Join or Sign In
Sign in to customize your TV listings
By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.
37 Episodes 2000 - 2000
Episode 1
28 mins
Johnny Young talks for the first time about the circumstances surrounding his arrest and subsequent jailing in the Philippines because of his alleged involvement with an illegal AIDS clinic. It was a sensational climax to a career that's been marked by incredible highs and lows. In the sixties Johnny Young was the hottest name on the music scene. By the seventies he had achieved even greater fame with his television show, 'Young Talent Time' the program credited with discovering huge stars like Tina Arena and Debra Byrne. But by the late eighties his world started to crumble. He discovered his father wasn't his real father - and embarked on a family search with a remarkable sequel of its own. Then his program was axed, his company went bust and his marriage broke up. And then, in 1993, there was the fateful decision to accompany a close friend suffering from AIDS to the Philippines in search of a cure... On Australian Story, Johnny Young, his family and close associates finally reveal the truth, not just about the notorious episode in the Philippines, but about a man who remains an icon of the Australian entertainment industry.
Episode 2
28 mins
Mike Wille is one of Queensland's top businessmen, a former CEO of the year, however corporate life no longer excites him, so he is now going to try to climb Everest.
Episode 3
28 mins
All Sam Bailey had ever wanted was to run the family farm (in Croppa Creek, New South Wales) with the girl of his dreams by his side. The accident seemed to have put all of that out of reach forever. The turning point came when he was encouraged to try a four wheeled motorbike. Gradually, with the help of his parents, he devised ways to operate heavy farm machinery and even learned to fly an ultra light aircraft. He was able to run the farm with just a little help. But, he says, he was sure he was doomed to spend his life "alone with my five dogs." His spectacular achievements attracted the attention of local ABC rural reporter Jenny Black who phoned him for a chat and the two began what Sam describes as a long "Clayton's courtship" with both very attracted but unwilling to admit it... plus Time of Their Lives They're bursting with energy and dancing up a storm on stages all around Sydney. But astonishingly this troupe of dancers has an average age of 65.. The Forever Young Golden Girls have become quite a phenomenon. They're led by a former professional dancer but most of them only started learning to dance at the age of 60.
Episode 4
29 mins
Over the last two decades Tim Watson-Munro has developed a high media profile, particularly on television, providing regular insights into the criminal mind and the frailties of human psychology. But late last year Tim Watson-Munro fell from grace in the most spectacular fashion. A police surveillance operation picked him as part of a group of Melbourne high fliers who were using cocaine. It transpired that the highly respected psychologist had developed a $2,000 dollar a week addiction. Tipped off that it was likely he was about to be arrested, he handed himself into the police and was fined and put on a good behaviour bond in a court case which attracted massive media coverage. In his first television interview since the case, Watson-Munro describes cocaine as a thrill seeking activity enjoyed by successful professionals, an escape from the pressures of their careers. Now, with the help of his wife, also a psychologist, he is attempting to pick up the pieces of his life and what remains of his professional credibility. But it emerges that his harshest critic is his nine year old daughter Gabby. He describes how she cross examined him about his cocaine use and made it clear just how disappointed in him she was. Plus Sea Change He's severely sea sick, he's a bit slow on his feet and after five years circumnavigating the globe in a 20 year old, 27 foot yacht, he's finally heading back home. A former real estate agent, Bob Laughlin says it was a "mid life crisis", and going broke, "my own fault", which provided the impetus for his amazing odyssey. Back on dry land there have been a lot of changes in the family during the long absence. And it seems there may have been changes for the better in Bob himself as well.
Episode 5
29 mins
Each state trains young, fit men to take on these dangerous missions - everything from the Port Arthur emergency to Olympic games security. Australian Story follows a group of men through the selection and training process, in Tasmania. There are no holds barred and no limits as we eavesdrop on everything from the brutal behind closed doors comments of the trainers to the anguish and pain of the trainees. Twenty six young hopefuls apply at the start, but only a handful are left standing at the end of two months. Even then they face an agonising wait to see if they will actually be invited to wear the prized "black hat" denoting membership of the S.O.G.
Episode 6
31 mins
Kevan Gosper speaks openly about his sometimes controversial career as Australia's most senior Olympic official.
Episode 7
33 mins
All day at the UN Balkans War Crimes tribunal Jason Li listened to tales of racial hatred and man's inhumanity to man. Alarmed by the emergence of Pauline Hanson, he returned home to Australia to run for the Senate in opposition to what he saw as racist policies. He failed, but he did succeed in becoming a publicly elected member at the Constitutional Convention - and came up with the scribblings which ultimately formed the basis of the "Yes" model. "The thing I took away from the Constitutional Convention was this great feeling that, probably for the first time, I had experienced a feeling (of Australia) as a nation." Now studying for a Masters degree in New York, others see him as headed for politics back in Australia. Jason says he wants to work for racial unity and represent the interests of young Australians. Filmed in Sydney, Canberra and New York.
Episode 8
31 mins
In 1945, Australian airman Chris Jarrett (of Sydney) was the sole survivor of an horrific Lancaster bomber crash in France which killed all his closest mates. Fifty five years later there has been a sequel. Through amazing coincidence, Chris has been reunited with the woman he loved and lost in the aftermath of the crash all those years ago. Australian Story follows Chris's journey back to the French town of Thin Le Moutier where he is honoured by hundreds of townspeople. Together they scour the hills and discover remnants of the downed bomber. Then, in Wales, Chris is reunited with the woman he met and fell in love with when he was recovering from the crash. She has never even been on a plane but he hopes to persuade her to return home to Australia with him. But, even at eighty, the path of true love encounters some obstacles...
Episode 9
28 mins
Ross Bastiaan is a self taught bronze sculptor and he has made over 100 commemorative plaques and personally placed them at war sites in nearly 20 countries at a cost of over quarter of a million dollars. It was a trip to Gallipoli ten years ago - and the lack of information available there about the sacrifice of Australian lives - that started him on his crusade. Ross is a one band man. He personally negotiates with governments around the world and has met leaders such as Margaret Thatcher. also this week: Men Behaving Badly Rory Miles is a founding member of one of Sydney's most exclusive clubs - The Point Piper Motoring Club. On these well-heeled streets where every second car is prestige, Rory's fleet of classic cars look more than slightly out of place. With names like the Goggomobile Dart and the Rightcraft Scootacar these tiny microcars look as though they have taken a wrong turn out of the local circus. They're so small in fact that they can be lifted and placed in the back of a van. When asked how many he owns Rory appears confused. "I don't know" he says. His friends say that he has them stashed all over the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. Some in garages, others in his mother's backyard. He keeps buying more and more and can't bring himself to part with any of them. When he's not driving or tinkering with his tiny cars Rory is the tennis coach at the Rushcutters Bay courts. Among his clients is John Laws and it seems that 'Lawsie' has been somewhat of an inspiration. Over the past 18 years the two have had many a discussion about their love of cars and collecting. Rory says that Laws thinks that it's "a sickness" to collect so many cars. Every Saturday morning Rory and the other members of the club cram their machines into a couple of parking spaces outside a cafe in Surry Hills. Here they "talk a lot of bullshit" says cafe owner Dida. From there they venture out in convoy to amused public reaction. "It's incredible," Miles says. "People are screeching their tyres all around you, yelling out things like, hey where's your bike? They think I'm driving around in the sidecar." The club's motto is "Men Behaving Badly" but in the end it's just an excuse for men to bond and show off their unusual hobby.
Episode 10
31 mins
The story of the amateur sleuth whose tenacious detective work has uncovered startling new information which may see the "Gun Alley Murder" case reopened. In 1921 the rape and murder of 12 year old Alma Tirtschke scandalised Melbourne society. Amidst public hysteria and a tabloid newspaper frenzy, a 29 year old man called Colin Campbell Ross was hastily charged, convicted and hanged. Kevin Morgan, a former teacher and librarian, became fascinated by the case when he visited an exhibition of works by Charles Blackman featuring paintings inspired by the "Gun Alley Murder." But it wasn't until Kevin uncovered a disturbing paper written by Ross's lawyer that his five year odyssey began in earnest. He gave up work so he could research the case full time, and supported by his wife, began the job of piecing together the evidence, tracking down missing files and negotiating with sometimes obstructive bureaucrats. Finally he made an incredible and unexpected find. He obtained the original hair samples from the dead girl - samples which were crucial in convicting Ross - but the hair proved too delicate even for the latest DNA testing. So Kevin made an approach to Dr. James Robertson of the Australian Federal Police, respected internationally for his expertise on forensic hair samples. Robertson's tests demonstrated conclusively that key evidence put to the jury at Ross's trial was wrong. He says he wants to see Colin Ross's name posthumously cleared, but along the way he has also gathered some strong leads which may establish who the real killer was.
Episode 11
33 mins
Randall Clinch says his methods are commonsense and anyone can learn them. So successful was at he at one stage that he was enlisted to help improve managerial and staff performance in some of Australia's better known companies. He made and lost a lot of money in the corporate world. But the illness and subsequent death of his 12 year old son Teddy prompted another major life change. Randall decided to hit the road with a swag and, working only for donations, and in cooperation with the ACT Education Department, he visits schools to help children with behavioural and emotional problems. He is credited with achieving remarkable results. Hawker College School Counsellor Mike Owner says: "I constantly ask myself why does he do it. He lives on a shoestring. But he has found this gift and he's committed to it and regardless of what it costs him, he's convinced that it's important."
Episode 12
31 mins
Frank Hargrave's mother was illegitimate and his disabled father struggled on a meagre pension. Frank was raised "dirt poor". Working in several jobs simultaneously he made his way up in the world and now heads a company he founded, Skilled Engineering, one of the biggest employers in Australia with 10,000 employees and a sales turnover of about 650 million dollars. He is also a passionate bushman with a sheep and cattle property in Yea, Victoria and is a major contributor and fund raiser for various charities. During his climb up the corporate ladder, he married, divorced, and raised four children. Imagine his shock when he discovered that he had a grown up daughter he never knew about. Cheryl Hill was the result of Frank's first love - a teenage romance with a girl called Shirley. The baby was secretly adopted out at birth. For 26 years, Shirley never breathed a word of Cheryl's existence until the baby girl, now grown up, unexpectedly reappeared in both their lives with far reaching consequences ...
Episode 13
32 mins
In the last one hundred years, Lake Eyre has filled totally only four times. It is a marvellous spectacle as the normally arid salt basin fills with water and blooms with new life. Someone once described the experience as being "like trekking across the Sahara and falling into the Mediterranean". This week's Australian Story looks at the lake through the eyes of the people of William Creek, the nearest settlement. The main focus is publican Mal Anderson and his family. They're Melbournians who moved to William Creek three years ago after visiting the area and falling in love with it. Mal, a mechanical engineer, made an offer for the pub and moved west, along with his wife, children and grandchildren. We also meet Phil Gee, a former winemaker, who moved to the Creek ten years ago with his zoologist wife. They consult on conservation issues and run camel safari tours into the desert.
Episode 14
32 mins
Using a concept he first tried on young offenders in his home town, Terry O'Connell has developed a "restorative justice" system in which serious adult offenders are brought face to face with their victims (as in "Facing the Demons"). The model has also been used in schools, workplaces and even within the police force itself to achieve behavioural change. In areas where O'Connell's approach has been tried the results are sometimes staggering. The Police district of Nowra almost halved overall crime rates last year after adopting his methods. Despite all of this, O'Connell's Restorative Justice and Behavioural Change Unit was disbanded by the NSW Police last October. (The unit has since been reformed under another name and minus O'Connell). A disheartened, O'Connell left the force on a medical discharge. Gary Sturgess, policy consultant and architect of the legislation which set up the NSW ICAC says O'Connell's position was made untenable and he was effectively forced out. He may no longer have a job at home, but O'Connell's influence is spreading around the world, particularly in the U.S, Canada and the U.K. He has been in England working with the Thames Valley Police; he recently delivered a paper to the UN in Geneva and he has also been working with police in Northern Ireland. O'Connell, a father of seven, left school at fourteen. He has the battered face of a boxer and describes himself as a "pretty ordinary" individual. He says he never wanted anything more than to be a policeman and to "try to improve the lot of others and to build decent communities."
Episode 15
28 mins
Just hours after receiving her OAM Marion Watson was injecting herself with heroin. Watson had a $480 a day habit which she was financing by trafficking heroin to Canberra junkies. On the morning of Xmas Eve, 1998 Marion Watson was arrested, as the result, it turned out, of ongoing police surveillance. When she appeared in court on Boxing Day, the presiding magistrate was Ron Cahill, a former associate of her late father's. A "shocked and saddened" Cahill refused bail and disqualified himself from any further direct involvement in her case. At subsequent hearings, it was alleged that Marion Watson had been distributing more than $28,000 worth of heroin a week. Now, for the first time, Marion Watson is talking about her extraordinary fall from grace. Australian Story has interviewed Watson, her mother, and friends and associates. The result is a compelling insight into the depths and degradation of heroin addiction.
Episode 16
32 mins
For Patrick Johnsont all started when, wearing borrowed spikes, he unexpectedly won the 100 metres at the Australian National University Games in Canberra. Watching from an office window was Esa Peltola, sprints coach at the Australian Institute of Sports. Peltola immediately moved into high gear to secure an AIS scholarship for the new prodigy. But Johnson is interesting for more than his sporting prowess. The son of an Aboriginal mother and a roving Irish father, he was born on a speed boat in Northern Queensland. His mother was killed in a car accident when Patrick was still a toddler and he spent an idyllic childhood on a mackerel boat with his father, attending school only as and when he could. He showed an early talent for chess and for languages and won a scholarship to an international college in New South Wales. Upon graduating, he won a job at the Department of Foreign Affairs and is on track to take up a diplomatic career when he stops running.
Episode 17
32 mins
The Howard dynasty has been in the business since 1922, but the two brothers haven't spoken for 15 years and now run competing companies. Syd Howard's breakaway Fireworks International has been wowing the world recently. His company was responsible for the big millennium displays in Sydney, London and Wellington. They did the closing ceremony for the Atlanta Olympics and looked like getting the contract for Sydney 2000. That was later lost in controversial circumstances. Meanwhile Les has stuck with the original family business Howard and Sons, now into the fourth generation of family involvement and vying for the same major events as Syd Howard's company. The bitter feud is just one of the dramas that have beset the family. Not only has their work divided them, but it's resulted in some serious physical injuries at times. Syd and Les's grandfather lost his hand experimenting with shells while their father lost his right hand. Syd and Les have survived relatively unscathed but Syd has been hospitalised for burns on occasion.
Episode 18
31 mins
Tearing around the track at over two hundred kilometres an hour with her passenger or "swinger" inches from the ground, it's a very dangerous pastime for Karenne Gregory. It's a family obsession also shared by her two young children and her sister Dianne. They used to compete as "Two Blondes Racing", in distinctive leathers on a colourful motorbike with Dianne in the sidecar. That's how Karenne began, as a passenger for her husband Keith. They raced together with great success and made a pact to build a faster bike. But soon after, Keith was killed in a car accident. When the children, who were five and eight at the time were told of their father's death, their response was: "Who's going to race Daddy's sidecar?" The answer of course was Karenne. She's gone on to be the only woman who has ever raced a modern long bike and is ranked in the top ten in Australia. Karenne has now been invited to compete on the international circuit in Germany. Her greatest fans, the children will be with her as well as the memory of Keith who she says is still always with her on the track.
Episode 19
31 mins
Twenty years ago the now respected surgeon, Richard Arnot, was thrown into a prison cell in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia after an expatriate drinking party he held went horribly wrong. Two guests were found dead the next morning below his sixth storey apartment. While his Saudi experience ended after diplomatic intervention, his nightmare continued. Arriving back in England he was confronted by newspaper allegations that the party was in fact an orgy; that it was not an accident but murder; and that even the CIA was involved. He arrived in Australia with just two suitcases, but now runs a booming surgical practice in the NSW country town of Inverell, flying to outlying communities like Lightning Ridge to see patients. also this week: Uncle Tim"To other people Tim's like a superhero but to me he's my friend, my uncle and I know he's always going to be a part of my life." Taryn Carter, aged 13 Tim Horan is a rugby legend. The Queenslander has been an integral part of the Wallabies two World Cup victories and is renowned for his on field toughness and determination. But there is another side to Tim Horan and that is as a gentle family man, not only to his own children, but to three little girls separated from their father. Tim Horan is the patron of 'Aunties and Uncles' and as such had disqualified himself from being directly involved in the scheme. That all changed though when he met the Carter girls and became Uncle Tim.
Episode 20
31 mins
Political insiders have long been aware of the amazing influence, here and overseas, of the otherwise obscure Anglican clergyman from rural Victoria. On Australian Story, Peter Thomson tells his personal story for the first time. It encompasses his brief stint in his father's real estate business, his time at Oxford, his years as headmaster of Timbertop School and his key role in the life of Tony Blair and a number of other political leaders. Thomson bucks the stereotype of the pious priest. He smokes, drinks and swears and has a raucous sense of humour. His radical notions were too much for the Australian Anglican Church establishment in the 60s. They sacked him. But Thomson's ideas were subsequently put into action by Tony Blair in the famous "third way" of new labour. Now Thomson has returned home to his wife and grown up children on their property at Merrijig in the Victorian high country. He is here to establish an Australian version of his Community Action Network, promoting and connecting community groups involved in so called social entrepreneurialism - the business and social sectors working together.
Episode 21
27 mins
Sam Newman's been labelled racist and sexist. He's been caught drink driving and he has been thrown out of casinos. He's been bashed by his former girlfriend's boyfriend and run over by the pregnant mother of his child. Somewhere along the way he's become a major television star and co-host of Channel 9's "The Footy Show". On Australian Story this week, Newman, his friends and his family talk candidly for the first time about the many faces of Sam Newman. From childhood at Geelong Grammar School, through AFL stardom, three failed marriages, national notoriety on television and all the escapades in between, Newman has placed nothing out of bounds. He cleared the way for us to talk to his closest friends and his family, including his two older sisters and his adult sons.
Episode 22
31 mins
Loud, lusty, controversial but big-hearted, she dominated the Australian women's magazine market for a decade through her editorship of Woman's Day and Women's Weekly. But Nene's own life has been almost as eventful as those of the stars whose tumultuous lives are documented in the women's mags. Now, after nearly two years of negotiation, Nene King has agreed to talk candidly about it all. Australian Story first started filming with Nene two years ago while she was still editor of the Women's Weekly. From the ruthlessness of the publishing industry in Sydney, her close association with the Packer family, her famous face lift, the tragic death of her husband, the subsequent depression and addiction to prescription drugs, and her ultimate decision to quit the magazine scene and make a "sea change" move to Noosa, all is finally revealed.
Episode 23
30 mins
When Helen Barnacle's daughter, Ali, reached one year - the age limit beyond which babies could not be kept in jail - Helen Barnacle won a landmark case which enabled her to keep her daughter with her. But three years later she made the heartbreaking decision to relinquish the little girl. With her daughter gone, Helen returned to heroin use. The prospects for both mother and daughter were as bleak as it is possible to imagine. Sixteen years later, the picture could not be more different. Helen is a successful musician and psychologist. And she has a close and loving relationship with Ali. The story of how they got there is the subject matter of this week's Australian Story.
Episode 24
30 mins
The story is told through the eyes of the "Pit Crew", (acronym for Partners in Timor) - a support group set up by the wives to help families cope. In the course of the story, some women admit to having mixed feelings about the return of their men. Previously dependent women found they had established a new independence which they felt reluctant to relinquish. The deployment was particularly tough for those associated with 5/7 battalion because the battalion was relocated from Sydney to Darwin only a few months before the East Timor crisis blew up. When the men headed off to start their peacekeeping role, their anxious families felt abandoned with no extended family or friends to call on for support. The battalion's commanding officer Lt. Col. Simon Gould has been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross - one of the Army's highest honours.
Episode 25
33 mins
In an exclusive Australian Story on August 3, Brett Godfrey and his boss Richard Branson and team outline the series of events which led to the decision to start "Virgin Blue" in Australia. Godfrey was previously Finance Director of Branson's European operation Virgin Express, and says Branson: "There was just one person at the airline that I found after a while I could turn to to get things sorted out and that was Brett". Godfrey has had his work cut out at Virgin where he's had to oversee everything from the purchase of ten aeroplanes, to leasing office premises, to recruiting 300 staff. Eight out of the ten person management team are Australians. And a week ago there was the biggest setback so far when the commencement of commercial operations - announced by Branson for August 3 - had to be hastily postponed to a date still to be fixed because of certification problems. Through it all the cameras have continued to roll, capturing the highs and lows and providing intriguing insights into the nuts and bolts of airline operation. It's all seen through the eyes of the key Australians who have the responsibility of making Virgin Blue work - from Godfrey to his chief pilot (also a returning expatriate) down to the excited flock of flight attendants, many of whom are new to the industry.
Episode 26
30 mins
Matt Ponsoby's problems have been caused by a rare condition called retino blastoma tumour. It sent him blind when he was only two. Now it's returned and Matt has been told he's unlikely to live beyond the end of August. Incredibly he is still working, still positive, and determined to make the most out of every minute just as he has for the last 51 years. PLUS: Dad's Shrine "We call it Dad's shrine. Now it's time to let the candles go out". So says 68 year old Ron Standfield who's been working since he was 16 in a mousetrap factory started by his late father. It's a dusty timewarp and it's the only factory in Australia still making traditional wooden mousetraps. But now it's finally closing its doors. Wes Standfield started making mousetraps in the early 1940s with a home made machine put together from various bits of wire, steel and car parts. That original machine, virtually unchanged, has since churned out about 95 million mousetraps - dispatched to every corner of the nation. His two sons have kept the place going out of respect for their father, but times are tough, and they've decided to throw a small party and bow out from the business.
Episode 27
33 mins
In an aircraft hanger outside Melbourne, a World War Two legend is being reborn. One thousand volunteers, ranging in age from 16 to 92, have reached the finishing stages of what's described as one of the world's biggest restoration projects. They have completely rebuilt a B24 Liberator - the American manufactured plane which played a crucial role in the war in the Pacific, and helped save Australia against the Japanese. 53 year old archaeologist Colin Grey is the project co-ordinator. His father was an RAAF World War Two veteran. Colin was severely disabled by an industrial accident twenty years ago. He was in a wheelchair for many years and even now can walk only on crutches. Nevertheless he's led expeditions, here and overseas, resulting in the salvage of no fewer than 1.3 million individual aircraft parts. The centre wing section had to be rescued from the jungle in PNG in 1994 The outer wing panels were retrieved from the desert in Arizona just this year and cost $60,000. But the 20 metre long fuselage was found closer to home. It was pulled out of a forest in Moe in Victoria 50 years after being abandoned by a man who was living in it. The plane will be formally unveiled on August 15th - the fifty-fifth anniversary of the end of the war in the Pacific - with veterans from the U.S. and the U.K. in attendance.
Episode 28
32 mins
Vaughan Bullivant's been described as a wide-eyed and lovable cross between Dick Smith and Walt Disney. His business philosophy is as unorthodox as his life story. He regards his employees as part of a huge extended family and his generosity is legendary. And there's nothing orthodox about his personal life either. He and his wife are happily married but live in separate but adjoining palatial houses in the same Brisbane suburb. He's a former national water ski champion who used a $10,000 dollar legacy from his auntie to found a multi million dollar health and vitamin business. But 18 months ago he sold the business, gave away millions of dollars to friends and family and set out to just enjoy himself. Instead he finds himself in the middle of a financial crisis ...
Episode 29
32 mins
In just 18 months Mike O'Dwyer's "paper worth" has risen to hundreds of millions of dollars and he now commutes between Australia, London and Washington. Australian Story reveals the remarkable personal story of Mike O'Dwyer - the compulsive inventor nobody took seriously - until he hit upon an idea for a rapid fire gun. O'Dwyer's own commando father was a victim of warfare, killed in Borneo when young Mike was a toddler, three days before the end of Word War Two. As an adult Mike embarked on a lifelong mission to try to solve the mystery of his father's final resting place. But as a boy growing up in the bush without a father he entertained himself by inventing things. As he married, raised a family and made a career in retailing his obsession continued - so did the dizzying flow of new inventions - everything from air cooled running shoes to a bicycle that stayed upright round corners. His family were amused and his friends indulged him. But it wasn't until he came up with the idea for "Metal Storm" that people gradually began to take him extremely seriously indeed... Wife Rhonda believes it's no accident that new ballistics technology was Mike's big breakthrough. "It's because of the way his Dad died and the fact that Michael couldn't help his father. He just sort of reflected on it and thought there has to be a better system ... "He's often said to me: 'I wonder if Dad's looking down and saying well done son.' " At the same time as worldwide interest in "Metal Storm" was peaking, Mike made another very personal breakthrough ...
Episode 30
32 mins
Sophie Cresswell runs a cattle and sheep property with her husband and children and works as the relief nurse in the clinic at White Cliffs, some 260kms from Broken Hill. There's no permanent doctor - just the flying doctor for emergencies, so Sophie has a vital role in her community. She seems to be very well liked and respected by all residents of the area - black and white alike. But a few years back, Sophie Cresswell's career was in ruins. She had been deregistered and disgraced
Episode 31
33 mins
He set up his own support group for victims, liaised with solicitors and police, wrote submissions to inquiries and crime commissions and appeared regularly on nightly news reports, berating the Catholic clergy. It was all motivated by his own personal devastation of having been sexually abused by a Marist brother in a Sydney orphanage in the 1950s. In the last few years of his life as he was dying of a heart condition, his friends say John Warner pushed himself until he could barely stand up, vowing that no other child in Australia would ever be abused. But just days after his death, a very different picture of John Warner emerged. The daughters from his first marriage revealed the self-proclaimed 'white knight' had a very dark past.
Episode 32
30 mins
Trying to save his herd of starving cattle Michael Keenan had to stake out a patch of turf and, sometimes fearing for his life, defend it against all comers including armed rustlers. Michael Keenan saved his herd and his livelihood but Australian Story encounters the Keenans at another time of crisis as the family gathers to face up to a heart rending decision. It's been a bumper season and the family property "Myall Plains" has never looked better. But the house, garden and 3,000 fertile acres are being auctioned after 88 years as "Keenan Land". Michael and wife, Sal have raised four strapping sons. But all the boys have chosen careers in the city. They love "Myall Plains" but having witnessed their parents' struggles on the land, they have chosen a different life. Homestead But as the bidding starts, Michael and Sally and their boys are experiencing intensely mixed feelings. In the aftermath of the auction, events take a turn no-one would ever have predicted... "Kingdom for a Horse" is the story of the Keenan family but it reflects a dilemma that's being played out all over rural Australia as new generations walk away from the land that sustained their ancestors.
Episode 33
30 mins
Australian Story goes behind the headlines and the rhetoric and finds out why Leesa Meldrum, who is medically infertile, is prepared to pay any price - physically and financially - to achieve her goal. We talk to her friends, her parents and her work colleagues. And while all this is going on, we follow Leesa through the roller coaster ride of yet another IVF cycle - a process which is notoriously tough even for married couples. In Leesa's case, it is the loneliness of the ordeal which really hits home. As the story progresses, Leesa's hopes begin to rise and we wonder if this time she will finally achieve the long awaited pregnancy ...
Episode 34
32 mins
With the pressure already reaching epic proportions, Australian Story has been filming behind the scenes with Karen Richards and her team as they aim for a show which will be as memorable, in its own way, as Birch's acclaimed spectacular. For Karen it's a chance to step out from the shadow of the man who's been her mentor and boss for many years. Karen worked with Ric Birch for 13 years before going out on her own. She's been working on the ceremonies for the Paralaympic Games for three years. She has to juggle not only formidable logistical challenges - and unpredictable weather - but a star studded cast of performers ranging from Kylie Minogue to The Seekers. And in the midst of it all, she and her husband Michael and their two kids are moving home. How much stress can one woman handle ...
Episode 35
28 mins
In just five years, working out of Newcastle University, three country town lawyers have investigated some of Australia's biggest criminal and civil cases - from the Roni Levy police shooting case to the Leigh Leigh murder investigation. Using students to do a lot of the legwork, their evidence has achieved not only findings and inquiries that otherwise most likely would not have happened, but also significant changes in legal and police practice. It's the only law school in Australia in which a degree can be achieved on the basis of practical public interest advocacy - and indeed is actively promoting a pro bono legal culture among law students generally in Australia.
Episode 36
31 mins
Denise Brailey is a former model and single mum living on a housing commission estate. Like Brokovich she stumbled across wrongdoing and teamed up with a lawyer to seek justice for the victims. The consequences are still ricocheting around W.A. in the so called "Finance Broking Scandal" - one of W.A.'s biggest fraud investigations bringing with it serious embarrassment for the Court Government. Seven thousand mainly elderly people lost their life savings in shonky real estate investment schemes. One man has already been jailed for ten years and charges are being pressed against another 16 people. Australian Story looks at the remarkable woman who set all of this in train - and who still runs her consumers' group from her tiny housing commission flat, single handedly fielding hundreds of phone calls and enquiries every week.
Episode 37
28 mins