Australian Story

I’m disappointed nobody commented on Daryl’s return to television on Monday night when he introduced Nathan Cavaleri’s Australian Story.

I had visions of Daryl presenting the show in his lounge room to family and friends each Saturday night when that familiar set appeared behind him during the intro on Monday.

Incidentally, Daryl turns 69 today. Cue a crude joke from John Blackman.

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LOL does Darryl really still have the old Hey Hey It’s Saturday set?!

I think it was a green screen.

The Long Game - Part 2

Monday 17 August at 8pm

Beating The Blues - Greg Inglis

Monday 24 August at 8pm

Introduced by Mal Meninga

Whether playing for the Storm, the Rabbitohs, Queensland or Australia, rugby league legend Greg Inglis was a force to be reckoned with. But off the field was a different story.

For years Greg and those close to him struggled to make sense of his powerful mood swings.

He was prescribed a range of medication for depression and anxiety and self-medicated with alcohol, leading to two stints in rehabilitation clinics.

It was only after the second of these that he received a correct diagnosis for his condition — bipolar II.

As Inglis prepares to resume his career in the UK, he speaks with extraordinary candour about his mental health to ensure others with the same condition don’t suffer in silence.

Airs Monday August 24, 8pm, on ABCTV, iview and News In Depth Youtube.

https://twitter.com/AustralianStory/status/1296298794221330433?s=20

Team Scott

Monday 31 August at 8:00 pm

When the body of young American Scott Johnson was found at the bottom of a Sydney cliff in 1988, police quickly decided it was suicide.

His brother Steve spent the next 30 years campaigning for justice.

The multi-millionaire assembled his own crack team of investigators, including lawyers in Australia and the US, journalists, former police officers, and a former coroner.

They called themselves “Team Scott” and were convinced Scott’s was a gay hate murder.

Now after an unprecedented three coronial inquests into the case, a resolution may finally be at hand.

The Great Escape

Monday 7 September at 8pm

Introduced by Craig Foster, former Socceroo and human rights advocate

It was a daring plan to spirit a refugee out of detention.

Kurdish-Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani had spent almost seven years detained in PNG after coming to Australia by boat in 2013.

During that time he’d written an award-winning book, No Friend But the Mountains, which he’d smuggled out in thousands of text messages.

Last year, a small group of supporters came up with a plan to get him out.

An invitation to a writers’ festival in New Zealand meant that he could legally apply for a visitor’s visa to that country and leave PNG.

But there were risks involved at every step of the way.

https://twitter.com/AustralianStory/status/1301409087813496833?s=20

Beenham Valley Road - Part 1

Monday 14 September at 8pm

Burnt-out former policeman Jamie Pultz is haunted by the suspicious death of Kirra McLoughlin six years ago.

Kirra was a charismatic young mum he’d met on a domestic violence call-out and he doubted her death, a few months later, was due to natural causes.

After he left the police, he joined forces with another young ex-cop Tom Daunt.

Together, they launched their own podcast investigation into why no one had been charged over Kirra’s death.

Neither of them would anticipate the dark paths they would go down or their startling discoveries.

Part 2 airs Monday 21 September

Introduced by Sarah Kanowski from Conversations on ABC Radio and Podcast

Continuing the story of former policeman-turned-podcaster Jamie Pultz and his investigation into the suspicious death of Kirra McLoughlin.

Kirra, 27, had been with her new partner for less than a year when she died and Jamie believed there was a lot about his story that didn’t add up.

When nobody was charged over the mother-of-four’s death, he joined forces with Kirra’s mother to discover some surprising new leads.

The wheels of justice finally started turning last month when a coronial inquest began.

https://twitter.com/AustralianStory/status/1303966445362061312?s=20

Breaking New Ground

Monday 28 September at 8:00 pm

For five generations, Charles Massy’s family rode on the sheep’s back and nearly destroyed their land in the process.

When drought in the 80s and 90s almost sent him broke, the Cooma farmer switched to regenerative agriculture and watched his overgrazed land recover.

In his mid-50s, Charles Massy started a PhD, visiting 80 top regenerative farmers to see what they were doing differently.

That led to his ground-breaking book Call of the Reed Warbler, a plea to farmers to start working with nature.

https://twitter.com/AustralianStory/status/1308938447449518080?s=20

Keeping Up Appearances

Monday 5 October at 8:00pm

Introduced by ABC Chair and journalist Ita Buttrose

The Aunty Jack Show burst onto our TV screens in the early 1970s, revolutionising Australian comedy with its surreal and outlandish sketches.

One of its stars was Rory O’Donoghue, best known as Thin Arthur, who sang the show’s hit song Farewell Aunty Jack and dazzled audiences with his musical talent.

A gifted composer and performer, he played the role of Peter in the hit musical Jesus Christ Superstar, worked alongside Aunty Jack creator Grahame Bond in a host of stage productions, and wrote the theme music for shows like Bush Tucker Man.

Whilst hugely popular, behind the scenes Rory O’Donoghue lived with a crippling secret. Now family and close friends are ready to share his story in the hope of triggering a vital conversation.

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To Catch a Stalker: Part 1

Monday 12 October at 8:00pm

Introduced by Debra Newell, real-life subject of the Netflix stalker drama ‘Dirty John’

In 2014 Di McDonald was recently divorced and dating was the last thing on her mind.

But a chance encounter with a customer at the store where she worked changed her life.

When she ended her brief relationship with Max Gardiner, he retaliated by embarking on a relentless three-year stalking campaign.

This exclusive two-part investigation highlights the difficulties women face in having stalking cases taken seriously by police and explains in forensic detail how Max Gardiner managed to act unapprehended for so long.

Two-part Australian Story starts Monday October 12, 8pm (AEDT), on ABCTV and iview.

https://twitter.com/AustralianStory/status/1314085369214726145?s=20

To Catch a Stalker: Part 2

Monday 19 October at 8:00pm

Continuing the story of Di McDonald’s quest for justice after being stalked by ex-boyfriend Max Gardiner for three years.

After police seemed powerless to stop Gardiner, Di’s case is finally handed to young detective Beck Norris.

Detective Senior Constable Norris conducts a search on Gardiner’s house and finds evidence implicating him in an anonymous campaign of offensive posters targeting Di.

But it’s not enough and to secure a conviction, the young detective enlists the help of the famous FBI profiler who helped crack the Unabomber case in the US.

Can linguistic analysis finally prove that Max Gardiner is Di McDonald’s stalker?

https://twitter.com/AustralianStory/status/1316630848666394630?s=20

About a Boy

Monday 26 October at 8:00pm

Introduced by Brooke Boney

Quaden Bayles is a nine-year-old boy with dwarfism who just wants to fit in.

But he unwittingly found himself the target of a vicious social media pile-on when his mum Yarraka posted a video of him distraught after being bullied at school.

The video went viral and there was a huge outpouring of support.

But the haters also came out in force, accusing Quaden of being an adult who was scamming the public for financial gain.

This is how Quaden triumphed over the trolls.

Finding Her Voice

Monday 2 November at 8pm

Introduced by actor David Wenham

When she first appeared on Australian Story in 2014, singer Megan Washington was on a high, having released a successful album and gone public with her "shameful’ secret – a serious stutter.

But in the years that followed, this multi-talented musician’s career stumbled as she tried and failed three times to make her next album.

Instead Megan channelled her energy into facing her fears and did the previously unthinkable. She’s embraced her stutter and become a voice actor, including for the popular children’s show Bluey.

And when COVID struck, Megan began making records again, this time on her own terms.

https://twitter.com/AustralianStory/status/1321675546305064960?s=20

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Fight for the Truth

Monday 9 November at 8pm

Five hundred kilometres from the nearest capital city, the outback mining town of Broken Hill is fighting to save its only newspaper.

For over a hundred years, the Barrier Truth has told the town’s stories, documented wars, droughts and the Depression, and recorded the lives and deaths of its citizens.

But when the pandemic struck, advertising revenue collapsed, forcing the newspaper to shut down.

Former Broken Hill resident and mining executive Robert Williamson heard about the community’s distress and raised enough money to restart the printing presses temporarily.

Now the newspaper’s union owners face a tough decision: should they sell their beloved paper to private interests?

https://twitter.com/AustralianStory/status/1324096833409458176?s=20

To His Door

Monday 16 November at 8pm

Sixteen years after Australian Story first covered the case of the Claremont serial killer, the program returns with a forensic investigation of how police solved two murders and exclusive interviews with victims’ families.

Three young women disappeared from the streets of Claremont during the mid-90s but, from the start, police struggled to crack the case.

In 2004, Australian Story interviewed experts who suggested a full review of police evidence. That became a “turning point” in the investigation.

By 2016, police had amassed enough forensic evidence to arrest Bradley Edwards who was found guilty of murdering Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon this year. There was not enough evidence to convict him over the death of Sarah Spiers.

Sarah’s father Don and Jane’s mother Jenny speak for the first time since the verdict was delivered.

https://twitter.com/AustralianStory/status/1326765196946382854?s=20

2020 final is Monday 30 November