Australian Story

Katrina Gorry was a key part of the Matildas line-up that captured Australia’s imagination during last year’s women’s football World Cup. But the road to glory hasn’t been an easy one for the 31-year-old mid fielder. Just a few years before, she was struggling with an eating disorder and considering walking away from the game. All that changed with the birth of daughter Harper in 2021, which re-ignited Katrina’s love for the game and gave her a new-found respect for her body. As the Matildas prepare for the Olympics in Paris, Katrina Gorry is at the top of her game.

When Mechelle Turvey's 15-year-old son Cassius died following an attack on the way home from school, she could have succumbed to the sense of rage expressed by many at rallies and vigils across the nation. Instead, she called for calm and unity, determined that her son’s legacy would be a positive one. She has taken a job with the WA police and was named WA of the Year in recognition of her community work.

Perth siblings Minjee and Min Woo Lee are golf stars on the rise, driven by a friendly rivalry to become the world’s No 1 female and male golfer, respectively. But they couldn’t be more different in personality and how they approach the game. Minjee is an introvert by nature, happy to shun the limelight, while the extroverted Min Woo is considered a breath of fresh air in the staid world of golf, with his swashbuckling style and huge social media presence. Australian Story followed Minjee and Min Woo as they competed in the Women’s and Men’s Australian Open late last year, giving a rare glimpse into the lives of the sibling superstars and the extraordinary pressure that golfers endure at the highest levels of the game.

Anjali Sharma is not your average climate activist – instead of chaining herself to machinery or unfolding banners on landmarks, the 19-year-old is taking her fight for a cleaner future direct to the lawmakers in federal parliament. Her work is the cumulation of a four-year journey, which started on the streets of Melbourne protesting climate inaction, then to the Federal Court to sue the Minister for the Environment, and now lobbying politicians for legislative change to ultimately end fossil fuel production in Australia.

In the first of an occasional series of Australian Story specials, Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett sits down for an intimate and wide-ranging conversation with Leigh Sales. The activist, singer and former politician looks back over the highs and lows and of a life well lived. He talks about losing both his parents when he was young and how that instilled in him a desire to always keep moving forward and creating. He looks back with pride on his decades with Midnight Oil and talks movingly about the importance of family, especially his relationship with Doris, his wife of nearly 40 years. With the release of his second solo album, Garrett shows no sign of slowing down.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bon Scott joining AC/DC, Australian Story repeats its hugely popular profile of the band’s late, great frontman. Featuring a wealth of archival material, On the Brink covers the highs and lows of a remarkable life. Bon honed his skills in bands such as The Valentines and Fraternity before being introduced in 1974 to AC/DC, who were unhappy with their singer at the time. He joined them on stage for a few songs and the rest was history. By the late 70s the band was on the brink of world domination and Bon was fulfilling his wildest dreams. But years of excess were catching up with him and in 1980 he died in London from acute alcohol poisoning. He was just 33. Family, friends and fellow musicians provide insights into Bon’s passions and demons and his state of mind at the time of his death. The episode includes the first and only interview with Bon’s brother Derek and a rare interview with Bon’s replacement in AC/DC, Brian Johnson.

Australian Story goes behind the scenes with the 2024 Australians of the Year as they reach a remarkable milestone, even they never thought possible. Professors Richard Scolyer and Georgina Long made headlines last year after trialling a groundbreaking protocol they’d devised for melanoma patients on Richard’s incurable brain cancer. Now, 10 months since Richard was first diagnosed, our cameras travel alongside him once more as scientists scan his brain for any signs the aggressive cancer has returned.

When Gina Chick won the first season of the television survival show Alone Australia, having lasted 67 days in the Tasmanian wilderness, her life changed forever. In a wide-ranging conversation with Leigh Sales, filmed before a live audience, Gina talks about how overwhelmed she has been by the outpouring of love and support she has experienced since Alone Australia and her 2023 episode of Australian Story aired. She explains how that affirmation has helped her make peace with her big, wild personality, something that made life difficult for her socially when she was a child. Gina discusses her 35-year friendship with actor Hugh Jackman, her extraordinarily close relationship with her ex-husband Lee and, most movingly, how sharing the loss of her three-year-old daughter to cancer with a national audience has helped her.

Arnold Dix became a hero to millions of people across India when he helped rescue 41 men from a tunnel collapse high in the Himalayas. Man Underground explores the bizarre and circuitous career path that culminated in this moment of international recognition. For Arnold Dix wears many hats – barrister, scientist, flower farmer, truck driver, engineer and tunnelling expert. Dix explains the difficult situation that faced him at the site of the collapse and the pressure he felt as the whole of India became transfixed by the unfolding drama. “We showed the world that good people working together can do the impossible,” he says.

When Federal Labor Minister Tanya Plibersek learned her daughter Anna had been abused during a high school relationship, it was the beginning of the family’s brutal fight for justice. Now Anna Coutts-Trotter is on a mission to support other survivors grappling with the aftermath of abuse.

Off the page, Leila McDougall’s life reads like a blockbuster, full of obstacles, adversity, triumph, loss and love. When the young farmer from Victoria wanted to draw attention to the issues her rural community faces, she struck a cunning plan, bluffing her way into acting school, then making her own feature film with ‘Chopper’ actor Simon Lyndon, who has also battled his own demons.

Modelling agent Chelsea Bonner has been at the forefront of the fight to change perceptions of beauty. As the daughter of Tony Bonner, who played Jerry the helicopter pilot in Skippy, Chelsea grew up in a family where both parents were revered for their looks. Australian Story first met Chelsea in 2016 when, as a modelling agent, she was fighting to change the industry to be more inclusive. Now Chelsea is taking on an even bigger battle — artificial intelligence — where algorithms are creating fake models and alarming beauty standards.

Josh Niland is arguably Australia's hottest chef right now, but it was a fear of failure that pushed the young chef to wild experimentation. To save money, he began using parts of the fish he'd been throwing away, making bold culinary concoctions – think ice cream from eyeballs — with stunning success. The genesis of his drive and love of hospitality: a life and death battle when he was just eight years old.

Shaun Christie-David runs a restaurant empire like no other. While he may be Australia's 'most unlikely' restaurateur — he can't cook, stuffs up orders, swears when excited (which is often) and doesn't care about making money – he's found the recipe for success with an open mind and big heart. In the second instalment of Australian Story's restaurateur trilogy Shaun and his team show how they're changing lives one meal at a time.

In the third and final instalment of Australian Story’s series on restaurateurs, Kylie Kwong looks back on her stellar 30-year career and reveals why it is time to embark on a new direction in life. Kylie reflects on the pivotal moments of her life, including the trauma she and her wife Nell endured when their son Lucky was stillborn in 2012 and how she channelled that grief into something positive. Other interviewees include friend Nigella Lawson and friend and mentor Maggie Beer.

As legendary rock band Cold Chisel prepare for their 50th-anniversary tour, Australian Story looks back over the band's colourful history and examines why they have become such an essential part of Australian culture. All four surviving members – Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, Don Walker and Phil Small – recount how the band rose from industry outsiders playing rough suburban pubs to arena-filling rock royalty. The episode looks beyond the band's history to explore the enduring impact and appeal of their songs. "The songs start as hits and then they become anthems," says journalist, writer and fan Trent Dalton. "And then, with time, they become sacred."

Quaden Bayles is no stranger to public attention. He was only nine when a video of him crying after being bullied over his dwarfism went viral and captured international concern and condemnation. Now four years later, 13-year-old Quaden is back in the spotlight, this time for a happy reason. Legendary Mad Max director George Miller reached out after seeing the video and gave him the opportunity of a lifetime.

Rock legend Nick Cave sits down with Leigh Sales for a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation. He looks back over more than four decades as a performer and songwriter and explains how the death of his son in an accidental fall nine years ago changed the course of his life, bringing him closer to his fans and deepening a life-long interest in religion.

When former Labor Senator Fatima Payman crossed the floor of the federal parliament eight weeks ago to vote against her own party, she saw it as an act of conscience. Her colleagues considered it treachery. So why did the first-time senator choose a path that had serious consequences not just for her and the Labor party but for her new husband?

Comedian Michelle Brasier was once told by a doctor she had a 97 per cent chance of getting cancer. After losing her father and brother to aggressive forms of the disease she’s on constant watch. Michelle could have genetic testing to see whether she’s inherited anything sinister, but the decision to test or not isn’t so simple. So instead... she laughs. And her audiences do too.

Singer-songwriter Missy Higgins shot to fame when still in her teens. Her 2004 debut album the Sound of White sold a million copies and won five Aria Awards. From the start, Higgins was always determined to do things her own way, resisting attempts to be moulded into a pop star, and withstanding intense speculation about her sexuality. Twenty years on, Higgins' lyrics have shifted from teenage to middle age angst, as she grapples with the unexpected collapse of her marriage and the challenges of becoming a single mother. Music, as always, has helped her through her darkest hour.

Episode one, Blood, explores the origins of the Murdoch media empire and the lessons learned by Lachlan as he watched his father’s voracious global expansion. It also exposes the roots of the rivalry between Lachlan, his older sister Elisabeth and younger brother James.

This second episode, Money, examines Lachlan's complicated relationship with the family business – his desire to prove himself to his father and take over the empire but his need to also show that he can also go it alone.

In the third and final part of this Australian Story special on Lachlan Murdoch, journalist Paddy Manning explores how the fight to succeed Rupert Murdoch as heir to the family media empire ended up in a courtroom in Nevada, USA. He looks at the power struggle between Lachlan and his brother James following Lachlan’s return to the family business in 2014, Lachlan’s eventual rise to the top and the forces that led to the present acrimony. He also examines the role of Fox News in the 2020 US election and its explosive aftermath and looks ahead to the coming election in November, where Lachlan will get an opportunity to forge his legacy as head of the media empire. Manning’s fascination with the Murdochs, and Lachlan in particular, has led to him becoming one of the world’s leading authorities on the family.

Michael Theo may not have found love, but when a TV show put him in the spotlight, it transformed his life.

Two rock climbing accidents dealt Gus Taylor devastating blows. But now he realises climbing is the best teacher he's ever had.

When high school teacher Hannah Grundy clicked on a suspicious-looking email three years ago she had no idea where it would lead or the impact it would have on her life. She saw dozens of shocking images, digitally altered to superimpose her face on naked women's bodies, and row upon row of text describing ways to harm her. Through a process of elimination Hannah discovered who was behind the sickening cybercrime. It was a betrayal close to home. What followed was an epic fight for justice and a dramatic court showdown.

With a starring role in hit TV show Orange is the New Black, Australian actor Yael Stone had Hollywood at her feet. Then she walked away. While many thought she was crazy, the one person who immediately backed her was childhood schoolmate-turned-partner Jack Manning Bancroft. Jack is no stranger to risking everything – pushing himself to the point of hospitalisation as he tried to expand his Indigenous not-for-profit globally. Together they’re stronger and bolder, pursuing separate passion projects but with a shared mission to leave the world a better place.

In memory of much-loved TV personality Fiona MacDonald, Australian Story revisits her 2023 episode, which followed her and her sister Kylie's "Thelma and Louise"-style road trip around Australia to raise awareness of motor neurone disease. Fiona had been diagnosed with the disease in 2021, at the age of 64, and had been advised not to make the trip but she was determined to make the most of her time left. When Fiona died earlier this month, her sister Kylie posted a final message from Fiona on Instagram, which ended with the words, "I carry your love and laughter with me and hope you'll remember mine." This encore screening is in honour of that memory.

In one of the toughest parts of Australia, a barefoot grazier is running a bold regenerative experiment that might land him in jail. For the past three decades Chris Henggeler has dedicated his life to transforming an eroding, desolate, fire-prone property in the Kimberley into an oasis of green paddocks and fresh running water. A secret of his success — feral donkeys. Despite the support of ecologists and a local Indigenous resident, the pastoralist has found on the wrong side of the law.

When swimmer Shayna Jack tested positive to a banned substance five years ago, her world imploded. Branded a drug cheat, she was expelled from swimming and forced to defend herself at not one, but two hearings against world anti-doping authorities. Shayna was ultimately cleared of intentional doping but after two years away from the pool, could she make a comeback? At the 2024 Olympics, her vindication was complete.