Australian Story: Series 2016
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2016, Australian Story returns with more unique stories that provide an insight into Australian life with all its complexities and challenges.
Season 21 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Australian Story Season 20.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Season overview
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2016, Australian Story returns with more unique stories that provide an insight into Australian life with all its complexities and challenges.
Episode Guide
Season 21 Progress Shield
Phantom Of The Opera House
Feb 1, 2016 · 30 min
The forgotten man: Peter Hall completed the Sydney Opera House after Danish architect Jorn Utzon resigned. But he was pilloried for his efforts. He died broken and destitute.
Sea Of Doubt
Feb 8, 2016 · 30 min
Mystery at sea: Two men leave on the trip of a lifetime, but only one returns. Now family and friends embark on a quest to solve this baffling disappearance in the remote Pacific O
Nugget Of Gold
Feb 15, 2016 · 30 min
The remarkable story of Barry 'Nugget' Rees, who rose from the most unlikely circumstances to become friend and trusted confidante of generations of Australia's elite cricketers.
True Grit (Part 1)
Feb 22, 2016 · 30 min
Inside the private life of international rugby star David Pocock. We travel back to his homeland Zimbabwe where dramatic events shaped the passion that so famously drives him today
True Grit (Part 2)
Feb 29, 2016 · 30 min
In the concluding episode of this television exclusive, David Pocock, his partner Emma and his family reveal the inside story of one of Australia's most remarkable contemporary spo
My Conscience Tells Me
Mar 7, 2016 · 30 min
Eighty-year-old Dr. Rodney Syme is prepared to defy the law to help a terminally ill man die, even if it means going to jail.
How I Met Your Father
Mar 14, 2016 · 30 min
Former advertising executive Aminah Hart always wanted to be a mother, but no one expected the back-to-front romance that made it happen.
The Beauty Myth
Mar 21, 2016 · 30 min
The woman on a mission to change the face of fashion: Model agent Chelsea Bonner is the daughter of famously beautiful parents but she's staked her career on changing our ideas of
The Minister's Secret
Mar 28, 2016 · 30 min
The surprising personal revelations of Australia's first Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, Fiona Richardson MP.
Whitey's Way
Apr 4, 2016 · 30 min
Paul White, or 'Whitey' to his mates, is an unstoppable force. He's the bush copper turned CEO of one of Australia's most successful sporting clubs. A shock diagnosis has left him
Port Arthur
Apr 11, 2016 · 30 min
The legacy of the Port Arthur massacre and the impact it had on survivors and witnesses.
Building Bridges
Apr 18, 2016 · 30 min
For the first time on TV, Michelle Bridges and her family talk about her becoming a mum at 45, her relationship with 'Commando' Steve Willis and taking on the junk food industry.
Abby's Road
Apr 25, 2016 · 30 min
Ten years ago, two-year-old Abby Walker was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and her parents made a controversial decision. Today she is fit and well. This is her family's
A Kind Of Medicine
May 2, 2016 · 30 min
Music as medicine: one of Australia's first Indigenous doctors, Mark Wenitong, pioneers music for healing after his family is shattered by a horrific accident involving his daughte
Your Money Or Your Life
May 9, 2016 · 30 min
After cheating death in her early twenties, Danielle Tindle is on a mission to improve treatment and care for other young cancer patients. Now she faces a greater challenge. Can sh
Dare To Dream
May 16, 2016 · 30 min
The remarkable untold story behind the creation of Australia's newest opera and its composer George Palmer.
Into The Fog Of War (Part 1)
May 23, 2016 · 30 min
The exclusive inside story of an elite Australian army commando charged with the manslaughter of five children after a horrific and controversial raid gone wrong in Afghanistan.
Into The Fog Of War (Part 2)
May 30, 2016 · 30 min
Continuing the exclusive story of an elite Australian Army Commando charged with the manslaughter of five children after a horrific and controversial raid gone wrong in Afghanistan
20th Anniversary Special (Part 1)
Jun 6, 2016 · 30 min
This two-part anniversary special looks back over Australian Story's key themes, with participants and producers revealing the stories behind some of the show's most significant an
20th Anniversary Special (Part 2)
Jun 13, 2016 · 30 min
Celebrating 20 Years On Air, ABC's multi-award-winning program looks back on some of the most memorable moments and reveals the untold stories behind them.
When The Call Comes
Jun 20, 2016 · 30 min
This week's episode focuses on Michele Perry's quest for justice and to understand why her homeless brother, Morgan Wayne Perry, was killed in a knife attack by a young private sch
Limbo Land
Jun 27, 2016 · 30 min
Actor John Wood introduces the story of Pat Murphy, a farmer who's doing it tough after a coal mine opened next to his property. Now Pat wants to leave the area, but that's easier
One Of The Mob
Jul 4, 2016 · 30 min
Filmmaker David Batty has been a White man in a Black world for 40 years. He struck gold with cult series 'Bush Mechanics'. Now despite a family tragedy he's back with a new screen
The Longest Expedition
Jul 11, 2016 · 30 min
Renowned climber Paul Pritchard returns to Tasmania's notorious Totem Pole to tackle the climb that nearly killed him eighteen years earlier and left him partially paralysed with a
The Heart Bus
Jul 18, 2016 · 30 min
Travel to the outback with innovative engineer-turned-cardiologist Dr Rolf Gomes who takes life-saving cardiac care to people in regional Australia.
Gone Girl
Jul 25, 2016 · 30 min
Gone Girl: Two young people fall in love and marry, but are torn apart when one of them is taken into immigration detention. Supporters are determined to see the decision reversed.
The Two Of Us
Aug 1, 2016 · 30 min
A heart-warming story of friendship between legendary jazz musician Don Burrows and the star he mentored, James Morrison. Now with Don Burrows about to turn 88, the roles have reve
The Olympic Spirit
Aug 8, 2016 · 30 min
With all eyes on Rio, Ian Thorpe introduces a program marking the 60th anniversary of Australia's greatest ever Olympics Melbourne 1956 & the swimmer who inspired generations o
About A Girl
Aug 15, 2016 · 30 min
Battling prejudice and legal challenges, 16-year-old transgender teenager Georgie Stone takes on the system to make life easier for other transgender kids and their families.
What A Wonderful World
Aug 22, 2016 · 30 min
What A Wonderful World: Fifty years on, Patricia Amphlett (Little Pattie) returns to Vietnam where as a 17-year-old she was on stage performing for Australian troops when the Battl
A League Of Their Own
Aug 29, 2016 · 30 min
Businesswoman Susan Alberti could only dream of playing AFL. Now she's supporting a new Women's League & has struck up an unlikely friendship with top player Moana Hope.
The Sugar Trip
Sep 5, 2016 · 30 min
Filmmaker and actor Damon Gameau repays a debt of knowledge when he returns to Central Australia to help revitalise an Indigenous community's healthy eating initiative.
The Flow On Effect
Sep 12, 2016 · 30 min
A year on, what's happening with Australia's most unlikely millionaires? Revisit Byron Bay's father and son beekeepers, the Andersons to see how the success of their company change
When Beccy Met Libby
Sep 19, 2016 · 30 min
An old fashioned love story with a modern day twist. Country singer Beccy Cole wants to tie the knot with her partner cabaret singer Libby O'Donovan. But will the law be changed to
Shadow Of Doubt
Sep 26, 2016 · 30 min
When two cousins set out to find the truth about their grandfather, they uncover family secrets, a scandalous/shocking murder and more questions than answers.
Tough Love
Oct 3, 2016 · 30 min
Taylor & Michael have Down syndrome. They plan to marry & have children, but their parents don't believe they have the skills to raise a family. Can their parents stop them
The Big Dry
Oct 10, 2016 · 30 min
For years TV newsreader Talitha Cummins masked her alcoholism, until her drinking spiralled out of control. Now four years sober, she describes herself as the modern face of alcoho
When Plans Change (Part 1)
Oct 17, 2016 · 30 min
Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner reveals for the first time the story behind a desperate attempt to get her children back from Beirut, which landed her in jail along with a 60 Minute
When Plans Change (Part 2)
Oct 24, 2016 · 30 min
The story of Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner continues, as she describes her desperate attempt to get her children back from Beirut, which landed her in jail along with a 60 Minutes
The New Black
Oct 31, 2016 · 30 min
Black Caviar captured the nation's imagination like no other horse since Phar Lap. Now her first offspring Oscietra is a promising two-year-old filly with top trainer David Hayes.
A Field Of Dreams
Nov 7, 2016 · 30 min
In a bold social experiment, the tiny rural community of Mingoola on the NSW-Queensland border is looking to the past to secure the future.
Out Of The Water
Nov 14, 2016 · 30 min
With summer fast approaching, the experience of a Queensland family is a timely warning of a hidden and deadly danger that can lurk in warm, fresh waters of regional Australia.
The Road From Damascus
Nov 21, 2016 · 30 min
Medico Khaled Naanaa caused a global outcry by exposing the deliberate starvation of civilians in Syria. But doing so made him a target. Now he's been given a new life in Australia