Yakka: Australia At Work
From Tuesday 21 November 9.00pm
From working the land, to digging up minerals, from manufacturing to the services industry, this series explores how work has shaped Australia from the Second World War to the present.
From working the land, to digging up minerals, from manufacturing to the services industry, Yakka: Australia At Work explores how work has shaped Australia from the Second World War to the present.
Each episode is themed around a particular form of work. The first, SOIL & TOIL, is about agriculture and how, since the Second World War, Australia has had to adapt to survive in changing global and domestic economies, a volatile political landscape, and face the challenges of an unpredictable climate.
Episode two MAKING A NATION, explores the post-war work revolution in which Australia was transformed from an agricultural economy into a manufacturing one. Full employment guaranteed unprecedented prosperity for most Australians and a high standard of living.
Episode three, GROUNDBREAKERS, is about mining. From the 1949 coal miners’ strike which almost undid the economy (and certainly undermined the Labor government) to the ‘Axe the Tax’ demonstrations sixty-five years later, this episode is about the political power of miners and the mining industry since the Second World War.
The final episode, AT YOUR SERVICE, is about two things: women and the services industry. Today, women are dominant in the Australian workplace because they are equipped intellectually to take advantage of an economy which is more about brains than brawn.
Production credit: A Wildbear Entertainment production. Financed with the assistance of National Museum of Australia, ANU Australian Studies Institute, National Archives of Australia. Financed with support from the ACT Government and Screen Canberra. Series Producer Mike Bluett. Executive Producers: Alan Erson, Dr Holly Trueman, Serge Ou. ABC Executive Producers Leo Faber and Madeleine Hawcroft.
Bill Bailey’s Wild West Australia
Episode 2 Thursday 23 November 8.00pm
Comedian and musician Bill Bailey heads to Western Australia’s Ningaloo Coast to see the epic scale of the Australian outback and experience its laid-back red dirt lifestyle.
The Pinnacles, Stromatolites, Pink Lakes and wild emus are enough to get Bill excited about the West Australian frontier spirit, but nothing could prepare him for the unforgettable experience of swimming alongside the gentle giants of the sea, Whale Sharks.
All Creatures Great and Small - Season 3
From Saturday 25 November 7.30pm
An untimely reminder from Siegfried about the responsibilities of his profession puts James in an impossible situation on his and Helen’s wedding day.
It’s Spring 1939. Some big changes are happening at Skeldale and everyone has to learn how to adjust.
Tristan (Callum Woodhouse) is now a qualified vet while James (Nicholas Ralph) enters into a new stage of his life with Helen (Rachel Shenton).
After being made joint business partner by Siegfried (Samuel West), James pushes to take on more responsibility via the Ministry of Agriculture’s new bovine TB testing scheme, but its unexpected challenges risk pushing him to breaking point.
As a potential Second World War looms, all of our Skeldale family have to consider their purpose in Darrowby and beyond.
Production credit: Production company: Playground Entertainment. Executive Producers: Colin Callender, Melissa Gallant, Hugo Heppell, Rebecca Eaton. Producer: Richard Burrell.
