Season 20

Australian Story goes to the Victorian city of Bendigo, which has been the flash point for a series of protests against the building of a mosque. Colourful local business identity, Margot Spalding is leading a campaign to support Bendigo's small Muslim community and to "fight back against intolerance and hate". A former Telstra Business Woman of the year, 62-year-old Spalding, who co-founded Jimmy Possum furniture has known both personal tragedy and early business hardship. Today she is the matriarch of a multi-million dollar company that employs more than 100 people. Spalding is known as much for her flamboyant style as she is for her philanthropy. Despite being the target of hate mail and having her home under police surveillance, Spalding says she will continue to campaign for the rights of Muslim people to have their own place of worship.

As the Socceroos march towards qualification for the 2018 World Cup, it's hard to believe that not so long ago there were serious question marks on the team's future. But one man never wavered in his vision for international success. This week on Australian Story Socceroos' coach, Ange Postecoglou, tells how he has come a long way from his immigrant beginnings. From a young Greek migrant desperate to fit in, Ange became a winning player and coach despite failures and disappointments along the way. Earlier this year, he lead the Socceroos to their biggest victory yet - the Asian Cup. The champions of Asia are no longer seen as the underdogs. But the expectation now is to win. And to keep winning...

When Jodi Keough traded her journalism career and modelling business for love and life on the land she never thought she'd need her investigative skills again. That was until the unimaginable happened to her young family. After discovering something sinister in the water on her homestead, Jodi is on a mission to prevent her nightmare becoming someone else's reality.

Ronald "Ronno" Morgan is a young tour guide from Wyndham in Western Australia's spectacular Kimberley region. But he's lucky to be alive, having twice faced a life-threatening challenge - first as a five-year-old and again as an adult. Until recently, his life was very much a roller coaster but he was fortunate to have the strong support of a very close family. Now, following in the footsteps of a distinguished ancestor, he's found a new purpose in life

Byron Bay inventor, Cedar Anderson, looked at a beehive and thought there must be an easier way to extract honey straight from the hive that was less stressful on the bees. Living on the smell of an oily rag and working in his shed, Cedar with the help of his father, Stuart, came up with the concept of the Flow Hive. It's a plastic frame that sits inside a conventional beehive. With a pull of the lever honey simply drains into a jar. But it was what happened next that took the world by storm. Cedar decided to put the invention up on a crowd funding site hoping to raise $70,000. The video of the Flow Hive went viral and by the end of the campaign, they had US$12.2 million worth of advance orders and a monumental task ahead of them. After a life tinkering quietly in a shed, Cedar and Stuart now face the challenge of running a multimillion dollar company. How will they cope?

Lucy Haslam is a woman in a hurry. Since losing her son Daniel in February this year to cancer, the Tamworth resident has stepped up her campaign to legalise medicinal cannabis. Widely credited as the driving force behind a raft of state and federal initiatives aimed at legalising the drug, Lucy Haslam is concerned by delays in the political process and is striking out on her own. She has assembled a team which recently applied to the NSW Government for an exemption which will allow them to grow medicinal cannabis for research and development purposes in Tamworth. Her commitment is absolute. She and her husband Lou, a former drug squad officer, have put their business on the market to help achieve their goal. It is a deeply personal crusade. Lucy Haslam's son Daniel was diagnosed at the age of 20 with stage 4 bowel cancer and only found relief from his nausea after ingesting medicinal cannabis. Forced to break the law in order to source the cannabis, Lucy and Daniel went public last year calling on politicians to follow the example of other countries around the world. A face to face meeting between NSW Premier Mike Baird and the Haslams was a turning point in their campaign. "It was very clear listening to the story I wanted to do something. They've turned something that politicians and governments were very coy about and didn't want to discuss into a raging national debate." - NSW Premier Mike Baird

What would you do if you lost something that's been the essence of you for most of your life? Something that's given you joy, a vocation, even fame - and then one day it starts slipping away... For singer Jenny Morris, that question recently became very real. The ARIA-award winning performer makes a dramatic personal revelation in this week's episode of Australian Story. She has been diagnosed with a life-changing medical condition. Jenny Morris first found success with New Zealand band The Crocodiles, before relocating to Australia in the early 1980s. After recording and touring with INXS as a backing singer, she established a successful solo career with hits such as 'Break in the Weather' and 'She has to be Loved' as well as performing with Prince and Paul McCartney. About 10 years ago, she noticed something going on with her voice. "I've never talked about it publicly, and I think putting the word out there is going to give a sense of relief. That's why I'm doing Australian Story because I think if you want to know what's what, look at this program. Then I don't have to explain it," she says.

Acting legend Garry McDonald is a man on a mission. He wants to educate the public about an urgent and poorly understood mental health problem. McDonald has suffered from anxiety since his 20s but he never understood his condition until it triggered a major and very public breakdown in the 1990s. He sought help in the form of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, a treatment which trains individuals to examine negative or unhelpful thoughts. And gained a new lease on life... In between roles, the veteran actor has campaigned passionately to increase awareness around anxiety and reduce its stigma.

Natalie Lovett was 46 and childless when she flew to the United States to create a baby. She'd exhausted all her other options to become pregnant and was following up on a San Diego fertility clinic that offered a money back guarantee. Two years later she's the proud mother of an eighteen month old daughter and now faces a very different dilemma: what to do with the extra embryos still stored in the US clinic. "Destroying the embryos just wasn't really an option. It was just something I could never bring myself to do. I'd rather give them a great home and a great life." she says. Natalie came up with an unconventional solution- to create an extended family for her only child - but there was a catch.

The road to the Prime Ministership was set early in Malcolm Turnbull's life. "Trying to meet the expectations that were placed upon his shoulders as a child is a very motivating force in his life" - Lucy Turnbull "I guess Prime Minister probably would have been good enough for [my mother]" - Malcolm Turnbull But Turnbull's childhood would not be easy. His parents separated when he was nine and he was sent off to boarding school. Driven to succeed, Turnbull would move from journalist to lawyer to merchant banker to corporate high flyer and finally to politician. This week Australian Story revisits the Turnbull family. Malcolm, wife Lucy, daughter Daisy and some of his closest friends speak candidly about his early years, his absent mother and devoted father and the forces that have shaped his rise to power. Drawing on new material and interviews, the program provides a unique insight into a man praised for his intellect and energy but whose temperament and political judgement have been questioned.

Brett and Wendy Whiteley were icons of Australian art - he the internationally acclaimed "rockstar" artist, and she his glamorous wife and muse. But then tragedy struck. Brett died in 1992, followed by their actress daughter Arkie nine years later, leaving Wendy alone. Determined not to let grief overwhelm her, Wendy Whiteley threw her energies into turning a huge wasteland into a beautiful garden ... and in the process, transformed her own life. Now, twenty years on, can this sanctuary be protected as a permanent public garden?

When designer Collette Dinnigan shut down her global fashion empire it shocked not only the fashion world but also her closest friends. The self-titled 'obsessive creative' found the competing demands of motherhood and work increasingly difficult to manage. 'Another collection, another show, another this, another that. It wasn't what was important and it wasn't what was motivating me anymore," she says. "When you're single it's easy, but when you have children your priorities change. It's not a decision you take lightly," says Collette's husband Bradley Cocks. After stepping off the fashion treadmill, Dinnigan continued to design on a collaborative basis and accepted an offer from Sydney's Powerhouse Museum to showcase a 25 year retrospective of her work. In an intimate profile, Australian Story revisits Collette's childhood and career and follows her as she prepares for her retrospective exhibition.

Corey White won the best newcomer award at the Melbourne International Comedy festival. The prize was an air ticket to perform at the Edinburgh festival, a career highlight for a young man who endured a heart-breaking early life.

Now 70, Geraldine Cox remains responsible for four hundred children. However, she is at a crossroads, with no heir apparent to take over and a sense that the clock is ticking.

Melbourne man AJ Kearns describes himself as just an ordinary father living in the suburbs with his two children. But there are many who would disagree. Born into a conservative Pentecostal family in Sydney, AJ spent the first 35 years of his life as a woman. As a teenager Vicki-Anne thought she was gay and attended controversial church-based conversion therapy in the hope of becoming heterosexual. After years of struggle AJ realised that he was a man and went on to create a family with his partner Zu White. But he then took the surprising step of postponing his physical transition to become pregnant. Psychiatrist Dr Fintan Harte says it's the first time in over 30 years of practice that he's encountered a 'trans-identified male' who has conceived a child. 'From Daddy's Tummy' tells the story of AJ and his family and showcases a stunning photographic record of his physical transition from female to male by Melbourne artist Alison Bennett.

It's been fourteen years since millions of people around the world mourned the death of cricketing legend Sir Donald Bradman. It was a form of fame that dismayed him during his lifetime and continues to impact on his family to this day. Now, Sir Donald Bradman's granddaughter Greta Bradman is herself standing on the threshold of international stardom as a soprano and protégée of Richard Bonynge. In finally embracing the spotlight, she is coming to terms with her own ambivalence about public life, saying that it's time for the family 'to come out of the shadows a little more'. Join us for an exclusive two part program as Greta Bradman, her father John and her other members of her extended family discuss the cost of fame, a shared love of classical music and living life with a famous surname.

It's been fourteen years since millions of people around the world mourned the death of cricketing legend Sir Donald Bradman. It was a form of fame that dismayed him during his lifetime and continues to impact on his family to this day. Now, Sir Donald Bradman's granddaughter Greta Bradman is herself standing on the threshold of international stardom as a soprano and protégée of Richard Bonynge. In finally embracing the spotlight, she is coming to terms with her own ambivalence about public life, saying that it's time for the family 'to come out of the shadows a little more'. Join us for an exclusive two part program as Greta Bradman, her father John and her other members of her extended family discuss the cost of fame, a shared love of classical music and living life with a famous surname.

Peter Boyce is a family man with a strong sense of community, an interest in pro bono work and a fascination with David and Goliath court cases. When he joined forces with Bruce and Denise Morcombe to investigate their son Daniel's disappearance, his cross-examinations during the coronial inquest played a crucial role in finally bringing the case to a close. This is his story.

Mark Webber is one of a handful of Australians to break into the elite world of Formula One, but his success didn't come easy. His rise through the ranks of motor sport is a boy's own story of spectacular successes, frustrating failures and some hair-raising crashes along the way. In an exclusive interview with Australian Story he lifts the lid on the high octane world of F1 and candidly discusses the politics and rivalries that shaped his career. Webber and his partner and manager Ann Neal open up about their relationship. It was a professional and personal partnership central to his success but the couple kept it under wraps for many years When Webber met his racing nemesis, teammate Sebastian Vettel, one of the great rivalries of the sport began . Although sometimes bitter, competition between the two shaped his experience of F1 and was also behind some of his biggest wins. Webber talks about team politics and his subsequent reconciliation with Vettel. In the aftermath of his F1 career, Mark Webber and Ann Neal are finally free to reveal the secrets of life behind the pit wall.

Australian Story revisits Gayle and Mac Shann after first profiling the couple in 2003. Their love story has endured long after Gayle lost the use of both arms in a fencing accident aged 27.

Former teacher Josephine Greensill believes she would still be in prison but for the efforts of her family to clear her name. When police came knocking at her door with allegations relating to an incident thirty years earlier she was shocked and surprised. After two and a half years in prison she was finally acquitted, with the judgement concluding there was a 'real likelihood' that her accusers had collaborated, and a 'real possibility' that the evidence against her had been concocted. For the first time, Josephine Greensill and those closest to her tell their inside story.

It's a story from the pages of Boy's Own magazine. A teenager with a troubled background breaks into his state's biggest and most successful NRL team and wins a premiership in his debut season. Without a father and his mother institutionalised, he follows his mentor and coach Wayne Bennett to one of the most famous clubs in the land and ends a thirty year premiership drought for them. He goes on to win virtually every honour the sport has to offer, breaking records along the way. Then one fateful evening a tragic accident opens the floodgates to years of unhappiness and depression, culminating in a well publicised breakdown and separation from his wife. Welcome to the world of Darius Boyd. In a remarkable redemption story, Darius is now back on the field and ready to talk candidly about his battles with depression and how he made peace with his demons.

It's not often an Australian military leader finds instant worldwide fame. But that's what happened to Lieutenant General David Morrison when he made a dramatic YouTube video telling his own troops to shape up or get out.

Nearly a decade after the death of Steve Irwin his hand picked team have reconnected with his father Bob Irwin. In this program they speak about what happened next after the death of the man known as The Crocodile Hunter.

In the conclusion of this two part Australian Story, hard choices have to be made at Tarwyn Park and there are lasting implications for fractured family relationships.

A return to the spectacular Hunter Valley property, Tarwyn Park, where acclaimed rural innovator Peter Andrews turned the 'environmentally bankrupt' farmland into green and fertile pasture.

Until recently, Gerry Gimblett was the popular principal of a large South East Queensland high school. When she was considering retirement, she took a path no one expected.

Detective Sergeant Simon Illingworth's life has changed a decade after his brave stand against crooked colleagues in the Victoria Police.

The story of Christopher 'Cricket' Newling and his younger brother Nic. A remarkable journey back from the brink and a life now dedicated to helping to others.

The inconspicuous MV Krait ferried 14 special operatives behind enemy lines into Singapore harbour during World War 2. For 91-year-old Z Special veteran Douglas Herps preserving it for future generations, has become his final mission.

Peter Jackson was the gifted 'larrikin' who forged a spectacular career in rugby league and TV. But his sudden death, aged 33, from a heroin overdose uncovered a harrowing story.

The story of how two farmers became enemies when one planted genetically modified canola next to his neighbours certified organic farm.

The story of how former friends became bitter enemies when one farmer planted genetically modified crops near his neighbour's certified organic farm.

Dr Jamal Rifi runs a single practice, still does house calls, and cheerfully sees his patients out of hours. He's also an influential and outspoken voice in the Muslim community at a time of exceptional scrutiny and debate.

In 2014 Aminah Hart revealed her extraordinary 'back to front' story of meeting her baby's father for the first time after the birth and then falling in love with him. It generated a huge international reaction and brought a number of offers from movie producers eager to put the story on the big screen. Aminah Hart thought her case was the 'only one in the world'. But it turned out there was another couple, just down the road, in a similar situation. But when Kerrie Hancox and George Deka established THEIR modern family, they discovered the world was not entirely prepared for a day when 'clients' began behaving like people...

Australian Story revisits the story of Dylan Parker, featured by the program in 2009, and discovers how that episode became the inspiration for the film Paper Planes.

Long before Steve Irwin and decades before the Bush Tucker Man, a pair of brothers called the Leylands bestrode the continent as pioneers of outback film making. For 30 years, their television programs attracted huge audiences and their partnership remained strong. Mike Leyland died in 2009. The surviving Leyland, Mal, reveals the inside story of their rise and fall. And for the first time he talks about why they went their separate ways...

Australian Story looks back at the life and loves of Lady Susan Renouf. For decades she was known as a famous wife and socialite but now faces the greatest challenge of her life as an independent woman.

Advertising executive Dof Dickinson committed her resources to make a film about the Flatback Turtle of Port Headland which breeds in one of the busiest shipping ports in the world.