Cameron is one of the wealthiest women in Australia. But instead of resting on her laurels when she sold her Kathmandu business four years ago, she's moved into new and confronting territory as a philanthropist to be reckoned with. Famously enigmatic and a rare volunteer for the interview chair, Jan Cameron has channelled her formidable energies and bank balance towards a new cause in the hope she can influence the way factory farmed animals are treated in Australia.
Episode 37
30 mins
In April this year, swimming champion Meagen Nay confessed to Australian Story that the previous year had been the toughest of her life. She was thinking seriously about giving up swimming altogether. Six months later she's a gold medal winner, after enduring one of the most traumatic periods of her young life. In the hothouse atmosphere of the Delhi Commonwealth Games last week, Meagen mirrored her late father's victory in the 1974 Commonwealth Games with a gold medal win in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay. Days later, she won gold in the 200m backstroke. Her success was a surprise to many, given that months earlier she had been ready to quit a promising career. During the 2009 World Championships in Rome, her brother Amos died in car accident. In a cruel twist of fate, her father, swim champion Robert Nay, had also died behind the wheel seventeen years earlier. Fresh off the plane from the Delhi, Meagen Nay updates our original program to explain how success has changed her.
Episode 38
30 mins
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu has eluded the media since becoming a household name two years ago. The enigmatic blind Aboriginal musician first came to attention when he released his eponymous first album in 2008 to international acclaim. Sung in the Yolnu dialect of Arnhem land, Gurrumul's music transcends cultural boundaries and touches listeners in the UK and Europe as much as it does in Australia. Yet despite the accolades and awards, Gurrumul has resolutely refused to do media interviews or provide any clues to journalists about his background or motivations; to both the chagrin and respect of the people responsible for his success. Now for the first time, Australian Story presents an intimate profile featuring behind the scenes footage of Gurrumul shot by filmmaker Naina Sen, combined with interviews from his family and unofficial spokesperson Michael Hohnen.
Episode 39
30 mins
What happens when you come out on a national TV reality show in front of more than a million people? For David Graham, the family fallout from such a public confession has been full of drama. Destined for a life on the land, he was born and bred to take over the family property in rural Queensland. But a fraught relationship with his father and a desire to explore the rest of the world led David far afield. By 2006, after a gay bashing, he signed up for Big Brother with the hope that he could raise awareness on gay issues. The decision took David's family by surprise and left his future as the inheritor of the family farm in doubt. Four years later, he's attempting to reconcile his sexuality with his desire to be a farmer, a father and a force within the National Party.
Episode 40
30 mins
When Kerry Tucker was jailed for seven years for theft and fraud, she had two choices. She could give in to the shame and hopelessness or apply her energy and brains to building a future. Kerry Tucker decided to turn incarceration into an opportunity. Missing her own two children, she wrote a children's book to help ease the trauma of prison visits. She helped prison administrators by helping other inmates, she acquired an education and gained her Masters of Arts in the first graduation ceremony behind bars in Australia. Now, out of jail, she is a successful academic with a PhD and a job at a leading university.