Australian Story - Season 21

First aired: 2/1/2016 43 episodes

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.

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Episodes

1. Phantom Of The Opera House

Aired: 2/1/2016

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.

2. Sea Of Doubt

Aired: 2/8/2016

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 Ocean.

3. Nugget Of Gold

Aired: 2/15/2016

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.

4. True Grit (Part 1)

Aired: 2/22/2016

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, both on and off the field.

5. True Grit (Part 2)

Aired: 2/29/2016

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 sports stars.

6. My Conscience Tells Me

Aired: 3/7/2016

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.

7. How I Met Your Father

Aired: 3/14/2016

Former advertising executive Aminah Hart always wanted to be a mother, but no one expected the back-to-front romance that made it happen.

8. The Beauty Myth

Aired: 3/21/2016

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 beauty and body image.

9. The Minister's Secret

Aired: 3/28/2016

The surprising personal revelations of Australia's first Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, Fiona Richardson MP.

10. Whitey's Way

Aired: 4/4/2016

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 fighting for his life.

11. Port Arthur

Aired: 4/11/2016

The legacy of the Port Arthur massacre and the impact it had on survivors and witnesses.

12. Building Bridges

Aired: 4/18/2016

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.

13. Abby's Road

Aired: 4/25/2016

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 remarkable journey.

14. A Kind Of Medicine

Aired: 5/2/2016

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 daughter, musician Naomi Wenitong.

15. Your Money Or Your Life

Aired: 5/9/2016

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 she beat the odds again?

16. Dare To Dream

Aired: 5/16/2016

The remarkable untold story behind the creation of Australia's newest opera and its composer George Palmer.

17. Into The Fog Of War (Part 1)

Aired: 5/23/2016

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.

18. Into The Fog Of War (Part 2)

Aired: 5/30/2016

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.

19. 20th Anniversary Special (Part 1)

Aired: 6/6/2016

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 and popular programs.

20. 20th Anniversary Special (Part 2)

Aired: 6/13/2016

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.

21. When The Call Comes

Aired: 6/20/2016

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 school graduate.

22. Limbo Land

Aired: 6/27/2016

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 said than done.

23. One Of The Mob

Aired: 7/4/2016

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 adventure.

24. The Longest Expedition

Aired: 7/11/2016

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 massive head injury.

25. The Heart Bus

Aired: 7/18/2016

Travel to the outback with innovative engineer-turned-cardiologist Dr Rolf Gomes who takes life-saving cardiac care to people in regional Australia.

26. Gone Girl

Aired: 7/25/2016

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.

27. The Two Of Us

Aired: 8/1/2016

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 reversed.

28. The Olympic Spirit

Aired: 8/8/2016

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 of Olympians - Murray Rose.

29. About A Girl

Aired: 8/15/2016

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.

30. What A Wonderful World

Aired: 8/22/2016

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 Battle of Long Tan broke out.

31. A League Of Their Own

Aired: 8/29/2016

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.

32. The Sugar Trip

Aired: 9/5/2016

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.

33. The Flow On Effect

Aired: 9/12/2016

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 changed their lives.

34. When Beccy Met Libby

Aired: 9/19/2016

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 allow same-sex marriage?

35. Shadow Of Doubt

Aired: 9/26/2016

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.

36. Tough Love

Aired: 10/3/2016

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 or will their right to reproduce prevail?

37. The Big Dry

Aired: 10/10/2016

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 alcoholism: young, professional & high functioning.

38. When Plans Change (Part 1)

Aired: 10/17/2016

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 Minutes crew.

39. When Plans Change (Part 2)

Aired: 10/24/2016

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 crew.

40. The New Black

Aired: 10/31/2016

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.

41. A Field Of Dreams

Aired: 11/7/2016

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.

42. Out Of The Water

Aired: 11/14/2016

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.

43. The Road From Damascus

Aired: 11/21/2016

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.