Great Australian Stuff

Television ABC
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New for 2023

Presenter Tony Armstrong unpacks the surprising, strange, and sometimes dark history behind our most iconic Aussie stuff. From the pioneering Boomerang hills hoist and Victa lawnmower, to One Day Cricket, Sherrin footballs and the humble meat pie. And of course, some of our most questionable fashion staples, including speedos and stubbies.* *Featuring Ben Law, Nazeem Hussain, Jenny Kee, Nornie Bero, Richard Glover and Jean Kittson to name a few, Tony digs deep into the ABC archives to uncover what makes something “great” – what stuff we should celebrate and what he can reveal in new lights.

Wildbear Entertainment Production for ABC. Financed with support from the ABC, Screen Canberra, National Museum of Australia and in partnership with National Archives of Australia and ANU Australian Studies Institute. Series Producer Mike Bluett, Executive Producer Alan Erson. ABC Executive Producer Leo Faber.

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Great Australian Stuff premieres in April

tony

Starts Tuesday 11 April, 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview

Tony Armstrong unpacks the surprising, strange, and sometimes dark history behind our most iconic stuff in this fascinating four-part series. The Logie Award-winner and ABC News Breakfast sports presenter discovers some surprising histories - from cakes to casks, meat pies and Chicko Rolls, Speedos and Stubbies.

Great Australian Stuff features some of our most famous and loved products, inventions, food and fashion and it examines Australian history through the lens of some old favourites – Vegemite, Hills Hoist, the Boomerang, the Victa lawnmover, One Day Cricket and Sherrin footballs.

Joining Tony to share stories about their stuff are Benjamin Law, Nazeem Hussain, Jenny Kee, Nornie Bero, Kevin Kropinyeri, Richard Glover and Jean Kittson to name a few. Tony digs deep into the ABC archives to uncover what makes some stuff “great”, what’s our most loved – and loathed stuff – and what stuff we should celebrate.

Production Credits
Wildbear Entertainment Production for ABC. Financed with support from the ABC, Screen Canberra, National Museum of Australia and in partnership with National Archives of Australia and ANU Australian Studies Institute. Series Producer Mike Bluett, Executive Producer Alan Erson. ABC Executive Producer Kalita Corrigan.

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SERIES SYNOPSIS

Hosted by Tony Armstrong and featuring guests such as Nazeem Hussein, Benjamin Law, Jean Kittson and Kevin Kropinyeri, this four-part series uses unique Australian archive footage to uncover the surprising stories behind some of our most loved - and loathed - iconic “stuff”.

Each episode is themed around a particular aspect of Australian life, and the first is all about our most iconic FOOD. This episode unpacks great Aussie classics like the meat pie - from its origins to the endless variety of fillings we know today; the Macadamia nut - one of Australia’s oldest and yummiest foods - and one that almost got away from us; and how marketing played its part in promoting the Granny Smith apple, the Chiko Roll, and the one and only: Vegemite; but perhaps the most curious story of all is how a little chocolate frog became the catalyst for some of our most iconic adventures across the skies and seas.

The next episode, Land, looks at all the ways we’ve worked with and against this great southern land to create some truly unique stuff. We dive into the dynamic versatility of the Boomerang; consider how the arrival of a boatload of sheep produced a world- renowned wool industry; how we turned pests into prized hats and how, after all this time, First Nations’ knowledge about bushfire prevention is finding its way into modern land management techniques.

In episode three, Home, we tuck into the scrumptious nostalgia that is The Australian Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake Book. While it’s sure to bring up mixed feelings (particularly if you’ve tried to make the impossible Tip Truck Cake) this spin-off is undeniably a great piece of Aussie stuff. From cakes to casks, from the Hills Hoist and the humble Lightburn Zeta to bread-making grinding stones, there’s just so much great Australian stuff in the Aussie home!

The final episode kicks off with AFL and its Aussie ancestor, Marn Grook and then, literally, takes a dive into our most iconic beachwear of choice - Speedos. Once we’re done at the beach, we’re off to the races with Phar Lap to explore why we took him to heart and how his heart became the most popular exhibit in our national museum! To finish, we’ll be stepping out at the Sydney Mardi Gras and slipping into one of our great gay icons… the Lucille Balls costume.

Episode 1: FOOD Tuesday, 11 April, 8pm

Chiko Rolls! Vegemite! Freddo Frogs! Join Tony Armstrong as he tucks into the stories behind some of Australia’s most iconic foods. Why was there no Greek food at Greek Milk Bars? What compels us to eat 270 million meat pies a year? And what exactly is in a Chiko Roll?

We love our tucker. But why is it that we’ve taken some things to our collective hearts and tummies while others have been tossed in the cultural kitchen bin? With funny morsels from the likes of Benjamin Law, Jean Kittson and Nazeem Hussein, some smart-cookie commentary from experts, plus loads of archive, Tony Armstrong tucks into the stories behind some of our most iconic and best- loved foods.

In this episode of Great Australian Stuff, Tony explores how the meat pie went from colonial staple to multicultural meal; how our home-grown Macadamia nut almost got snaffled-up by the South Africans; and how some canny marketing turned the Granny Smith into the nation’s fruity favourite. Unwrapping the story behind the Freddo Frog reveals a story that goes from Melbourne to the Antarctic to early Australian aviation, whilst untwisting the story of Vegemite reveals how the advent of TV turned brewers’ waste into the best thing for Aussie babies, why Greek milk bars fed us anything but Greek cuisine, and how the best of old and new combined to give us the Chiko Roll.

So, join Tony Armstrong at the table for extra helpings of social history, fun facts and lots of take-away about Great Australian Stuff.

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Episode 2 - Land Tuesday 18 April 8.00pm

In this episode, Tony Armstrong explores all the stuff from the land that’s become iconic and recognisable as Great Australian Stuff.

With a history stretching back several millennia, is it any wonder so much iconic stuff originates from the land? In the second episode of Great Australian Stuff, Tony Armstrong saddles up to find out how the boomerang went from First Nations tool to tourist must-have; how an ecological disaster literally divided the nation and gave us that internationally recognised icon, the Akubra; how the Kelpie became a canine icon and how merino sheep went from pest to social media phenomena.

Tony then explores how the firestick is lighting the way for better bush fire management, how the land gave us a tale of industrial intrigue, improved the national wardrobe by giving us the Permanent Pleat and, finally, how the land inspired an iconic jumper which inspired a nation, which charmed a British Royal, and looks damned good on our host, too!

Supported by acres of fantastic archive, shed-loads of wit from Kevin Kropinyeri, Nazeem Hussein, Dee Madigan and Jean Kittson, and horizon-expanding insights from experts. Join Tony Armstrong as he gets back to the land and uncovers the little-known stories behind some of our best-loved icons.

Episode 3 - Home Tuesday 25 April 8.00pm

It’s ‘sweet’! It’s where the heart is! Yes, it’s the Home. Host Tony Armstrong opens the front door onto some of our best-known, strangest, and daggiest icons inspired by all-things domestic.

Home ownership has long been the Australian dream so, unsurprisingly, the home has been the birthplace of some of our most iconic stuff.

In this episode, Tony leafs-through domestic bible, the Australian Women’s Weekly - once the highest circulation magazine in the world – and its popular supplement, the Children’s Birthday Cake Book where he discovers a cake even its inventor thought too difficult to make!

Tony mixes it with the grinding stone - the world’s first portable food processor, unscrews the cap on Cask Wine, and uncovers the unsavoury truth behind every home’s flexible favourite, the Hills Hoist.

Behind the net curtains, Tony discovers the tale of an amphetamine which killed 20,000 Australian housewives, tracks the demise of the dunny, and laments the icon that never was: the Lightburn Zeta – an Australian-designed and made car that never quite found a home in the hearts of ordinary Australians.

So, join Benjamin Law, Nazeem Hussein, Daniel Browning and others around at Tony’s place to celebrate some of our greatest domestic stuff!

Episode 4 - Play Tuesday 2 May 8.00pm

We’re a nation that loves to play, which is why it has given us some of our most memorable icons like Speedos, the Sherrin football, a dress made from polystyrene balls, and our most popular museum attraction: a horse’s heart.

In the final episode of Great Australian Stuff, Tony Armstrong grabs his guernsey and delves behind the story of the Sherrin AFL football and its origins in the Indigenous game of Marn Grook; Tony dips his toe into the surf with the story of Speedos which caused a prudish backlash in ‘60s’ Australia, and explores how a series of surf deaths inspired the Surf Life-Saving Reel.

We’re a nation of gamblers – 35% of us have a flutter every month – so no surprise that the racetrack provided two of our greatest icons: the Totalisator (or TAB machine) and, weirdly but not unexpectedly, Phar Lap’s heart - the horse that won 37 out of 51 starts and got a nation through a devastating economic downturn.

And, lastly, Tony explores that iconic playground for diversity – the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras – which gave us one of our most glittering icons: the Lucille Balls costume.

So, grab your boardies and join your captain, Tony Armstrong, guest players, Nazeem Hussein, Benjamin Law, Jean Kittson and a clever team of experts for a historical kickabout with our greatest Aussie stuff!

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I watched all four episodes this Christmas week. It was a fascinating and informative show.

While I am familiar with most items discussed in the series, I didn’t know that in the 1960s there was another Aussie made small car called Lightburn Zeta. The episode didn’t reveal the fate of Lightburn & Co, and a Google search revealed little. The Wikipedia article about the company says Harold Lightburn (who created the Zeta) died at 92 in 2002.

I also didn’t know that two brands of painkillers were popular in Australia from the 1950s: Bex and Vincent’s, until they were banned in 1977.

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