Australian Story

Sixteen-year-old teen Bob Bramley takes to the skies to break a solo flying record and shine a light on youth mental health, galvanised by the desperate struggles of his two friends.

There’s a hidden danger lurking in every home. Meet the two mothers who’ve achieved a world first to protect our children. Button batteries lurk inside many seemingly harmless household items from musical birthday cards to remote controls to stuffed toys. To an adult they're just a battery but to a small child their shiny appearance can be fascinating and potentially lethal. When Andrea Shoesmith and Allison Rees lost their children to button battery accidents, they channelled their grief into lobbying to make the industry more accountable. What they've achieved is remarkable and their passion for change will ultimately protect children around the country.

Scientist Veena Sahajwalla is a recycling superstar with some bold new ideas about how to save waste from landfill. As Australia's collective garbage guilt builds alongside the tonnes of plastic piling up in recycling depots, her innovative inventions may offer some exciting new solutions. Inspired walking the streets of her Mumbai neighbourhood as a child, Veena observed almost everything was reused and "nothing was wasted". This can-do attitude shaped her engineering career and sowed the seeds for some ground-breaking ideas, including making steel from car tyres. Now she's unveiling her latest invention, a "micro factory" that creates building materials and tiles from dumped clothes and glass. But the pressure is on to transform her latest invention into a workable idea for business and get consumers interested. It’s a revolutionary concept. But will it work outside the lab?

In the 70s and 80s, scores of women would arrive at Channel Nine’s Sydney studios each day to see flamboyant entertainer Jeanne Little on The Mike Walsh Show. Though never a favourite of the comedy cognoscenti, viewers loved her and she won the Gold Logie award for Most Popular Television Personality in 1976, just two years after her first TV appearance. But behind the funny lady and outrageous costumes was an illness long kept secret, a husband with a surprising background, and a daughter searching for answers.

Shayna Jack has worn the label of "drug cheat" since she tested positive for a banned substance in 2019. The 22-year-old swimmer maintains she did not knowingly take the drug and is fighting to clear her name and get back in the pool. Jack had her sights on the Olympic Games, but a positive tested meant she was banned from competition for two years. As an appeal looms to increase her ban, she’s found herself at the centre of a much larger debate about world anti-doping rules that some say are railroading athletes.

Devastated by the 2020 bushfires and determined to do something to help, actor and writer Magda Szubanski joined forces with an unlikely partner, teenager Will 'Egg Boy' Connolly. Will had been struggling with unexpected fame after footage of him cracking an egg over a former politician's head went viral. Magda took him under her wing and together the odd couple raised nearly $200,000 which after careful research they directed into art therapy classes for bushfire survivors in the Snowy Mountains region. Australian Story joins them both on the road as Magda shares her own experiences of family trauma — and lots of laughs — with the Snowy Mountains locals.

From small town public schoolgirl to the International Court of Justice, Jennifer Robinson has had a meteoric rise to the top of her field. In a "full on" few months last year, the human rights lawyer was involved in two of the most high-profile court cases in the world. She represented Amber Heard in Johnny Depp’s defamation action against The Sun newspaper in the UK and helped fight attempts to extradite long-term client Julian Assange to the US. At just 40, Robinson has achieved more than most lawyers will in a lifetime. Now she is giving back to the public school system — a cause close to her heart.

When former Federal Labor Minister Kate Ellis left politics in 2019, she was troubled by just how sexist her experiences inside Parliament House had been. When she reached out to other female politicians to compare notes, a disturbing picture of systemic misogyny emerged. In this Australian Story, a group of current and former female politicians from all the parties break their silence about Canberra’s toxic culture, saying the institution is at “crisis point”. With revealing interviews from across the political spectrum Kate Ellis shows what it’s really like to be a woman in politics.

When the daughter of Mao’s Last Dancer Li Cunxin was diagnosed as profoundly deaf, his wife made an enormous sacrifice. Mary Li gave up her international ballet career to devote herself to teaching Sophie to hear and speak by way of cochlear implants. But when Sophie became an adult, she began to question her parents’ earlier decisions. As she embraced the deaf and signing community, Sophie had a choice to make — did she still want to be part of the hearing world of her family?

Identical twins Brigette and Paula Powers are so close they live and work together and even speak in unison. After a chance meeting with wildlife warrior Steve Irwin, they now use their unique connection to save injured seabirds.

Australian Story revisits the case of missing teenager Ursula Barwick, after evidence at a coronial inquest revealed a litany of errors and blatant lack of investigation by NSW Police. The bubbly 17-year-old Ursula vanished without a trace in 1987. Her family dropped her to the train station on the NSW Central Coast, where she was headed to Sydney to start a new job. But they never saw her again. The Barwicks first raised their concerns about how her case had been handled on the program in November 2019, but the truth has been far worse than they ever imagined.

An intimate look inside the life and career of a family driven by a passion for art. John Olsen is one of Australia’s most successful and acclaimed painters. At 93, John still heads into his studio every day to paint. But while John became the "darling" of the art world, and each award celebrated his genius, his "obsession" with work also often cast a long shadow on his family. Daughter Louise Olsen would move into the design world and co-found an iconic company and son Tim Olsen would find his place in the art world as a dealer and gallery owner. But Tim’s complex relationship with his father fuelled an addiction to alcohol that would almost bring his life and work undone. Children of the Brush is the first of a two-part story offering an inside look at one of Australia’s great art dynasties and the complex cost of fame.

Concluding the inside look at one of Australia's greatest artistic dynasties, the Olsen family. John Olsen is one of Australia’s most successful and acclaimed painters. At 93, he still heads into his studio every day to paint. But while John became the "darling" of the art world, and each award celebrated his genius, his "obsession" with work also often cast a long shadow on parts of his family. In this episode, trouble emerges from another side of the family that leaves John Olsen reeling…and leads all the way to the Supreme Court. This two-part Australian Story explores the complex price of success and fame

Australian Story is celebrating its 25th anniversary with an encore screening of one of its most popular programs. The Seekers blazed a trail for Australian music in the 1960s with a number of chart-topping international hits. But fame led to fallout and they split at the height of their success. The group reunites to reminisce about their ride to the top and to reveal the pain behind their famous split.

Paediatrician Dr Michelle Telfer has one of the most controversial jobs in medicine in Australia. As head of the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne's (RCH) Gender Clinic, she's responsible for overseeing the treatment of hundreds of trans children and teenagers who come through the doors. The former Olympic gymnast-turned-doctor and mother-of-two credits her early athletic success with building the stamina needed to tackle her critics who question the need for medical treatment for trans young people. Australian Story goes behind the scenes at the RCH to meet three of Dr Telfer's patients, Isabelle, Elliot and Oliver.

When women’s soccer star Rhali Dobson received an on-field marriage proposal, moments after her last game, the pictures went viral around the world. Behind that video sensation is a story of love, sport and sacrifice. And a heart-wrenching plot that sounds like something from a Hollywood movie.

Outback nurse Gayle Woodford was working alone at night on call in the remote South Australian indigenous community of Fregon when a man came to her door asking for Panadol. Moments later she had vanished. "I knew she was in trouble," said her husband Keith Woodford who woke up the next morning to an empty bed. "I just knew". The discovery of Gayle's body three days later threw the tightknit community of Fregon into freefall and ignited a debate about the security of remote area medical staff working alone. For Keith and his family it was the beginning of a five year mission as they lobbied to improve the system they thought had failed Gayle. In this updated episode the family break their silence to discuss the recent coroner’s findings into Gayle’s death and their journey to find answers.

Former tennis pro Louise Pleming was circling the globe as a tennis commentator and elite coach when her life took a dramatic turn. Three years ago, she had a chance meeting with Brian Turton at the homeless shelter where she volunteered. Mental health issues had ended Brian’s hopes of a professional tennis career and he’d been living on the streets for years, estranged from his family and friends. Filmed over three years, this is an intimate portrait of a unique and life-changing friendship.

In the midst of lockdown in 2020, the world was gripped by The Last Dance, a Netflix series about the legendary Chicago Bulls team of the mid to late 1990s. But what many don’t realise is that there was an Australian basketballer playing right alongside the iconic Michael Jordan. Luc Longley was the first Australian to play in the NBA. He won three consecutive championships as the team’s starting centre. Since retiring in 2001, Luc has intentionally kept a low profile but the success of The Last Dance has generated enormous interest in him, particularly given his absence from the series. Now he is ready to tell his story. This two-part Australian Story features interviews with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson and Steve Kerr.

Continuing the story of former international basketball star Luc Longley. After the "gentle giant" from WA made it to America's NBA, he had to "shed some of the gentleness" to cope in the hyper-competitive environment. Playing alongside the legendary Michael Jordan on the Chicago Bulls, Longley and his teammates were surrounded by a constant frenzy as they won three consecutive NBA championships. But when the team disbanded in 1998, Longley was unable to replicate the highs of those Chicago years and he retired due to injury three years later. Returning to Australia, he struggled to adjust to life outside professional sport but eventually found purpose again as an assistant coach with the Australian national team, the Boomers. In addition to Longley and his family, episode two includes revealing interviews with former teammates Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Steve Kerr, coach Phil Jackson, current Boomer Aron Baynes, friend and writer Tim Winton and brother-in-law and comedian Ben Elton.

She couldn’t speak but the extensive bruising across Kirra Mcloughlin’s face told her mother Alison Kirkness everything she needed to know. From the moment Alison saw her daughter brain-dead in a hospital bed, she knew the story concocted by Kirra's boyfriend Paul McDonald that she'd died from an antidepressant overdose didn’t stack up. For the past seven years, Alison has worked tirelessly to gather evidence proving that her daughter died at the hands of her boyfriend. The findings of a Queensland State Coroner recently confirmed these suspicions, concluding that Kirra had been killed by McDonald.

This is the story of the "luckiest refugees" — a boatload of people fleeing Vietnam in hopes of a better life. With their boat damaged irreparably in a storm, the group was preparing to die when the Australian Navy's HMAS Melbourne arrived unexpectedly. Navy photographers captured the night on camera, creating an enduring record as 99 people were lifted to safety. Forty years on, the survivors meet their saviours during an emotional reunion to share how the rescue changed all their lives for the better.

Iconic Australian actor Michael Caton lives life to the full and makes no apologies for it. But at 78 he is aware the clock is ticking. In a candid interview, The Castle actor talks about the highs and lows of his career, the challenges of ageing and his lifelong friendship with fellow actor Jack Thompson. Australian Story joins him on a road trip across NSW where he meets farmers lobbying against a coal seam gas project in the north-west. For Caton, life is now imitating art, and nothing matters more than making an environmental difference during the time he has left.

When the body of a well-dressed man was found on Adelaide's Somerton Beach in 1948, police assumed that somebody would soon come forward to identify him. But nobody did. More than 70 years later, the mysterious case of the "Somerton Man", as he became known, regularly makes the lists of Australia’s most baffling unsolved cases. Was he murdered? Was he a Russian spy? Was it suicide? Or was he the victim of a love triangle? Now, in an update to our first program in 2019, Somerton Man’s remains have been exhumed from an Adelaide cemetery in the hope that the mysteries behind this enduring cold case might finally be revealed.

Dr Jamal Rifi is a GP who’s sacrificed his retirement, and his front yard, in the battle against the nation’s worst Covid outbreak. Australian Story first featured Dr Rifi in 2015 when he was paying a high price for speaking out against the radicalisation of Muslim youth. Fast forward six years and he is again in the spotlight as he fights to protect his community against the deadly Delta strain as he helps vaccinate his community against the deadly Delta strain. When the virus first arrived in Australia in March last year, Dr Rifi immediately set up a drive-through testing clinic in his front yard in Southwest Sydney and later a vaccination clinic in the carpark of his medical centre. Meanwhile, his dreams of travelling Australia in the company of wife Lana remain on hold, and his custom-designed motorhome waits outside his medical clinic.

This is the story behind the story of the family at the centre of a tug-of-war between a small country town and powerful forces of government. Three years ago Border Force officers removed Nades Murugappen, Priya Nadaraja and their two young daughters from their adopted Queensland town of Biloela. Since then, the family has been in detention as a high-stakes legal battle plays out in the national spotlight between their lawyers and the Federal Government. Australian Story reveals disturbing footage of the family's time in detention and exclusive interviews with Priya and Nades as they wait to hear whether they’ll be deported to Sri Lanka and an uncertain future in three months' time following a recent reprieve.

Australian Story goes behind the scenes of the AFP investigation into the biggest insider trading case in Australian history. When Chris Hill bumped into old university friend Lukas Kamay at a party in 2013, he never imagined that months later he would be at the centre of a scandal that would rock the country’s financial establishment. A chance conversation led to a deal for Chris to share yet-to-released data from his employer, the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Lukas then used the information to trade the Australian dollar on the foreign exchange market. The audacious insider trading scheme came unstuck when Lukas's skyrocketing deals set off red flags. A story of greed, secrets, conviction and ultimately redemption.

77-year-old scientist Charlie Veron has spent his much of his career underwater charting the world's coral reef wonderlands. Now, as the Great Barrier Reef faces its biggest challenge, he reveals an ambitious rescue plan for the future. He is collecting the 400 species of coral on the Great Barrier Reef to preserve in a "coral ark" or biobank. It’s a bold plan, but could it be the solution to future-proofing our precious world heritage-listed site?

Australian Story revisits author Matthew Reilly in Los Angeles as he makes his debut behind the camera, directing his own action movie for Netflix. It’s a childhood dream come true for the self-confessed movie buff. In his late teens he realised no one was going to hand an inexperienced director a big budget movie, so he began to put those action adventures down in writing, ultimately breaking through as a bestselling author. After six years of trying to convince Hollywood to back him, Reilly’s just finished directing Interceptor, which stars Elsa Pataky as an army lieutenant who disables a nuclear attack on America.

Funny man Max Gillies has been making people laugh all his life. As the star of 1980s hit comedy show The Gillies Report, he became famous for his outrageous political satire. Politicians across the spectrum were the butt of his jokes and his impersonation of Bob Hawke was legendary. Now as he nears 80, Max Gillies reveals the family secrets that helped shape his comic brilliance, talking candidly about his mother’s mental illness and the mystery of his absent father. And how some surprising answers came to light when he got a phone call out of the blue from trucking magnate Lindsay Fox.

Over the past 25 years Australian Story has travelled around the country, and the world, to tell more than a thousand stories. To mark our quarter century, we asked fans to vote for the episode they’d most want to revisit — and we listened! With This Ring told the story of central Queensland horsewoman Gayle Shann who survived an horrific farming accident in 2002. Australian Story first filmed Gayle and husband Mac in 2003, as they grappled with a new way of living life on the land. Our cameras have been rolling ever since. In this heartwarming next chapter, we’re thrilled to discover the Shanns are thriving. Proving love really does conquer all.

Jana Pittman reckons she has lived five lives in her 39 years on the planet. She's been a world champion athlete. A mother of four. A doctor in a busy Sydney hospital. And more recently, a reality TV star on SAS Australia. In her spare time, she’s joined the Army Reserve and is doing a PhD in obstetrics. Oh, and did we mention that she’s also pregnant with twins? In this program, Jana talks about her new career in women's health, her regrets about the period when she was labelled "Drama Jana", and the surprising twist to her family life.

The final chapter in a Sydney family’s fight for justice after their daughter Justine Ruszczyk was killed by a US police officer. Australian Story first spoke to the Ruszczyk family four years ago after Justine was shot dead by Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor. Noor's historic murder conviction was recently overturned. In their first in-depth interview since his re-sentencing for manslaughter, the family has vowed not to let their daughter's death be in vain.

Lauren Burns fought tooth and nail to find her anonymous sperm donor father. She was then instrumental in campaigning for world-first retrospective legislation to give all donor-conceived children in Victoria the right to identify their donor, irrespective of anonymity promises made in the past. Seven years after Australian Story first profiled Lauren, she is back campaigning again, fearing the achievements she and other donor-conceived children made are being wound back by the Victorian government. Now, as she steps into parenthood for the first time, she finds herself haunted by the past.

When Grace Tame was named Australian of the Year she promised to make some noise and she hasn’t disappointed. The 26-year-old child abuse survivor has been one of the most outspoken recipients of the award in its 62-year history, unafraid to criticise the Morrison government and the Prime Minister himself about the treatment of women and children. In an intimate and revealing Australian Story, Grace Tame looks back over her tumultuous tenure as Australian of the Year and the difficult journey that led her there.