Episodes cast for
"Australian Story" (1996) More at IMDbPro »

Season: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | unknown
Year: 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013

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Season 1

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Season 1, Episode 1: A Soldier's Journey/Wild Stallion/Dante's Inferno

29 May 1996

Season 1, Episode 2: Trail Blazers/Cecelia and Justin/The Chant of Tommy Lewis

5 June 1996

Season 1, Episode 3: Goodbye Mary/Slow Business/The Butcher's Pen

12 June 1996

Season 1, Episode 4: Australia Street/Mother and Sons/The Underwoods of Riveren

19 June 1996

Season 1, Episode 5: Coming Home/Sentimental Journey/Spirited Woman

26 June 1996

Season 1, Episode 22: Longley's Endeavour/Home Grown

23 October 1996

Season 1, Episode 23: The Last Muster/Mr Squiggle

30 October 1996

Season 1, Episode 24: Fame/A Different Drum

6 November 1996

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Season 2

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Season 2, Episode 1: The Parson's Daughter/The Keeper

15 February 1997

Season 2, Episode 4: The Mouse That Roared/Dragon Tale

8 March 1997

Season 2, Episode 16: The Player/Heart of Gold

31 May 1997

Season 2, Episode 17: Born to Run/Jesse's Town

7 June 1997

Season 2, Episode 22: A Will of Their Own

12 July 1997
Film maker and author Pamela Traynor introduces the story of two amazing and indomitable young Australians, Allana Arnot and Mark Bagshaw.

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Season 3

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Season 3, Episode 1: The Macpherson Women/A Grain of Sand

12 February 1998

Season 3, Episode 31: A Life Less Ordinary

17 September 1998

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Season 4

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Season 4, Episode 7: A Track Winding Back

1 April 1999

Season 4, Episode 16: Every Breath You Take

3 June 1999

Season 4, Episode 17: Laying Down the Law

10 June 1999

Season 4, Episode 18: A Child Is Born/The Scottish Doctor

17 June 1999

Season 4, Episode 19: The Foundling/Life's a Drag

24 June 1999

Season 4, Episode 20: In Search of Kings/Going the Distance

1 July 1999

Season 4, Episode 21: The Wild One

8 July 1999

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Season 5

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Season 5, Episode 1: The Young One: Johnny Young

10 February 2000

Season 5, Episode 2: The World Is Not Enough: Mike Wille

17 February 2000
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.

Season 5, Episode 6: Running Man: Kevan Gosper

16 March 2000
Kevan Gosper speaks openly about his sometimes controversial career as Australia's most senior Olympic official.

Season 5, Episode 21: The Trouble with Sam

6 July 2000

Season 5, Episode 22: In Bed with Nene

13 July 2000

Season 5, Episode 23: Term of Endearment

20 July 2000

Season 5, Episode 26: A Voice in the Dark

10 August 2000

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Season 6

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Season 6, Episode 1: The Prodigal Son: Jason Donovan

1 February 2001

Season 6, Episode 14: Inside Out: Mark 'Chopper' Read

3 May 2001

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Season 7

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Season 7, Episode 1: Happy as Garry: Garry McDonald

11 February 2002

Season 7, Episode 2: The Gilded Cage: Peter Hollingworth

18 February 2002

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Season 8

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Season 8, Episode 1: Her Own Sweet Way

17 February 2003

Season 8, Episode 2: A Farm Somewhere

24 February 2003

Season 8, Episode 3: Postcards from Emmaville: Part 1

3 March 2003

Season 8, Episode 4: Postcards from Emmaville: Part 2

10 March 2003

Season 8, Episode 14: About a Boy

26 May 2003

Season 8, Episode 20: Something About Mary

7 July 2003

Season 8, Episode 21: The Unusual Suspect

14 July 2003

Season 8, Episode 31: What Lies Beneath

22 September 2003

Season 8, Episode 32: This Is His Life

29 September 2003

Season 8, Episode 37: The Big 'A'

3 November 2003

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Season 9

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Season 9, Episode 1: Before a Fall

16 February 2004
The story of Dr. Michael Holt who was brought back to earth after an accident which nearly cost him his life.

Season 9, Episode 2: A Stitch in Time

23 February 2004
This is the story of Jeno Kirsh, a Jewish tailor who hasn't changed his methods, equipment or workshop in 45 years.

Season 9, Episode 3: Courage of Conviction

1 March 2004

Season 9, Episode 4: Letters from Lindsay

8 March 2004

Season 9, Episode 5: Of Woman Born Part 1

15 March 2004

Season 9, Episode 6: Of Woman Born Part 2

22 March 2004

Season 9, Episode 7: Finding Phebe

29 March 2004

Season 9, Episode 8: Judgement Day

5 April 2004

Season 9, Episode 9: Into Thin Air

19 April 2004

Season 9, Episode 10: Colouring the Dark

26 April 2004

Season 9, Episode 11: The Highway Man

3 May 2004

Season 9, Episode 12: The Road to Tooleybuc

10 May 2004

Season 9, Episode 13: Three Little Words

17 May 2004

Season 9, Episode 14: One Man Standing

24 May 2004

Season 9, Episode 15: Light of Their Lives

31 May 2004

Season 9, Episode 16: Road to Dharamshala

7 June 2004

Season 9, Episode 17: In the Pink

14 June 2004

Season 9, Episode 18: To the Test & A Small World

21 June 2004

Season 9, Episode 19: Friday the Thirteenth

28 June 2004

Season 9, Episode 20: The Damage Done

5 June 2004

Season 9, Episode 21: From This Day Forth

12 July 2004

Season 9, Episode 22: Where There's a Will

19 July 2004

Season 9, Episode 23: Mr Singh's Opus

26 July 2004

Season 9, Episode 24: Blackhawk Rising

2 August 2004

Season 9, Episode 25: A Winter's Tale

9 August 2004

Season 9, Episode 26: Rising Son

16 August 2004

Season 9, Episode 27: The Big A

23 August 2004

Season 9, Episode 28: Australian Story Presents....

30 August 2004

Season 9, Episode 29: In the Picture

6 September 2004

Season 9, Episode 30: Oh, Carol

13 September 2004

Season 9, Episode 31: Only in America & the Rex Files

20 September 2004

Season 9, Episode 32: Rise of the Phoenix - Updated Repeat

27 September 2004

Season 9, Episode 33: Good Morning Mrs Sarra

4 October 2004

Season 9, Episode 34: In Realms of Gold Part 1

11 October 2004

Season 9, Episode 35: In Realms of Gold Part 2

18 October 2004

Season 9, Episode 36: Friends in Deed

25 October 2004

Season 9, Episode 37: Into the Forest Part 1

1 November 2004

Season 9, Episode 38: Into the Forest Part 2

8 November 2004

Season 9, Episode 39: The Last Summer

15 November 2004

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Season 10

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Season 10, Episode 1: Operation Wendy

7 February 2005

Season 10, Episode 2: Meeting Miss Menzies

14 February 2005

Season 10, Episode 3: My Brother John

21 February 2005
The story of Debbie Singh who went extraordinary lengths to rescue her brother John from the notorious Bangkok Hilton prison in Thailand.

Season 10, Episode 4: The Gathering Storm - Part 1

28 February 2005

Season 10, Episode 5: The Gathering Storm - Part 2

7 March 2005

Season 10, Episode 6: The Born Identity

14 March 2005

Season 10, Episode 7: A Beautiful Mind

21 March 2005

Season 10, Episode 8: The Flying Doctor

28 March 2005

Season 10, Episode 9: Romancing the Stone

4 April 2005

Season 10, Episode 10: Rock of Ages

11 April 2005

Season 10, Episode 11: Thirteen

18 April 2005

Season 10, Episode 12: From My Father's Fridge

25 April 2005

Season 10, Episode 13: Colours of Caroline

2 May 2005

Season 10, Episode 14: In the Midnight Hour

9 May 2005

Season 10, Episode 15: To Boldly Go

16 May 2005

Season 10, Episode 16: The Comeback Kid

23 May 2005

Season 10, Episode 17: Back Into the Forest

30 May 2005

Season 10, Episode 18: Of Droughts and Flooding Rains - Part 1

6 June 2005

Season 10, Episode 19: Of Droughts and Flooding Rains - Part 2

13 June 2005

Season 10, Episode 20: The Real McInnes

20 June 2005

Season 10, Episode 21: At Death's Door

27 June 2005

Season 10, Episode 22: In Harm's Way

4 July 2005

Season 10, Episode 23: Saving Trooper Gebhardt

11 July 2005

Season 10, Episode 24: The Sherman Fortune

18 July 2005

Season 10, Episode 25: Burnt by the Sun

25 July 2005

Season 10, Episode 26: The Life of Brian

1 August 2005

Season 10, Episode 27: The School of St Jude

15 August 2005

Season 10, Episode 28: The Garden of Good and Evil

22 August 2005

Season 10, Episode 29: Ten Thousand Acres

29 August 2005

Season 10, Episode 30: Out of the Dust

5 September 2005

Season 10, Episode 31: The Guns of Adjungbilly Part 1

12 September 2005

Season 10, Episode 32: The Guns of Adjungbilly Part 2

19 September 2005

Season 10, Episode 33: The Lost Boy

26 September 2005

Season 10, Episode 34: A Night Like This

3 October 2005

Season 10, Episode 35: Dead Man Talking

10 October 2005

Season 10, Episode 36: The Lost Boy

26 September 2005
Ian Roberts has been on an amazing journey as a footballer, a gay activist and a movie actor. Now he has plans for parenthood. But as he reaches out for that new goal, he is haunted by a harrowing episode from his past.

Season 10, Episode 37: Leaving Lucy

17 October 2005

Season 10, Episode 38: Wolf at the Door

24 October 2005

Season 10, Episode 39: Terms of Imprisonment

31 October 2005

Season 10, Episode 40: Sons of Beaches

7 November 2005

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Season 11

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Season 11, Episode 1: Road to Kerobokan

13 February 2006

Season 11, Episode 2: One Perfect Day

20 February 2006

Season 11, Episode 3: A Little Help from My Friends

27 February 2006

Season 11, Episode 4: The Gillard Diaries

6 March 2006

Season 11, Episode 5: The Gift Horse

13 March 2006

Season 11, Episode 6: The Absolute Beginner

20 March 2006

Season 11, Episode 7: When a Stranger Calls: Part 1

27 March 2006

Season 11, Episode 8: When a Stranger Calls: Part 2

3 April 2006

Season 11, Episode 9: Collision Court

10 April 2006

Season 11, Episode 10: It Was at Gallipoli

17 April 2006

Season 11, Episode 11: Since Adam Was a Boy

24 April 2006

Season 11, Episode 12: The Polariser

1 May 2006

Season 11, Episode 13: The Mourning After

8 May 2006

Season 11, Episode 14: Room at the Top

15 May 2006

Season 11, Episode 15: See How She Runs

22 May 2006

Season 11, Episode 16: Father's Day

29 May 2006

Season 11, Episode 17: A Man Called Boy

5 June 2006

Season 11, Episode 18: Dzung's Anatomy

12 June 2006

Season 11, Episode 19: 10th Anniversary Special

19 June 2006

Season 11, Episode 20: Rock and a Hard Place

26 June 2006

Season 11, Episode 21: A Wealth of Friends

3 July 2006

Season 11, Episode 22: Takes Your Breath Away

10 July 2006

Season 11, Episode 23: Beyond Reasonable Doubt: Part 1

17 July 2006

Season 11, Episode 24: Beyond Reasonable Doubt: Part 2

24 July 2006

Season 11, Episode 25: Beyond Reasonable Doubt: Part 3

31 July 2006

Season 11, Episode 26: A Glorious Girl

7 August 2006

Season 11, Episode 27: Making a Mark

14 August 2006

Season 11, Episode 28: Lovers Leap

21 August 2006

Season 11, Episode 29: Man of Steel

28 August 2006

Season 11, Episode 30: Truth Be Told

4 September 2006

Season 11, Episode 31: All in the Family

11 September 2006

Season 11, Episode 32: The Ride of His Life

18 September 2006

Season 11, Episode 33: The Wild Thing

25 September 2006

Season 11, Episode 34: Playing for Time

2 October 2006

Season 11, Episode 35: His Hour Upon the Stage

9 October 2006

Season 11, Episode 36: What Lies Beyond

16 October 2006

Season 11, Episode 37: Twin Peaks

23 October 2006

Season 11, Episode 38: This Is the Moment

30 October 2006

Season 11, Episode 39: George's Best

6 November 2006

Season 11, Episode 40: Let There Be Light

13 November 2006

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Season 12

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Season 12, Episode 1: Losing Private Kovco

12 February 2007

Season 12, Episode 2: Man of the Century

19 February 2007

Season 12, Episode 3: No Stone Unturned

26 February 2007

Season 12, Episode 4: A Red Hot Go

5 March 2007
The story behind Craig Lowndes roller coaster 2006 season, and his close relationship with the Brock family.

Season 12, Episode 5: Million to One: Part 1

12 March 2007

Season 12, Episode 6: Million to One: Part 2

19 March 2007

Season 12, Episode 7: Down to Earth

26 March 2007

Season 12, Episode 8: An Uncomfortable Truth

2 April 2007

Season 12, Episode 9: The Peacemaker

9 April 2007

Season 12, Episode 10: Men of Ore

16 April 2007

Season 12, Episode 11: The More Things Change: Part 1

23 April 2007

Season 12, Episode 12: William the Conqueror

14 May 2007

Season 12, Episode 13: Windmills of Your Mind

21 May 2007

Season 12, Episode 14: Cry Me a River

28 May 2007

Season 12, Episode 15: Ash's Anatomy

4 June 2007
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.

Season 12, Episode 16: The Peter Principle

11 June 2007
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...

Season 12, Episode 17: Comes a Time

18 June 2007

Season 12, Episode 18: A Wealth of Friends

25 June 2007

Season 12, Episode 19: The Biggest Winner

2 July 2007

Season 12, Episode 20: The Fault Zone

9 July 2007

Season 12, Episode 21: Their Day in Court

16 July 2007

Season 12, Episode 22: Some Meaning in This Life

23 July 2007

Season 12, Episode 23: In Her Father's Eyes

30 July 2007

Season 12, Episode 24: The Acquittal

13 August 2007

Season 12, Episode 26: Body of Evidence: Part 1

20 August 2007

Season 12, Episode 27: Body of Evidence: Part 2

27 August 2007

Season 12, Episode 28: Catherine Smith

1 September 2007

Season 12, Episode 29: An Ever-fixed Mark

3 September 2007

Season 12, Episode 30: The War Zone

10 September 2007

Season 12, Episode 31: The School that John Built

17 September 2007

Season 12, Episode 32: A Winger and a Prayer

24 September 2007

Season 12, Episode 33: Live and Let Fly

1 October 2007

Season 12, Episode 34: Behind Enemy Lines: Part 1

8 October 2007

Season 12, Episode 35: Behind Enemy Lines: Part 2

15 October 2007

Season 12, Episode 36: Walk on the Wild Side

22 October 2007

Season 12, Episode 37: The Avenger

29 October 2007

Season 12, Episode 38: Before You Leap: Part 1

5 November 2007

Season 12, Episode 39: Before You Leap: Part 2

12 November 2007

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Season 13

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Season 13, Episode 1: Hell or High Water

11 February 2008

Season 13, Episode 2: That's What Friends Are For

18 February 2008

Season 13, Episode 3: The Candidate

25 February 2008

Season 13, Episode 4: Nothing But the Truth

3 March 2008

Season 13, Episode 5: Take It to the Limit

10 March 2008

Season 13, Episode 6: None Shall Sleep

17 March 2008

Season 13, Episode 7: Bomber and Roy

24 March 2008

Season 13, Episode 8: Access All Areas

31 March 2008

Season 13, Episode 9: Father of the Man

7 April 2008

Season 13, Episode 10: It's a Beautiful Day

14 April 2008

Season 13, Episode 11: Woman of Steel

21 April 2008

Season 13, Episode 12: Friday's Child

28 April 2008

Season 13, Episode 13: Show of Force: Part 1

12 May 2008

Season 13, Episode 14: Show of Force: Part 2

19 May 2008

Season 13, Episode 15: The Sum of Sam

26 May 2008

Season 13, Episode 16: Body and Soul

2 June 2008

Season 13, Episode 17: Show No Mercy

9 June 2008

Season 13, Episode 18: The Boy Next Door

16 June 2008

Season 13, Episode 19: Abby's Road

23 June 2008

Season 13, Episode 20: The Waiting Room

30 June 2008

Season 13, Episode 21: William Tells

7 July 2008

Season 13, Episode 22: She's Not There

14 July 2008

Season 13, Episode 23: No Man's Land

21 July 2008

Season 13, Episode 24: The Money Shot

28 July 2008

Season 13, Episode 25: Looking for Kate

4 August 2008

Season 13, Episode 26: This Boy's Life

11 August 2008

Season 13, Episode 27: It's Not Easy Being Green

18 August 2008

Season 13, Episode 28: Reality Bytes

25 August 2008

Season 13, Episode 29: Til Death Do Us Part

1 September 2008

Season 13, Episode 30: The Finishing Line

8 September 2008

Season 13, Episode 31: The Girl Least Likely

15 September 2008

Season 13, Episode 32: A Piece of Her Mind

22 September 2008

Season 13, Episode 33: The Still of the Night

29 September 2008

Season 13, Episode 34: More Fireworks in the Family

6 October 2008

Season 13, Episode 35: The Big Picture Man

13 October 2008

Season 13, Episode 36: A Sea of Troubles

20 October 2008

Season 13, Episode 37: Fruit of the Vine

27 October 2008

Season 13, Episode 38: A Letter from Richard Flanagan

3 November 2008

Season 13, Episode 39: All the Boys in Town

10 November 2008

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Season 14

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Season 14, Episode 1: The Heat of the Moment

9 February 2009

Season 14, Episode 2: Finding Her Focus

16 February 2009

Season 14, Episode 3: A Call from Lockhart River

2 March 2009

Season 14, Episode 4: The Laffan Legacy

9 March 2009

Season 14, Episode 5: A Bitter End: Part 1

16 March 2009

Season 14, Episode 6: A Bitter End: Part 2

23 March 2009

Season 14, Episode 7: Judging Nick D'Arcy

30 March 2009

Season 14, Episode 8: Cold Comfort Farm

6 April 2009

Season 14, Episode 9: Hell for Leather

13 April 2009

Season 14, Episode 10: The Miller's Tale: Part 1

20 April 2009

Season 14, Episode 11: The Miller's Tale: Part 2

27 April 2010

Season 14, Episode 12: Friday's Child

4 May 2009

Season 14, Episode 13: All in Your Mind

11 May 2009

Season 14, Episode 14: All the Pretty Horses

18 May 2009

Season 14, Episode 15: Holier Than Thou

25 May 2009

Season 14, Episode 16: Back to Earth

1 June 2009

Season 14, Episode 17: Africa Calling

8 June 2009

Season 14, Episode 18: Shades of Grey

15 June 2009

Season 14, Episode 19: In Cold Blood

22 June 2009

Season 14, Episode 20: The Highway Man

29 June 2009

Season 14, Episode 21: Right as Rain: Part 1

6 July 2009

Season 14, Episode 22: Right as Rain: Part 2

13 July 2009

Season 14, Episode 23: Flag of My Father

20 July 2009

Season 14, Episode 24: Doctor in the House

27 July 2009

Season 14, Episode 25: Paths of Glory

3 August 2009

Season 14, Episode 27: My Name Is Jack

10 August 2009

Season 14, Episode 28: When We Were Racers

17 August 2009

Season 14, Episode 29: The Big Deal

24 August 2009

Season 14, Episode 30: Fly with Me

31 August 2009

Season 14, Episode 31: Unfinished Business

7 September 2009

Season 14, Episode 32: Eye to Eye

14 September 2009

Season 14, Episode 33: The Presidents' Man

21 September 2009

Season 14, Episode 34: Her Beauty and Her Terror

28 September 2009

Season 14, Episode 35: Ocean of Doubt: Part 1

5 October 2009

Season 14, Episode 36: Ocean of Doubt: Part 2

12 October 2009

Season 14, Episode 37: Message from Mandawuy

19 October 2009

Season 14, Episode 38: A Fatal Attraction: Part 1

26 October 2009

Season 14, Episode 39: A Fatal Attraction: Part 2

2 November 2009

Season 14, Episode 40: The Heart of the Matter

9 November 2009

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Season 15

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Season 15, Episode 1: The Story of Samuel

8 February 2010

Season 15, Episode 2: Something in the Water: Part 1

15 February 2010

Season 15, Episode 3: Something in the Water: Part 2

22 February 2010

Season 15, Episode 4: Watch Over Me

1 March 2010

Season 15, Episode 5: When Words Fail

8 March 2010

Season 15, Episode 6: Becoming Jangala

15 March 2010

Season 15, Episode 7: Call of the Wild

22 March 2010

Season 15, Episode 8: The Night Before Christmas

29 March 2010

Season 15, Episode 9: Children of a Lesser God

5 April 2010

Season 15, Episode 10: Dumb and Dumber

12 April 2010

Season 15, Episode 11: In My Little Town

19 April 2010

Season 15, Episode 12: Woman on a Mission

26 April 2010

Season 15, Episode 13: Mad World

3 May 2010

Season 15, Episode 14: Proof of Life

10 May 2010

Season 15, Episode 15: Sting in the Tale

17 May 2010

Season 15, Episode 16: The Blue Beret: Part 1

24 May 2010

Season 15, Episode 17: The Blue Beret: Part 2

31 May 2010

Season 15, Episode 18: The Company of Men

7 June 2010

Season 15, Episode 19: Heaven Sent

14 June 2010

Season 15, Episode 20: She Who Waits

21 June 2010

Season 15, Episode 21: Pay It Forward

28 June 2010

Season 15, Episode 22: Ticket to Tigray

5 June 2010

Season 15, Episode 23: Blowing in the Wind

12 July 2010

Season 15, Episode 24: Mum's the Word

19 July 2010

Season 15, Episode 25: It's a Long Way There

26 July 2010

Season 15, Episode 26: Unfathomable: Part 1

2 August 2010

Season 15, Episode 27: Unfathomable: Part 2

9 August 2010

Season 15, Episode 28: Our New Selection

16 August 2010

Season 15, Episode 29: Labor of Love

23 August 2010

Season 15, Episode 30: Hit the Road Jack

30 August 2010

Season 15, Episode 31: Into the Forest

6 September 2010

Season 15, Episode 32: Prisoner of War: Part 1

13 September 2010

Season 15, Episode 33: Prisoner of War: Part 2

20 September 2010

Season 15, Episode 34: The Wronged Man

27 September 2010

Season 15, Episode 35: The Wronged Man: Part 2

4 October 2010

Season 15, Episode 36: Animal Farm

11 October 2010

Season 15, Episode 37: Woman on a Mission

18 October 2010

Season 15, Episode 38: You're the Voice

25 October 2010

Season 15, Episode 39: The Farmer Wants a Life

1 November 2010

Season 15, Episode 40: The Graduate

8 November 2010

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Season 16

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Season 16, Episode 1: The Man on the Mantlepiece

7 February 2011
Maggie MacKellar was a city dweller who seemed to have it all - a successful academic career, a devoted husband, a young daughter and another baby on the way.

Season 16, Episode 2: On Your Bike

14 February 2011
Doug Sunderland is an 85 year old motor bike rider who travelled solo around Australia becoming the centre of a social networking phenomenon on the way.

Season 16, Episode 3: The Third Act

21 February 2011
For the last 48 years Jacki Weaver has been one of Australia's best loved actors. Now 63, she has achieved a stunning career high by being chosen as one of the Best Supporting Actress nominees for this year's Oscars.

Season 16, Episode 4: Dogs of War

28 February 2011
Fraser Island, off the coast of Queensland is the only place in the world with a population of pure dingos, but some authorities say they're in trouble with their numbers declining. Experts disagree about the best way to manage the island which is mostly National Park and the issue has become highly political. This program is about wildlife photographer Jennifer Parkhurst, whose passion for dingos set her at odds with park rangers - and brought her to the brink of disaster...

Season 16, Episode 5: Take No Prisoners

7 March 2011
On the eve of his retirement from public office, the nation's longest serving Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicholas Cowdery, reflects exclusively on his sixteen years in the top job. Cowdery's reign encompasses some of the nation's most notorious criminal prosecutions including the cases of Ivan Milat, Gordon Wood, Keli Lane, and the moral outcry over Bill Henson's photographs of children. Loved by many in the legal profession, but loathed by some in the political arena, Nicholas Cowdery is acknowledged as a fierce defender of the DPP's independence. His decision from the outset not to 'curry favour' with his political masters led to a 'take no prisoners' leadership style that's divided friends and foes alike. In a rare insight, Nicholas Cowdery reveals the stories behind some of his most difficult decisions - and finally explains what the gift of two olives in a jar from one of his biggest opponents really stood for.

Season 16, Episode 6: Girl Most Likely

14 March 2011
Jade Hopper is a young woman on the cusp of the toughest decision of her life - to pursue her dream of becoming a world no. 1 tennis player or to court success from her law studies.

Season 16, Episode 7: The Terminator

21 March 2011
Paul de Gelder was a Navy clearance diver with a reputation as one of the toughest of the tough. It was routine for him to swim long distances in the middle of the night, often in shark infested waters. Two years ago he was testing new sonar equipment in Sydney Harbour when he was attacked by a shark and pulled from the water, barely alive. Surveying his injuries, he told his doctor 'Make me a terminator'. This week's program follows his recovery and the twists and turns that followed. It includes chilling footage of the attack, just released by the Navy exclusively for this program.

Season 16, Episode 8: Across the Night Sky

28 March 2011
In 2010 a Victorian court sentenced Robert Farquharson to a minimum 33 years jail for deliberately driving his three sons to their death in a dam on Father's Day.

Season 16, Episode 9: Mr Quigley's Quandary: Part 1

4 April 2011
Part 1 of the program about lawyer and politician John Quigley whose three decades in the public spotlight have drawn controversy, enmity and notoriety.

Season 16, Episode 10: Mr Quigley's Quandary: Part 2

11 April 2011
This week's program concludes the story of John Quigley, a lawyer and politician widely praised for his four year battle to free a man wrongly imprisoned for murder. As we revealed, it's all come at a steep personal price for Quigley, who now finds himself in the dock, facing professional misconduct charges. At the same time, he's tackled major health crises; the demands of a young family, and, most recently, another notorious case involving police wrongdoing...

Season 16, Episode 11: Under Her Wing

18 April 2011
This week's program is about an Australian businesswoman who came to the rescue of a young man who seemed beyond hope and beyond help. Eight years ago Elizabeth Clayton was living in Fiji when she encountered a young man known as the 'chicken boy'. He'd been kept in a hen house as a child and then tied up for 22 years in an old people's home. His name was Sujit and they were about to change each other lives in remarkable ways...

Season 16, Episode 12: In the Jet Stream

25 April 2011
Band manager David Powell took the Melbourne rock band JET from obscurity to ARIA triumph and then onto the international stage. But fate was less kind to David - today he is lucky to be alive to tell his story.

Season 16, Episode 13: Shattered

2 May 2011
On 22 July 2007, Peter Hodgkins threw a rock at a car from an overpass at Kiama, NSW, smashing the skull of beauty therapist Nicole Timbs (Miller) and changing both their lives forever. Now out of jail, Hodgkins is attempting to make amends by working with police. In this week's program, Nicole Timbs, Peter Hodgkins, their families and the police offer their perspectives on the lifelong impact of this shattering moment.

Season 16, Episode 14: 15th Anniversary Special: Part 1

16 May 2011
Celebration of 15 years of Australian Story featuring Gayle Shann, Chris Sarra, Beth Heinrich, Greg Combet, Belinda Emmett, Bob Irwin, Gemma Sisia and Michael Ware.

Season 16, Episode 15: 15th Anniversary Special: Part 2

16 May 2011
This week we're continuing our fifteenth anniversary countdown of some of the most memorable and popular episodes of Australian Story. We're featuring one story from every year and bringing you up to date with what's happened to people. This week, we conclude with the years 2003 to 2010. As you would expect, there's some laughter and some tears - but there are some big surprises too.

Season 16, Episode 16: Hearts of Gold

23 May 2011
Brian Sherman rose to great wealth and success as a businessman. His son Emile is a co-producer of 'The King's Speech', winner of this year's best picture Oscar. But what really unites the family is their overwhelming passion for animal welfare.

Season 16, Episode 17: Mind of His Own

30 May 2011
Charlie Teo is a Sydney neurosurgeon, loved by patients but unpopular with some in the medical establishment. He is credited with prolonging the lives of many people with tumours that were considered inoperable.

Season 16, Episode 18: The Girl from Boryslaw

6 June 2011
Sabina Wolanski was left alone in the world at 17 when her family were killed in the Holocaust. In 2005 she addressed a gathering of state dignitaries in Berlin, received a standing ovation and reduced journalists to tears.

Season 16, Episode 19: Conviction: Part 1

13 June 2011
For three and a half years, Newcastle pathologist Dr Simon Palfreeman has been shuttling between Australia and Bulgaria negotiating that country's complex and controversial justice system to try to help his 24 year old son.

Season 16, Episode 20: Conviction: Part 2

20 June 2011
The conclusion of our story on Dr Simon Palfreeman, the Newcastle pathologist on a mission to help his son who's serving twenty years in a Bulgarian jail.

Season 16, Episode 21: Love and Other Drugs

27 June 2011
This week's program features a true story that is stranger than fiction. Sally Nielsen is twenty-five and she's a wedding planner. When her own fiance suffered a catastrophic stroke, she ignored the advice of some of those closest to her and stuck by him. Now her efforts have produced an amazing medical breakthrough.

Season 16, Episode 22: Desperate Remedies: Part 1

11 July 2011
Penelope Dingle was a former model and actor married to TV science guru Peter Dingle. At age 43, she was diagnosed with a common cancer regarded as highly curable if it's caught early.

Season 16, Episode 23: Desperate Remedies: Part 2

11 July 2011
This week the conclusion to the story of Penelope Dingle and her family. Mrs Dingle was a former model and actor married to a high profile TV science guru. At the age of 43 she was diagnosed with a common cancer. But in almost inexplicable circumstances she turned her back on conventional medicine, with far reaching consequences for everyone in her circle.

Season 16, Episode 24: City of Angels

18 July 2011
If you could die at any moment, how would you live your life? Would you attempt to have children? These were the dilemmas that confronted Alisa Latto and her husband Alastair. Alisa, who is 36, was born with a life threatening genetic condition - one shared by her two siblings and her mother, Rosemary... When her oldest brother died two years ago Alisa said it became crystal clear there were only two ways she could live her life. 'I was either going to do nothing or everything'. After undergoing open heart surgery, she decided the one thing she really wanted was to experience motherhood but doctors said there was a good chance she would die if she bore a child. She looked at adoption and surrogacy but everywhere she turned, everything was stacked against her - legally, medically and financially. Eventually she tracked down an overseas laboratory that was able to examine her DNA and isolate the faulty gene that causes the connective tissue disorder. But she still faced major obstacles. Then, in Los Angeles, an unexpected saviour appeared in the form of a 27 year old mother called Brandi Brewster... This week's Australian Story follows Alisa and her family on an incredible journey with more twists and turns than anyone could ever have anticipated...

Season 16, Episode 25: Trust Me Mr Chandler

25 July 2011
This week's program tells the story of international banker Sascha Chandler and a secret he'd harboured since childhood. Two years ago he decided to deal with his demons and joined forces with a dogged New South Wales detective to bring to justice one of the country's most elusive and dangerous predators. Andrew McIntosh had managed to escape the authorities over and over again. It's a story of many twists and turns and can now be told for the first time.

Season 16, Episode 26: A Measure of Courage

1 August 2011
Captain Hec Waller and Ordinary Seaman Teddy Sheean both saw service during the darkest days of the Japanese advance towards Australia during World War II. Despite their heroism neither was ever nominated for the Forces' highest accolade, the Victoria Cross.

Season 16, Episode 27: A Plague on All Their Houses

8 August 2011
Two years ago we brought you the story of two veterinary staff who were exposed to the Hendra horse virus with devastating consequences. The virus struck again this year, and so far has killed another fifteen horses. With more than seventy people in Queensland and New South Wales monitored for exposure to the Hendra virus, there is pressure to understand why it's spreading so rapidly and to develop a vaccine. This week, we bring you an encore edition of our bittersweet story of Queensland vet Ben Cunneen and his co worker, Natalie Beohm.

Season 16, Episode 28: Ita Tells Me So: Part 1

15 August 2011
The smash hit 'Paper Giants' ABC TV drama triggered a tsunami of interest in the life and times of journalist and publisher Ita Buttrose AO, OBE. Now, in a candid, moving, and surprising double episode, Ms Buttrose, and those closest to her, go on the record with their recollections of a trail blazing career and a momentous period in Australia's social history. It's access all areas, from her early career, her alliance with Kerry Packer and their spectacular falling out, to the wilderness years and her 'rebirth' following the success of 'Paper Giants'. Those interviewed include former Packer right hand man Trevor Kennedy, actress Asher Keddie, Ms Buttrose's brother Julian and her daughter Kate, Governor-General Quentin Bryce and former 'Cleo' magazine editors Shelley Gare and Lisa Wilkinson.

Season 16, Episode 29: Ita Tells Me So: Part 2

22 August 2011
In this week's concluding episode journalist and publisher Ita Buttrose AO, OBE recounts the 'ballistic' consequences of leaving Kerry Packer's empire to go to work for his great rival Rupert Murdoch. Suddenly there were tougher times culminating in the failure of her own magazine Ita. 'It was like her third baby and she lost it. 'It hurts' says her brother Julian. 'I licked my wounds for a few months.. but you know not everything you do in life works. You've just got to accept that' says Ita Buttrose. From being the most admired woman in Australia, she suddenly found herself applying for jobs and receiving no response. 'Society kind of spat her out and nobody came to her aid' says former colleague and Cleo editor, Shelley Gare. But when the smash hit drama series Paper Giants reignited interest in Ita Buttrose, she was poised and ready to embrace a wave of opportunities with undiminished vigour and determination. According to Trevor Kennedy, former Packer right hand man, 'Ita's always had a major eye for the main chance'. This week she talks candidly about men, dating, loneliness, family, media ethics and grabbing life by the throat, at any age...

Season 16, Episode 30: The Trials of Jonty Bush

29 August 2011
This week's program is about Jonty Bush who's a recent winner of the Young Australian of the Year title. The title's familiar but Jonty Bush's astonishing personal story is much less well known. At the age of only 32 violent death has been her constant companion. In the space of a few years she lost two of her closest family members in separate and unrelated crimes and had to take over the task of raising her own brother. Instead of succumbing to grief and anger, she took up the challenge to change the world and in the process changed herself...

Season 16, Episode 31: Paint the Town Black

5 September 2011
Not since the mighty Phar Lap has a horse captured the public imagination like Black Caviar. She remains unbeaten after thirteen runs and has been declared the best racehorse in the world. She's the first non human to have her story documented on Australian Story. Black Caviar has been rested for a few months and is being readied to return to the track for her fourteenth contest. If she wins, she equals Phar Lap's record. With exclusive access, we go back to where it all began on a stud farm in Victoria and see how she's transformed the lives of everyone involved.

Season 16, Episode 32: Brand New Day

12 September 2011
Forty-one year old Gavin Larkin was the ultimate alpha male with a seemingly perfect life. He was a highly successful advertising executive with friends in high places. But there was a problem. He was, as he says himself, 'a bit of a prick'. Gavin decided to change a few things and three years ago he used his marketing nous and his high profile contacts to create a national day of awareness called R U OK? Day. Within nine months, R U OK? Day achieved levels of awareness about depression and suicide prevention that other organisations had failed to achieve over the course of decades. But not long after the launch, the super fit indomitable Gavin was anything but okay.

Season 16, Episode 33: The Courage of Her Convictions

19 September 2011
When Catherine Smith was found not guilty of attempting to murder her own husband it was a turning point in one of the most extraordinary cases in Australian criminal history. Ms Smith and her six children had suffered twenty years of terror at the hands of her husband, Kevin. She didn't get the help she needed from the authorities and Kevin Smith made it clear he would stop at nothing in his efforts to punish and control the people he regarded as his property. But in the last few months, the diminutive Catherine Smith has finally succeeded in turning the tables on a man now regarded as nothing less than a psychopath.

Season 16, Episode 34: Scared Straight

26 September 2011
This week's program tells the story of a most unlikely friendship between a TV Drama legend and three young men who grew up as part of the notorious 'Bra Boys' from the Sydney suburb of Maroubra. Sue Masters is a television producer and writer responsible for some of Australia's best known and best loved dramas including SeaChange and Brides of Christ. At Channel Ten, she oversaw the award winning The Secret Life of Us. She had never even visited Maroubra, 'I had only ever read bad press', but now she's teamed up with 'Bra Boys' Macario de Souza and his friends Mark Matthews and Richie Vaculik to work on a big screen documentary about big wave surfing, alcohol fuelled violence and the sequence of events that finally frightened the young men into cleaning up their lives. On the surface, the award winning TV producer and the three young men had nothing in common, but as the story unfolds unlikely connections emerge... Sue Masters says: 'This is very much about young men trying to stop their best friend from ruining their life and doing everything in their power to harness their talents, focus on their fitness and keep them out of the pubs and out of trouble'.

Season 16, Episode 35: For the Holy Grail

3 October 2011
This week we revisit the story of two Australian scientists and their quest for one of medicine's holy grails finding a way to treat cancer without the dreaded side effects. Four years ago, Dr Jennifer MacDiarmid and Dr Himanshu Brahmbhatt sparked worldwide interest with a revolutionary new technique to deliver chemotherapy. Animal tests have produced spectacular results and now the scientists are ready to move onto human trials.

Season 16, Episode 36: Under Her Spell

10 October 2011
This week's program tells the story of the Australian woman at the heart of Steven Spielberg's much anticipated Christmas blockbuster. Zelie Bullen is a former stunt woman, turned world renowned animal trainer. She is stepping into the international spotlight as the woman who trained 'Abraham', the lead horse in Spielberg's production of the Tony award winning play 'War Horse'. The movie is being likened to 'ET' and tells the story of a boy who follows his beloved horse into the trenches in World War One. Zelie Bullen married into the famous Bullen circus family. Her own early history with its triumphs and tragedies, reads like a film script. But it's the once in a lifetime performance she drew from the horse 'Abraham' that seems set to make Hollywood history... Bullen says "At the end of the job Steven (Spielberg) threw up his arms for a big hug and said 'all of the love that you put into your animals has come out on screen, on my screen and it will be there forever'." Now Bullen is on a reunion quest of her own. She says she is desperate to acquire 'Abraham' and bring him back to her property on the Gold Coast hinterland...

Season 16, Episode 37: Bad Blood: Part 1

17 October 2011
This week's Australian Story program is the first of a two-parter on the notorious case of Jeffrey Gilham, in jail for life for the murders of his own parents. Gilham's uncle, Tony Gilham, campaigned for more than a decade to put his nephew behind bars, and he's convinced justice has been done. In Sydney next month, an appeal will be heard against both his conviction and his sentence. Both sides of the divided family have spoken with Australian Story. But Jeffrey Gilham's wife and supporters are speaking publicly for the first time. They believe he's innocent of murder...

Season 16, Episode 38: Bad Blood: Part 2

24 October 2011
This week's program continues the baffling case of Jeffrey Gilham, currently serving a life sentence for the murders of his own parents in Sydney nearly twenty years ago. Jeffrey Gilham was a free man for fifteen years after receiving a good behaviour bond for the manslaughter of his brother, Christopher, whom he claimed had killed their parents. But his uncle Tony Gilham became suspicious and waged a determined campaign for more than a decade to convict his nephew for all three deaths. Tony Gilham is certain justice has now been served, but Jeffrey Gilham's wife Robecca and other supporters are contesting the verdict and an appeal will be heard next month.

Season 16, Episode 39: Something About Me

31 October 2011
Kristina Keneally made history by becoming the first female Premier of New South Wales. What few realise is the family experience that she says led her into politics and toughened her for the brutal crossfire of public life.

Season 16, Episode 40: The Planet They're On

7 November 2011
Nazeem Hussain and Aamer Rahman have become two of the hottest young comedians on the Australian comedy scene. They first met seven years ago as a result of their support for asylum seekers and for anti racism activism. But they quickly found their forte was comedy. In the space of five years the two mates from Melbourne have achieved what other up-and-coming stand-up comics can only dream of. They established their own stage show... 'Fear Of A Brown Planet' and sold out around the nation... Most recently they've gone international with successful shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in London.

Season 16, Episode 41: When William Met Sarah

11 November 2011
Film critic Margaret Pomeranz introduces this encore edition on the very special personal and professional bond shared by filmmaker Sarah Watt and her husband actor and writer William McInnes.

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Season 17

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Season 17, Episode 1: Road to Nowhere: Part 1

6 February 2012
This week's season opener is about a woman taking on some of the most powerful institutions in her home state - and changing the way things are done. It started when her husband went out for a bike ride and never returned. Since then, Di Gilcrist has helped instigate two criminal trials, a royal commission and a legal conduct hearing, earning praise for her determination and courage. But she still hasn't achieved the one thing she wants most. She's telling her story for the first time.

Season 17, Episode 2: Road to Nowhere: Part 2

13 February 2012
This week more unfolding drama in our story about a woman taking on the big end of town and changing the face of justice in her home state. She's Di Gilcrist. Eight years ago her husband went out for a bike ride and never returned. He was struck by a four wheel drive driven by a prominent lawyer called Eugene McGee. Mr McGee failed to stop. He admitted he'd been drinking but he was never tested for blood alcohol. The case has already galvanized public opinion in South Australia. Now the rest of the country is talking about it too.

Season 17, Episode 3: Mary and Me

20 February 2012
This week's program is about a grandmother whose recovery from terminal illness became central to the declaration of Australia's first saint. Kath Evans was diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to her brain and given only weeks to live. She attributes her sudden, extraordinary recovery to the then Blessed Mary MacKillop and the event was accepted by the Vatican as a miracle. Whether you are a believer or non-believer - and Kath Evans has been both - there is no question she has travelled a remarkable path. This week, for the first time, she is telling her full story. The oncologists involved in her case are speaking out as well.

Season 17, Episode 4: By the Light of Stars

27 February 2012
This week's Australian Story is about a man credited with taking a small, troubled circus company and transforming it into a world beater. It's a case of 'move over Cirque du Soleil' with sell out performances and rave reviews around the world. The company is called 'Circa'. It was founded by Yaron Lifschitz. Against the hopes and expectations of his Jewish parents who wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer, he went to drama school, and then into the 'dangerous and dirty' world of trapeze and acrobatics. Now, Circa has burst onto the international stage - this year alone, performing 400 shows in 13 countries, even opening the famous International Circus Arts Festival in Montreal, 'circus city' and home to Cirque du Soleil. But as this week's program reveals, behind all the professional success there is a story of personal adversity and of an unusual and richly varied extended family supporting each other through often tough times.

Season 17, Episode 5: Half a Million Acres

5 March 2012
This week's program is an epic story of droughts and flooding rains and a young pastoralist's dream to restore his beloved landscape. David Pollock was just twenty-seven when his father chose him ahead of his older brother to take over the family's pastoral lease in outback Western Australia. Originally the size of a small town, Wooleen station, like many other stations in the southern rangelands, had fallen on hard times as over-grazing and drought decimated the landscape. David's radical plans to remove all the stock from the property shocked his neighbours. The project may well have failed but for the unexpected arrival of a young woman in her gap year from Melbourne. This is the story of Frances Jones and David Pollock and their property Wooleen.

Season 17, Episode 6: The Book of Daniel

12 March 2012
This week's program tells the story of a young boy whose passion for endangered animals unexpectedly thrust him into the political spotlight. He's Daniel Clarke and at the age of ten, inspired by the late Steve Irwin, he set out to raise funds to conserve habitat for orangutans in Indonesia. But when some of the country's leading politicians suddenly became involved, Daniel found himself centre stage. It was a crash course in what can happen when youthful idealism clashes with hard ball politics. Daniel Clarke and his family have weathered it all and they're now making a real difference to their beloved orangutans.

Season 17, Episode 7: Woman from Snowy River

19 March 2012
This week's program is about an exceptional woman who grew up just down the road from the Victorian High Country. Her father would have preferred a son and he raised Leigh Woodgate to be tougher than all her male contemporaries. Leigh Woodgate became a renowned and fearless horsewoman who excelled at bush racing. She soon graduated to the hazardous sport of steeplechasing or 'jumps racing' and became something of a celebrity. But when disaster struck, she stunned the racing establishment with courage and determination of quite epic proportions, unfolding over two decades.

Season 17, Episode 8: Going Troppo

26 March 2012
This week's episode tells the story of actor and director John Polson and features some of the biggest names in Hollywood's Gumleaf Mafia. The A Listers, including Geoffrey Rush, Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett were all together in Sydney recently for Polson's 'Tropfest' event which has risen from unlikely origins in a corner cafe to become the biggest short film festival in the world. Polson reveals that his teenage years were marked by delinquency, expulsions from school and several brushes with the law. But he caught the attention of a casting agent and suddenly emerged as a successful young actor, going on to direct some of the world's best known TV dramas and becoming an all round influence broker - a man of whom it is said 'Everybody knows him, or wants to know him'.

Season 17, Episode 10: A Done Deal

9 April 2012
Ric Richardson is an inventor who took on the might of Microsoft and scored a remarkable victory.

Season 17, Episode 11: Streets with No Names

16 April 2012
This is a story of rags-to-riches and back again, introduced by actor Heather Graham. From a working class upbringing in Adelaide, Scott Neeson built a career as a top Hollywood movie executive, promoting blockbusters such as Titanic, Braveheart, Independence Day, and X-Men. It was a glamorous lifestyle, walking red carpets, partying with celebrities and dating models. But after a holiday in Cambodia, Neeson made a deliberate choice to give it all up. Gone are the slick designer suits, traded instead for the cargo pants and hiking boots required to navigate the rubbish dumps of Phnom Penh. He now owns 'nothing' but says he couldn't be happier as he works to help some of Cambodia's poorest children.

Season 17, Episode 12: The Razor's Edge

23 April 2012
In a complex modern world, there aren't too many people who can galvanize the nation on a single issue. Lyn White is one such person. She first featured on Australian Story ten years ago. Back then she was a former South Australian police officer embarking on a new career as an advocate for animals. No one could have guessed the drama and the headlines that would follow. Going where most fear to tread, armed only with a small camera, Lyn White has ignited a fiery debate.

Season 17, Episode 13: Return to Wooleen

30 April 2012
Earlier this year we brought you the story of a young couple and their battle to save historic Wooleen Station in the Murchison Ranges district of WA. Against conventional wisdom, they took the radical step of destocking Wooleen's half a million acres to give the landscape a chance to regenerate. The story of David Pollock and Frances Jones drew a warm response. And though their struggles are far from over, their efforts have brought support from unexpected quarters... including someone well known to Australian Story viewers...

Season 17, Episode 14: Larger Than Life

7 May 2012
This week's program is about a man who defies easy definition. Clive Palmer has been described as generous, a national treasure and a major political force. He's also been labelled a billionaire mining magnate who has never mined, a human headline and a skilled manipulator of the media. He first burst into national consciousness via the mining tax debate, public stoushes with other business and political heavyweights, and his role in Queensland Labor's crushing election defeat. Now he wants to run against Wayne Swan in the Treasurer's seat of Lilley. So who is Clive Palmer, what is his personal history and does his past provide clues to his future? In exclusive interviews, his wife Anna, close friends and employees shed new light on a man often described as larger than life. Business and political commentators also have their say.

Season 17, Episode 15: When We Were Racers

14 May 2012
Updated encore screening It's over fifty years since Sir Jack Brabham became the first Australian to win a Formula One World Championship. Not only did he drive cars, he built them as well. He's still the only driver to win a world title in a car of his own construction. Now in his mid eighties, Sir Jack remains a modest hero who is finally starting to receive proper recognition in his own country. Earlier this year he won a 'National Living Treasure' award from the National Trust and he continues to be an inspiration for younger racers, including his own grandson.

Season 17, Episode 16: According to Her Cloth

21 May 2012
This week's program is about a new designer who's reinvented herself in a spectacular way. In her teens, Tovah Cottle became an internationally successful model... She was prescribed opiates for migraines at fourteen and later fell into heroin addiction, eventually crashing to earth in a series of tabloid headlines. She spent just over two years in jail and there, as part of her rehabilitation, she learned to sew. Now she's re-emerged as a promising new fashion designer with some high profile fans.

Season 17, Episode 17: Turning the Tables

28 May 2012
This week's program is about a dynamic young indigenous man who's emerged as one of Australia's youngest CEOs. He's Jack Manning Bancroft and he is as comfortable in a hoodie as he is in a suit. As a seventeen year old Manning Bancroft won a scholarship to prestigious Paul's College at Sydney University. He says he was initially angered by the levels of privilege that he witnessed there. So he conceived the idea of starting a mentoring program to pair university students with disadvantaged kids for their mutual benefit. It became AIME, the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience and it's credited with helping hundreds of disadvantaged kids finish school and go on to university. It's attracted support and interest from some heavy hitters, including swim legend Ian Thorpe who managed to obtain support from some major corporate players.

Season 17, Episode 18: Walking with Kate Mulvany

4 June 2012
At just 35, actress and playwright Kate Mulvany has experienced more than most people do in a lifetime. As a young child she battled an illness that confined her to hospital for long periods, an experience she describes as 'exploding my imagination'. This early interest in writing (she experimented with changing the endings of her Little Golden Books to 'make them more interesting') led to an arts drama degree and the opportunity to hone her writing skills with acclaimed author Elizabeth Jolley. A career as a successful playwright and actor was interrupted by the death of her partner, All Saints actor Mark Priestley. In this episode of Australian Story, Kate Mulvany speaks candidly about life's many challenges and explains how she found the energy and determination to return to the public spotlight. As friend Jacki Weaver notes, 'she's one of the most courageous people I know.'

Season 17, Episode 19: The Voice

11 June 2012
Gurrumul Yunupingu's haunting voice has captivated global audiences, most recently in London for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Yet despite the accolades and awards, Gurrumul's continued preference is to refuse media interviews. Instead, in 2010 he consented to Australian Story accessing footage shot by filmmaker Naina Sen, who had travelled with Gurrumul over an extended period of time. The result was an intimate profile that ended with the musician at a turning point in relation to his health and musical future. In this update to our original program, his producer and friend Michael Hohnen reveals that Gurrumul nearly died from a complex set of medical ailments in 2011 but that after receiving treatment he's now a 'changed person'.

Season 17, Episode 20: To Set Before a Queen

18 June 2012
In the early hours of Sunday June 24 tens of thousands of Australians are expected to set their alarms to watch a horse race in England. The unbeaten Black Caviar will take on Europe's best at Royal Ascot, in front of the Queen. It's a success story in which many have played a part. That becomes clear when you go back to how it all started. Monday night's Australian Story has the fascinating inside story of the making of Black Caviar, stretching back across the generations.

Season 17, Episode 21: Her Hour Upon the Stage

25 July 2012
It's now five months since the sudden death of Diana Bliss created headlines around the world. It was a tragic and unexpected end for a woman who appeared to be living a glamorous and successful life. Diana Bliss had achieved acclaim as a Tony Award nominated international theatre producer. She was married to her long time love, the controversial businessman Alan Bond. She lived through the highs of the America's Cup victory and the disgrace of his imprisonment for fraud. It was a long way from the quiet country parsonage where she grew up. Her long time friend Johanna Johns says Diana was 'just a simple girl and she led a very very complicated life'. In a two part special, her family and friends tell her story and reveal the extent of the private torment behind the glittering existence.

Season 17, Episode 22: Her Hour Upon the Stage Part 2

2 July 2012
This week, the conclusion to our story about Diana Bliss whose death earlier this year was reported around the world. Diana Bliss was a successful international theatre producer. She married controversial businessman Alan Bond 17 years ago knowing that he was likely to be jailed for Australia's biggest corporate fraud. Ms Bliss's body was found at the home in Perth that she shared with Mr Bond. In interviews for Australian Story Ms Bliss's friends described her as 'luminous' and full of life. Actor and friend Carmen Duncan says: 'She was mesmerising; everyone who met Di fell in love with her'. But in the last year or two she succumbed to a serious depressive illness. In this week's program friends and family reveal the private torment behind the seemingly glamorous lifestyle and the lessons that can be drawn.

Season 17, Episode 23: Letters to the Editor

9 July 2012
It's a time of unprecedented crisis in the newspaper industry. But this week's Australian Story is about a former big city journalist who's bucking the trend. James Clark had been living the dream in Paris when he decided to put his future, his relationship and the family sheep station on the line to chase his dream of running a little local newspaper in outback Cunnamulla. The paper is called the Warrego Watchman and it has even developed a fan following in the big smoke where Kevin Rudd is a regular reader. Clark ruffles many feathers. His take no prisoners tabloid reporting style gets the locals offside. Even his own father is moved to write a scolding 'letter to the editor'. And his brother is worrying that the family's 60,000 acre sheep property 'Pabra' is being neglected. Meanwhile, back in Paris, the love of Clark's life, actor Josephine Birch is deciding whether to throw it all in and join Clark in his remote corner of the Outback...

Season 17, Episode 24: Stranger on the Shore

16 July 2012
This week's program tells the story of a young woman unsettling her middle class Melbourne family by going out on a limb to 'adopt' a fourteen year old Afghan asylum seeker. Jaffar Ali arrived in Australia two years ago after escaping from Indonesia in a leaky boat subsequently intercepted near Christmas Island. It wasn't Jessie Taylor's first such intervention. In 2008 she dramatically 'rescued' an asylum seeking Afghan soccer team during Melbourne's Homeless World Cup. Jessie Taylor is a human rights barrister who grew up in a comfortable 'right wing' middle class Melbourne family. Her mother Jillian was opposed to asylum seekers who she saw as queue jumpers. But when Jessie spots fourteen year old Jaffar Ali, unaccompanied and behind bars in an Indonesian detention centre, she offers him her phone number in case he ever makes it to Australia. What then unfolds changes the lives and attitudes of everyone in unexpected ways.

Season 17, Episode 25: Foolin' Around

23 July 2012
Popular Country singer Beccy Cole makes a dramatic personal revelation on Monday night's program. Beccy Cole has won 9 Golden Guitar awards and twice been voted Entertainer of the Year by the country music industry. "She's always felt like she's holding something back from everyone," says Kasey Chambers, her best friend since they were teenagers in South Australia. Now Beccy Cole has decided she is ready to tell audiences about a personal dilemma which has dogged her for more than ten years. "It's definitely uncomfortable if you've got a big part of yourself, if such an important part of yourself is a secret and kept inside," she told Australian Story. "In the darkness of an evening, sometimes that has been a difficult thing for me to cope with over the years."

Season 17, Episode 26: It Takes a Village

30 July 2012
Last month, the Federal government ended its sometimes controversial intercountry adoption program with Ethiopia, dashing the hopes of waiting couples. More than 600 children - mostly orphans - from the impoverished nation have found new lives in Australia. Most notably, cyclist Cadell Evans and his wife adopted an Ethiopian baby last year via an overseas program. In 2001 Ian and Sandy Johnson from Queensland's Sunshine Coast set off to Ethiopia to collect an orphaned little girl, and then later, her newly discovered five year old brother. Australian Story tracked the Johnsons' difficult journey into parenthood. Now with the children 12 and 15, we return to find out how it's all worked out.

Season 17, Episode 27: Her Natural Life

6 August 2012
This week's program documents one woman's unlikely pathway from the fine art auction rooms of inner Sydney to whale conservation in the Kimberley. Annabelle Sandes first featured on Australian Story ten years ago. She was, unmarried, in her thirties, living alone with her cat and feeling stuck in a rut. Then she joined her parents on a holiday in the Kimberley. From that point the life of Annabelle Sandes assumed undreamed of new dimensions...

Season 17, Episode 28: Tatiana Is Dancing

13 August 2012
Tanya Pearson has shaped the careers of hundreds of aspiring Australian dancers and at 75 continues to teach classical ballet full time. But it wasn't until recently, when her daughter began delving into her mother's history, that the personal story behind Mrs Pearson's success emerged. Nicole Sharp discovered a miraculous story of survival that began when her mother, then known as Tatiana, entered a Russian orphanage at the age of two. As a child she escaped the war torn Ukraine and survived a massacre in post-war Germany before emigrating to Australia and a new life. In a moving tribute, Nicole Sharp and choreographer Paul Boyd transformed these experiences into a memorable ballet production of her mother's life which was performed to hundreds of friends and former students last weekend.

Season 17, Episode 29: The Queen of Extreme

20 August 2012
Torah Bright has lived in the United States since she was fifteen years old when she turned professional as a snowboarder. Since then, she's flown under the radar of many Australians. Her specialty is the half pipe - a winter Olympic event with a huge international following. It's a dangerous and sometimes deadly sport and not for the faint hearted. Torah Bright competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics and went on to win a gold medal. But she did so whilst recovering from head injuries sustained during training. Since then, events have led her to reconsider the risks of her career and wonder if a less accident prone life might be more attractive. This is her story.

Season 17, Episode 30: Kicking the Habit

27 August 2012
This week on Australian Story the politician who took on 'big tobacco' and won. A recent High Court ruling all but ended the branding of cigarette packets in Australia. The decision and the woman behind it, Federal-Attorney General Nicola Roxon, have generated news headlines around the world. Whilst many health campaigners have lauded Nicola Roxon as a visionary, others accuse her of promoting a nanny state. The program offers exclusive behind the scenes access to Australia's first female Attorney-General as she learns of the High Court victory and explores the personal story behind her own family's experience with tobacco.

Season 17, Episode 31: War Paint

3 September 2012
Ben Quilty is an Archibald prize winning artist with a lifelong interest in concepts of masculinity - from youthful excesses with drugs, alcohol and fast cars to soldiers on the front line. Going to war has always been Quilty's 'greatest fear' so it was with some apprehension that he accepted an invitation to work as the nation's official war artist in Afghanistan. Getting to know the soldiers, including elite special operations troops, revealed to Ben Quilty a level of intelligence and a depth of emotional distress that he says shocked him to his core. It forced him to reconsider his own 'anti-war' sentiments. The painting sessions with soldiers have continued back in Australia and Quilty says he now has a dozen new lifetime friends. He says he now feels a huge respect and a huge responsibility to help them tell their own powerful stories.

Season 17, Episode 32: On Bicheno Beach

10 September 2012
It's forty years since a 15 year old Shane Gould created a sporting sensation by winning three individual gold medals at the Munich Olympics. Now 55 Gould is continuing to reinvent herself in surprising ways. She has returned to the swimming world after a long lay off, moved to coastal Tasmania, and found new love with American swim coach Milt Nelms, now her husband. Together they are exploring new approaches to help elite swimmers. As Monday's program reveals their approach delivered notable success with one high profile gold medal winner in London. Now a grandmother, Shane Gould has recently completed a second Masters Degree at the University of Tasmania. In this episode, Gould, her children, her long time coach Forbes Carlisle and others look back on a life that continues to develop in unexpected directions...

Season 17, Episode 33: Alaska and Me

17 September 2012
Twenty-seven year old John Cantor, the son of a psychiatrist and a teacher, has devoted the past six years to trying to complete one of the toughest solo expeditions on earth. The Brooks Range is not for the faint-hearted. Spanning northern Alaska the mountains are a mecca for trekkers and kayakers. Many attempt the 1600 kilometre trip but only a handful succeed and some have died in the attempt. Accessible only during summer, the traverse demands fitness and sophisticated survival skills. Bears, drowning, climbing accidents, a lack of food and extreme weather are just some of the dangers. John Cantor's first three attempts ended in catastrophic failure but much to the horror of friends and family he wouldn't surrender. Join Australian Story as John prepares for his final journey and charts his progress in a video blog. Will he succeed at last, or disappear into the wilderness?

Season 17, Episode 34: Life After Puberty

24 September 2012
When the film Puberty Blues came out 30 years ago, parents were mortified, but kids loved it. The story seems to have lost none of its relevance over the decades and it is now being celebrated by a new generation of teenagers. The two young girls who starred in the original Bruce Beresford version of Puberty Blues found fame and celebrity and looked set for big careers on screen. But real life didn't follow any predictable script line. This week's program uncovers the bitter sweet story of Nell Schofield and her co-star, Jad Capelja.

Season 17, Episode 35: Leap of Faith

1 October 2012
This week Australian Story tracks Li Cunxin - once one of the world's best known dancers - as he embarks on a high stakes return to the ballet world after 15 years as a stockbroker. Li Cunxin is known as 'Mao's Last Dancer' through the best selling book and movie of the same name. At the age of 11 he was plucked from an impoverished family in rural China to become one of the most acclaimed dancers in the world. He ultimately settled in Australia with his dancer wife Mary McKendry and took on an new career in stockbroking to better support his family. Now, he's back in a new job as Artistic Director of the Queensland Ballet. It's seen as a gamble because he has no track record as a choreographer. Australian Story cameras have been filming behind the scenes in the lead up to Li Cunxins first big test - the launch of the new season...

Season 17, Episode 36: The Slam - Part 1

8 October 2012
In this fiftieth anniversary year of Rod Laver's first tennis Grand Slam, Australian Story revisits a golden era in the sport when Australia ruled the courts, manners mattered and Rod Laver was king of them all. Laver, the 'Rockhampton Rocket' remains the player most revered by today's top professionals. World Number One Roger Federer was overcome with public tears when he received a trophy from Laver. Laver's record of winning the Grand Slam TWICE (all four major singles titles in one year) remains unsurpassed. There is consensus that it will be impossible for any player to ever emulate that feat. With access to family and friends - here and in the USA - plus interviews with some of the biggest names in tennis, and unseen archival and behind the scenes footage, Australian Story profiles his extraordinary life.

Season 17, Episode 37: The Year of Living Famously

22 October 2012
This week's Australian Story is about two film-makers who've suddenly hit the big time in Hollywood. Ben Lewin and Judi Levine made a number of successful films in Australia and Europe before moving to Los Angeles seventeen years ago. But their rise to the top was not easy and for many years they struggled, taking on other jobs just to make ends meet. Now, backed by family and friends, they have put together a low budget movie and attracted some major marquee names to appear in it. Called 'The Sessions', it's already received considerable acclaim and is now being tipped as an Academy Awards contender. 'The Year of Living Famously' reveals the story behind the surprise hit of the Oscars season...

Season 17, Episode 38: A Man of His Word

29 October 2012
The days of collecting the morning paper from the front lawn are ending. News of all kinds is available anytime on dazzling digital platforms. For some it's a new world of boundless opportunity; for others, the end of a proud tradition. Australia's oldest media outlet, the Fairfax owned Sydney Morning Herald, is facing the most turbulent period in its near 200 year history. Amidst financial upheaval and serious job losses a new business model is emerging. This week's episode goes inside the Sydney Morning Herald as staff wait for the white redundancy envelopes which will reveal who is staying and who's out the door. Caught at the centre is veteran reporter Malcolm Brown, a man who has covered some of the biggest stories of the last four decades, but now finds himself somewhat out of step with the times.

Season 17, Episode 39: Dreams from My Mother

5 November 2012
This week's program revisits the life and work of a woman who defied all the stereotypes. Diane Cilento grew up in Brisbane as the beautiful daughter of distinguished parents. She became 'the most envied woman in the world' as the wife of the original James Bond, Sean Connery. But she was an acclaimed Oscar nominated actor in her own right and she co-starred alongside a number of legendary leading men. She turned her back on all that and in the end her most enduring love was a theatre she created in the middle of the North Queensland rainforest. As we reveal in this updated edition, the drama and the passions that characterised her life continued to the last.

Season 17, Episode 40: Under Her Spell - Updated

12 November 2012
A recent and near fatal incident involving an elephant handler at Sydney's Taronga Zoo has been a reminder of the hazards faced by people working with large animals. Zelie Bullen is based on Queensland's Gold Coast but she is recognised around the world as an animal trainer. Australian Story first met her a year ago when she'd been working with Steven Spielberg on his Oscar nominated movie, War Horse. Since then her life has continued to unfold in interesting directions.

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Season 18

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Season 18, Episode 1: The Light of Day

4 February 2013

Season 18, Episode 2: On the Precipice

11 February 2013

Season 18, Episode 3: So Much to Say

18 February 2013
Stevie Wright became a superstar at the age of sixteen, with the iconic rock band The Easybeats the first Australian group to achieve chart success in the UK, US and Europe. He went on to win another generation of fans as a solo artist with hits like 'Evie', 'Hard Road' and 'Black Eyed Bruiser'. But along with the exhilarating highs, he has experienced devastating lows which on several occasions could have been fatal. Now the legend of Stevie Wright is being rekindled with help from fellow musician and lifelong fan, Scott McRae who has created a 'rockumentary' live show of his idol's extraordinary life. Australian Story has recorded Stevie Wright's last public performance a special poignant encore in Scott McRae's stage show. Those interviewed include Stevie Wright, Scott McRae, Gail Baxter former wife, Fay Walker longtime current partner and former Easybeats drummer Snowy Fleet.

Season 18, Episode 4: The First Word

25 February 2013
A failed medical school student turned journalist, Peter Ford hit the big time in the US as a CNN anchorman. He travelled extensively and covered many big stories around the world. But beneath the telegenic exterior an 'inner nerd' was lurking. Using his self-taught computer code-writing skills, Peter developed software that enables the most severely disabled people to communicate. His invention has even attracted the interest of Professor Stephen Hawking...

Season 18, Episode 5: The Chosen One

4 March 2013

Season 18, Episode 6: Suddenly Last Summer Part 1

11 March 2013

Season 18, Episode 7: Suddenly Last Summer Part 2

18 March 2013

Season 18, Episode 8: On the Warpath

25 March 2013

Season 18, Episode 9: Letters to the Editor (Encore)

1 April 2013

Season 18, Episode 10: Down by the Sea Part 1

8 April 2013
If you are a certain age chances are you remember exactly where you were in the early hours of September 27 thirty years ago. It was the day an Australian yacht ended the longest winning streak in sporting history, grabbing the legendary America's Cup from the grandees of the New York Yacht Club. Unprecedented and spontaneous celebrations broke out all around the nation from the coastal fringe and deep into the Outback. In this thirtieth anniversary year, with many of the key players now advanced in age, Australian Story revisits those euphoric and nation defining events. There are surprising and entertaining new insights from all the main players, including then Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Alan Bond and his former wife Eileen and skipper John Bertrand. Also interviewed are Australia II crew member Grant Simmer, London Olympics gold medallist Tom Slingsby and Sydney born 2010 America's Cup winning skipper James Spithill. The story, over two weeks on April 8 and 15, strongly evokes the eighties with a newly elected Hawke Government, economic adversity, drought and bushfires and the infectious music of Men at Work, Midnight Oil and Australian Crawl. There is also priceless and rarely seen archival footage with cameos from US Presidents Reagan and John F Kennedy and early film of Alan Bond and Ben Lexcen.

Season 18, Episode 11: Down by the Sea Part 2

15 April 2013
This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of those nation defining moments. The victory has been listed alongside the Moon Landing and the assassination of President John F Kennedy as one of the events that Australians regard as most memorable. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Syndicate Head Alan Bond and skipper John Bertrand are among those who provide intriguing accounts of what was really going on behind the scenes. We also examine the legacy of the win, and discover what's happened to some of the key players in the decades that have followed.

Season 18, Episode 12: Fade to Black

22 April 2013
Tonight's Australian Story provides new insights into a saga that's captured the imaginations of all kinds of people all around the world. On Saturday, Melbourne staged a final farewell to Black Caviar. It's been two years since the champion mare first featured on Australian Story. Since then her story has gone global and now rivals that of Phar Lap in terms of regard and recognition. The program documents the Black Caviar story from the stud farm where she was born to her 25th race and the sudden decision to retire her. The horse's owners reveal some of the detail behind that decision. And there is exclusive footage of the mare's first full sister, a weanling foal said to bear a strong resemblance to Black Caviar...

Season 18, Episode 13: Call of Duty

29 April 2013

Season 18, Episode 14: Know Thy Enemy Part One

6 May 2013

Season 18, Episode 15: Know Thy Enemy Part Two

13 May 2013

Season 18, Episode 16: Listen to Me

20 May 2013

Season 18, Episode 17: The Hazel Effect

27 May 2013

Season 18, Episode 18: A Life Laid Bare

3 June 2013

Season 18, Episode 19: Northam Exposure

10 June 2013

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Unknown Season

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Girl in the Mirror

8 August 2005

The Slam - Part 2

15 October 2012