Australian Story

At home with Australian cricket legend Glenn McGrath as he and his growing family continue to honour the legacy of his late wife Jane, who died from breast cancer more than 13 years ago. Glenn looks back over a glittering cricket career and the achievements of the McGrath Foundation, which is well on the way to achieving its goal of providing a free breast care nurse to every breast cancer patient in Australia. Glenn and Jane’s children, James and Holly, speak publicly for the first time about their mother’s legacy, the crucial role Glenn’s second wife Sara had in their upbringing and their growing involvement in the McGrath Foundation.

It's not often you become the subject of your own story, but this is exactly what happened to journalist Stephanie Wood when she fell in love with a man she met online. After a tumultuous year she discovered her boyfriend’s life was a carefully constructed web of lies and deceptions. When she published a book about life with 'Joe' she was inundated with stories from other women about their own betrayals at the hands of serial fantasists, many of whom began their false personas online. Australian Story follows Stephanie as she meets some of these women and hears their heartbreaking - and ultimately life-affirming - accounts of how they rebuilt their lives.

Australian Story steps inside the fantastical, the mind boggling and the sometimes terrifying world of magic and escapology with father and daughter duo Helen and Arthur Coghlan. Arthur’s death-defying escapes in the 1970s earned him the title of Australia’s Houdini. And he admits there were times he took it a little too far. At the age of 89 he reveals how close he came to death on live television and his apprehension when daughter Helen followed him into the world of magic. After a long hiatus, Arthur and Helen are enjoying a career renaissance on the US television show Penn and Teller Fool Us, and their magical prowess is receiving global recognition.

When Noongar woman Stacey Thorne was found murdered in December 2007, the small West Australian town of Boddington was torn apart. Police quickly focused on her casual lover Scott Austic whose arrest and subsequent conviction divided the town. But a re-investigation by independent lawyer and forensic scientist Dr Clint Hampson revealed a disturbing pattern of tampered evidence. His discovery was backed up by the Court of Appeal which found that there was “credible, cogent and plausible evidence of planting”. After spending over a decade in jail, Scott Austic was acquitted at a re-trial and is seeking compensation. But the Thorne family believes there has been no justice for Stacey and in desperation has now hired a private investigator to chase new leads to find her killer. The Austic family also wants the case to be reopened.

In the second part of this compelling story, Australian Story explores how Scott Austic was freed from prison after spending more than 12 years behind bars. The West Australian man was acquitted in a retrial after sensational revelations of planted evidence. But there are no winners in this story. While Scott rebuilds his life, the devastated family of victim Stacey Thorne is demanding police reopen the investigation to find her killer.

A young couple are braving danger and isolation in one of the most remote areas of Australia to help turn around the country's extinction crisis. UNSW-Sydney ecologists Dr Rebecca West and her husband Dr Reece Pedler run the Wild Deserts project in the Sturt National Park — an ambitious 10-year collaboration to re-introduce seven locally extinct animals into safe havens and restore the health of the desert into the bargain. But when they embarked on the project, they couldn’t know all the challenges they would face — years of crippling drought meant conditions weren't right to bring in native animals. But in 2020 the rains finally came and with it, the first 10 bilbies bred at Taronga Park Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo were released and are now thriving in their new home. With Australia's extinction crisis among the worst in the world, re-populating the desert with the animals that once thrived there is a ray of hope in a race against time.

In a television exclusive, Nicola Forrest steps out of the shadow of her at-times controversial husband, mining magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest, to explain the very personal motivation behind the family's philanthropy. After their third child, Matilda, was stillborn Nicola Forrest felt driven to help other families, funding research and programs aimed at helping "all Australian children reach their full potential". Now she's calling on Canberra to follow suit, lobbying politicians to make early education reform part of their federal election promise.

Triple Olympian Lisa Curry was the golden girl of swimming through the 1980s after she was spotted by Dawn Fraser’s coach at age 10. With her fairytale marriage to ironman Grant Kenny and the arrival of three golden-haired children, Lisa has been a magazine favourite for decades. Lisa has led a full and rich life – reinventing herself as a champion outrigger coach, chair of the Australia Day Council and fitness entrepreneur. But behind the scenes, for 18 years, Lisa was battling a crisis that threatened the life of her eldest child. As Lisa approaches 60, she reflects on the joy of family, heart-wrenching loss and the power of new beginnings.

In a world exclusive, Australian Story unravels the legend of AC/DC front man Bon Scott, who was on the verge of becoming an international rock star when he died at age 33. For the first time ever, the program has been granted access to Bon’s family and friends who provide fresh insights into his vulnerabilities and state of mind leading up to his untimely death in London in 1980. The program features the first interview with Bon’s younger brother Derek and is introduced by Brian Johnson, Bon’s successor with the band. Bruce Howe, a former bandmate who shared a house with Bon for five years, noticed a big change when he last saw him in late 1979. “He wasn’t bubbly and laughing. Maybe he’d come to the state where he’d achieved his dream, he found his holy grail, but found that his holy grail might have looked like an empty goblet,” he told the program. To this day, Bon Scott is considered one of the world’s best rock and roll singers. “I don’t think there’s a singer in the world

When Cathy McGowan won the seat of Indi in 2013, she had no idea that she would become a lightning rod for an independent movement that is now dominating Australian politics. More than 23 so-called teal or community independent candidates are standing in this election and it’s McGowan who has been their "secret weapon". Join Australian Story as we go on the hustings with the 68-year-old farmer from Victoria to two seats where she's helping guide candidates and rallying their armies of more than 20,000 volunteers.

When Kathy Lette co-wrote Puberty Blues in her late teens, she became known in Australia as the voice of youth, a label she struggled to shake even as she approached her 30s. But when she left husband Kim Williams for Geoffrey Robertson and moved to London, she found her voice. In a succession of best-selling novels, she has lightly fictionalised the various stages of her life, including marriage, motherhood and divorce. Now 63, Lette is determined to age disgracefully and believes post-menopause is the best time in a woman’s life. She talks about her long and successful career, her relationships and the pride she takes in the achievements of her autistic son Jules, who is carving out a successful acting career.

Russell Manser was a notorious bank robber and escapee who seemed destined to spend the rest of his life behind bars. But behind his repeat offending lay a crippling secret from his teenage years. When he finally sought justice for these wrongs, life took an unexpected turn Now the bank robber turned businessman is assisting others who want justice for crimes long buried. But it’s been a rocky road to redemption.

Self-described "small town drunk" Shanna Whan has done what no one else has been prepared to do in rural Australia. She's outed herself as a recovering alcoholic and is using her story to highlight the all-pervasive culture around booze in the bush. The founder of Sober in the Country was named ‘Local Hero’ in this year’s Australian of the Year awards for her advocacy. In an update to our 2019 episode, Australian Story goes on the road with Shanna as she takes her message to political leaders.

From a poor Indigenous girl in regional Queensland, actor, writer and director Leah Purcell is now at the top of her game. She has starred in some of Australia’s most renowned films and written and directed some of our best television. Purcell is the first Indigenous woman to write, direct and star in her own feature film, The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson. She’s woven her family’s complicated history and her own troubled past into a powerful reimagining of a classic Australian tale, shining a light on the injustice of history.

Step inside the funeral home that’s transforming the way we do death. Six years ago, with a group of community volunteers, Jenny Briscoe-Hough founded Tender Funerals, a not-for-profit funeral service in Port Kembla. Tender has a mission to provide personalised and affordable funerals, and to demystify the funeral process and put it back in the hands of the grieving. Filmed over 10 months, this episode follows the experiences of people who used Tender to look after their deceased loved one, providing an extraordinarily intimate view of a process we rarely get to see.

When 24-year-old Amy Wensley died from a gunshot wound to the head on a rural property outside Perth in 2014, detectives quickly declared it a suicide. Uniformed police officers however were suspicious and Amy’s family refused to believe that the mother-of-two would have taken her own life Unhappy with the speed and findings of the initial police investigation, Amy’s aunt Anna Davey started her own research, uncovering fresh evidence about her niece's life that would raise further questions about her mysterious death.

Anna Davey continues her investigations into the unsolved death of her 24-year-old niece Amy Wensley, exposing fundamental failings along the way by WA police on the night. When the mother-of-two died of a gunshot wound to the head in 2014, detectives quickly ruled Amy's death a suicide, but her family were suspicious. In this episode we delve deeper into the mystery of Amy’s death including the discovery of an ambiguous selfie photo taken on the night and we hear from a biomechanical expert and his startling conclusions about how she might have died.

It's almost 20 years since Australian Story first spoke to the family of former nurse and childcare worker Lyn Dawson. The much-loved mother-of-two was living on Sydney's northern beaches when she vanished in suspicious circumstances 40 years ago. In May this year her then-husband, Chris Dawson, stood trial for his wife's murder and last week, amidst a frenzy of media and public interest, Justice Ian Harrison handed down his decision. Monday, we go behind the scenes with Lyn's family and friends as they wait for a verdict that gripped the nation.

Once one of the greats of rugby union, David Pocock is now striding a very different playing field. The former captain of the Wallabies has become a powerbroker in the Senate and is seen to hold the key for the Albanese Government to pass its legislative agenda. Having first profiled Pocock in 2015, Australian Story goes behind the scenes again as Pocock tackles his first few months as the new independent senator for the ACT. Everyone wants a piece of him and we see Pocock flexing a different kind of muscle to secure the amendments he seeks to the government’s historic Climate Change Bill.

Firefighter Mick Tisbury spent years fighting to uncover an alarming chemical contamination scandal. Then, with no medical training, he found a way to help fellow firefighters and members of the public who were at risk of severe illness as a result of their unwitting exposure. The experienced firefighter worked alongside a journalist to reveal the full extent to which carcinogenic chemicals and toxic firefighting foam containing PFAS chemicals were misused at a volunteer firefighting training facility in rural Victoria. Mick went all the way to the to the United Nations Stockholm Convention in Geneva to argue for worldwide bans on PFAS. And on the way, he has come up with an ingenious solution to help people rid their bodies of these "forever chemicals".

Greg Donovan was in his early 50s when he was made redundant from the Sydney insurance company he’d worked at for 20 years. Instead of investing his payout, he took a massive gamble and used it to bankroll a musical passion project in Munga-Thirri country, on the outskirts of the Simpson Desert near Birdsville. Eight years later, the Big Red Bash has evolved into the world’s most remote music festival, playing host to some of Australia's most famous musicians. Promoters and managers around the country were awestruck that someone with no experience in the industry could pull off such an event. For musician Jimmy Barnes' manager, John Watson, it's proof yet again that a "crazy person with a good idea" will always be able to find a place in showbiz. Featuring music from Jimmy Barnes, Missy Higgins and John Williamson.

When Michael Cheika quit as Wallabies coach following the team's poor performance at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, many Australian fans were happy to see the back of him. But three years on, he's never been in greater demand. As head coach of Argentina's national rugby side, Cheika recently clocked up wins against Australia and New Zealand, but it's his other national coaching job that is raising eyebrows. This week, he takes lowly ranked Lebanon to the Rugby League World Cup in Britain. In a revealing Australian Story, Michael Cheika looks back over an eventful life and often controversial career. He addresses the criticism that was levelled at him in the wake of the 2019 World Cup and explains why he switched codes to honour his Lebanese heritage and why he still feels like an outsider.

Parkway Drive is the biggest Australian band you've probably never heard of. And they're smashing stereotypes while blowing up stadiums worldwide. The school and surfing mates started out in a garage in Parkway Drive, Byron Bay. 20 years later they are Australia's biggest heavy metal act. Thoughtful, quietly spoken and remarkably open, Parkway Drive don't fit the picture of a typical metal band. The band was built on fun and friendship but as Parkway became more successful, and the work became more intense, creative differences, unequal workloads, and pay disputes began tearing them apart. Can counselling save not only the band, but their friendship as well?

Remembering singing legend Judith Durham and the trailblazing band who put Australian music on the map.

Earlier this year a group of Brisbane students lit a political firestorm when they pushed back against their former school over a controversial enrolment contract. Citipointe Christian College asked parents to agree that homosexuality was a sin and stipulated that students enrol under their birth gender. The reaction to the story was explosive and the contract was quickly withdrawn. But the shockwaves were felt in Canberra as politicians took to the floor of parliament to argue over religious freedom laws. So whose rights should prevail? Australian Story has been talking to both sides in this ongoing debate and to the students caught in the crossfire.

Musician and performer Tim Minchin spent his 30s struggling to break through, supported by his wife Sarah. When fame finally struck in 2005 he went from playing tiny clubs to huge arenas and the subsequent success of Matilda: The Musical established him as an internationally renowned composer. When Tim moved to LA, his career looked set to continue its remarkable trajectory but then came a series of setbacks. Returning with his family to live in Australia, Tim Minchin found himself at a crossroads. In a candid Australian Story, Tim Minchin and wife Sarah reflect on the lessons they’ve learnt and how they dealt with the challenges Tim’s extraordinary fame presented to their relationship.

Poh Ling Yeow burst onto screens in the first series of MasterChef Australia in 2009, her energy and daring quickly making her an audience favourite. Her popularity rested on her resilience and ability to bounce back from disaster. And bouncing back is something she’s done all her life, with her rise to fame anything but conventional. By the time Poh auditioned for MasterChef at the age of 35, she was a flourishing artist who had left her family’s Mormon religion and survived a painful divorce. She says her “wild journey” has taught her much about seeing adversity as an opportunity and that she’s “good friends” with uncertainty.

After more than 70 years, one of Australia’s most enduring mysteries – the identity of the “Somerton Man” – is finally solved. When an unidentified man was found dead on an Adelaide beach in 1948, it was the start of one of Australia’s most baffling cold cases. Simply known as the Somerton Man, he was found without documents and the labels ripped from his clothes. With the Cold War as a backdrop, the mystery of his death inspired rumours and theories around the world. More than seven decades later, DNA technology and forensic genealogy have combined to finally crack the case In this Australian Story, the Somerton Man’s relatives speak for the first time about how they became involved in the mystery and give the unidentified man a name.

As the ABC's 90th year draws to a close, Chair Ita Buttrose reflects on a life in the media spotlight. Keen to follow her father into journalism, Ita left school at 15 and moved from "copy girl", to journalist, to magazine editor in quick succession. Her first major success was as founding editor of Cleo Magazine, pushing the editorial boundaries of the time. Still in her thirties, she was editing the countries highest selling magazine, the Australian Women's Weekly. She has juggled motherhood, difficult bosses and the highs and lows of a changing industry, whilst also being an outspoken voice for causes she believes in. Ita Buttrose's term as ABC Chair finishes in March 2024, and in this Australian Story, she looks back on a career that has equipped her for the role, as she juggles the complexities of one of Australia's largest cultural institutions.