Secrets of Our Cities

The Gold Coast hides a past full of bitter struggle and huge enterprise. Greig explores how South Sea Islanders suffered brutal treatment to enable the early sugar boom in the 19th century.

Greig travels to Footscray, one of the fastest settlements to develop in Australia. Once the industrial heart of Melbourne, it drew a European workforce from around the country.

Australia's biggest outback city, Kalgoorlie has witnessed a gold boom like no other. Over the past 125 years, its gold has kept rising to the surface. And so have community tensions. From the early settlers forcing the traditional owners off their ancient land, foreign prostitutes and their brothels corralled into a contained section of the city, and the introduction of Italian miners eventually bringing about one of Australia's worst-ever race riots, Kalgoorlie's residents haven't always lived together harmoniously. But thanks to the ever-present gold and the simple game of two-up, this city has survived the times. Greig Pickhaver visits the biggest open pit goldmine in Australia to explore how, even today, Kalgoorlie attracts people from around the world.