Events That Changed Australia

[TV.Cynic]

Events That Changed Australia is a powerful new series that explores significant events and moments that have shaped our nation. Through bold storytelling and trusted voices, it invites viewers to reflect on the past, understand the present, and envision the Australia of tomorrow.

Each episode will examine a major event, exploring its profound impact on Australian society through rich archival footage and expert commentary from influential figures such as politicians, famous Australians, social commentators, and journalists, including Ally Langdon, renowned journalist and host of A Current Affair, and Channel 9 reporters who covered the events as they unfolded.

The series delves into landmark events such as the Cronulla riots, the devastating Black Saturday bushfires, the Bali bombings and the Lindt Cafe siege, which all altered the course of Australian history. It also looks into momentous topics like the stunning impact of World Series Cricket on professional sport, same-sex marriage, Australia’s criminal underbelly, gender equality in sport, and even the enduring image of the lovable Aussie bogan, to paint a vivid picture of a country in constant transformation.

Events That Changed Australia is produced by Ronde Media for the 9Network.

2026 Upfronts

[foxyrover]

The sort of content that’ll be good for the bank in future for replays and the like? Should be interesting.

[TV.Cynic]

[aarontvcentral]

7 December

[TV.Cynic]

Episode 1 - The Cronulla Riots

Sunday 7 December 8:30 PM

Sydney’s Cronulla Beach became the site of an organized, race-driven riot in December 2005. The ugly violence lasted for days, forcing a national reckoning on race and Australian identity, making us question what kind of country we want to live in.

[JohnsonTV]

‘I went home and fell apart’: The stories two high-profile journalists...

[TV.Cynic]

DEFINING A NATION

EVENTS THAT CHANGED AUSTRALIA

NEW EVENT SERIES PREMIERES SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, AT 8.30PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW

Discover the Events That Changed Australia in this powerful new factual series exploring the defining moments that shaped our nation, premiering, Sunday December 7, at 8.30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.

Events That Changed Australia takes an in-depth look at the critical turning points in Australia’s history, from natural disasters to social upheavals, through the lens of hindsight. Combining rich, never-before-seen archival footage with candid interviews, the series investigates not just what happened, but how these events fundamentally altered the country and its people.

The compelling eight part series features a chorus of trusted voices and eyewitnesses, including Ally Langdon, Ben Fordham, Leila McKinnon, Tom Steinfort, Alicia Loxley, Jayne Azzopardi and Brett McLeod, alongside survivors, first responders, and community leaders who were on the ground when history was made.

The series launches with a searing examination of the Cronulla Riots. In the summer of December 2005, simmering racial tensions exploded on one of Sydney’s most popular beaches. What began as a localised conflict spiralled into an organised, race-driven riot that beamed ugly images of Australia around the world.

Exploring the media storm, the use of the national anthem as a war cry, and the subsequent “race reckoning” that forced Australians to question the kind of country we want to live in, Events That Changed Australia asks: How could this happen here?

Throughout the series, Events That Changed Australia will continue to explore landmark chapters in our history, including Black Saturday, the Bali Bombings, the Lindt Cafe Siege, and the impact of World Series Cricket.

Events That Changed Australia is produced by Ronde Media for the 9Network.

EVENTS THAT CHANGED AUSTRALIA
NEW EIGHT PART EVENT SERIES
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, AT 8.30PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW

[Djohns2740]

Why would Tv Blackbox use Samantha Armytage image when she isn’t mentioned in the press release or even part of the show? Not to mention the article is a slight reformat of the press release.

EVENTS THAT CHANGED AUSTRALIA revisits moments that redefined the nation

[TV.Cynic]

Episode 2 - Black Saturday

Sunday 14 December 8:10 PM

Devastating fires wipe out entire towns … And force us to confront how we deal with mega-bushfires in an ever-changing climate. On February 7, 2009, Victoria endured its darkest day when catastrophic bushfires swept across the state. Known as Black Saturday, the infernos claimed 173 lives - our biggest ever peacetime loss of life. The tragedy sparked a Royal Commission that not only investigated how the disaster unfolded but also ordered the abolition of the controversial “Stay or Go” policy, forever changing how Australians prepare for and respond to fires in our ever-hotter Australian summers.

[JohnsonTV]

@Sully

Wonder if Nine will re-schedule last night’s … Black Saturday special? Or postpone them to the new year or even save for 2026 survey?

Given Nine’s tennis commitments in January, I feel it will be better if the Black Saturday episode, and the rest of the series, is postponed until the 2026 survey.

[BigVic]

The cricket one could air after the tennis

[foxyrover]

Surely that has to air before the Ashes is out?

[TV.Cynic]

Returning

[TV.Cynic]

Returns Wednesday 15 April 7:30 PM

Black Saturday

The 2009 Black Saturday fires claimed 173 lives, Victoria’s worst peacetime loss. The tragedy sparked a Royal
Commission that abolished the controversial “Stay or Go” policy, forever changing Australia’s bushfire response in our ever-hotter Australian summers.

[TV.Cynic]

A NATION DEFINED

EVENTS THAT CHANGED AUSTRALIA

NEW SERIES CONTINUES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15,
AT 7.30PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW

Witness like never before the defining moments that shaped our nation and rocked its people to their core, when the groundbreaking new series Events That Changed Australia continues, Wednesday, April 15, at 7.30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now, with the story of disastrous Black Saturday.

Black Saturday was a terrible turning point in Australian history. On February 7, 2009, Victoria endured its darkest day when bushfires swept across the state, creating uncontrollable infernos. With the death of 173 people, Black Saturday became our biggest ever peacetime loss of life. The disaster led to a Royal Commission that investigated how it unfolded, and ordered the abolition of the controversial “Stay or Go” policy, forever changing the way Australians prepare for and respond to fires in our ever-hotter summers.

This compelling event series takes an in-depth look at the pivotal moments in Australia’s history, from those who were right there. Through the combined power of never-before-seen archival footage and candid interviews, Events That Changed Australia delves into critical turning points, from defining moments and natural disasters to periods of social upheaval, to explore not just the facts but the fundamental, lasting changes these events have made to Australia and its people.

This powerful series features a diverse collection of trusted voices and accounts from eyewitnesses, including trusted presenters Ally Langdon, Ben Fordham, Leila McKinnon, Tom Steinfort, Alicia Loxley, Jayne Azzopardi and Brett McLeod, alongside first responders, survivors, and community leaders who were present as unfolded.

Throughout the series, Events That Changed Australia will continue to explore landmark chapters in our history, including episodes on the Bali Bombings, the Lindt Cafe Siege, The Birth of the Bogan, the Unstoppable force of Women’s Sport, Ganglands and The Real Underbelly, and the revolutionary impact of World Series Cricket.

Events That Changed Australia is produced by Ronde Media for the 9Network.

EVENTS THAT CHANGED AUSTRALIA
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, AT 7.30PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW

[JohnsonTV]

The Birth of the Bogan
Wednesday 22 April

How a muscle-bound bushman and one crazy idea for a tourism advertisement made our nation what it is today.

[JBar]

Paul Hogan was always considered an Ocker rather than a Bogan. I know the term Bogan seems to have taken over now but I think there was a difference with what an Ocker was.

[TV.Cynic]

Update

When Terror Came to Town

Wednesday 22 April 7:30 PM

The 2002 Bali bombings, and the 2014 Lindt Cafe Siege in Sydney are two pivotal moments in Australian history. The events of September 11th, 2001 left us shocked, but terror still seemed a long way away for us. The events of Bali - and then the Lindt Cafe siege - brought home the idea of terrorism to our nation, but also exposed an Australia in denial - and a country that was hopelessly unprepared for this new, scarier world.

[Sully]

Just caught-up with the long delayed Black Saturday ep on 9Now, wish a few more had tuned-in. It was really well done, an emotional, fascinating insight and flashback to an unfathomable tragedy, rather triggering for me as I remember it vividly and how impactful it was. The first hand accounts, conveniently now Nine stars, from Tom Steinfort, Alicia Loxley, Allison Langdon, Brett McLeod, Leila McKinnon and Ben Fordham, plus expert commentary from a fire scientist and Marysville survivors (including former CFA volunteer who also featured in the ABC doco a year back) were powerful.

I do think the ABC’s was a slightly better special though, but none the less Ronde did well with this, even if a more Sydney-leaning/nationally-appealing edge.

Some good archival tape/master footage from Feb 2009 as well, including then Nine News graphics package, some GTV (Bendigo St Richmond too) newsroom titbits and other ex reporters and was funny seeing Loxley as “Gorey”, also Jo Hall briefly.

[TV.Cynic]

The Birth of The Bogan

Wednesday 28 April 7:30 PM

Early 1980s Australia, and our country is still deep in cultural cringe. That is, until a muscle-bound bushman named Paul Hogan and a far-out idea for an advertisement featuring Hoges ‘throwing another shrimp on the barbie’ enters the scene … A moment when the nation embraced a more laid-back, irreverent version of itself and proudly waved the bogan flag. We’ll ask how and why this ad resonated so strongly at the time, and how it changed the way Australians saw themselves and how the world saw us. Along the way, the bogan archetype has expanded and opened its arms: from the classic working-class Aussie bloke to the multicultural bogan and beyond, reflecting how the country itself has changed.