Back Roads

Constructing Australia

Long-running travel programme

Bert Taylor travels around Australia's vast countryside.

The Earth’s continents are instantly recognizable. These iconic landmasses seem permanent and unchanging, yet they are merely the wreckage of a much larger long-lost supercontinent – Pangaea. In this stunning four part series Professor Iain Stewart uncovers the evidence for this ancient past. He reveals how the world around us is full of clues – in the rocks, the landscapes and even the animals. All of which tell us how the land we live on was created.

Railway adventures across Australia follows the exploits of Scott McGregor on his quest to find the famous, unusual and unique trains and stories at the end of the line.

History is taking to the seas and walking in the footsteps of Captain James Cook. 250 years after Cook began his epic exploration of the Pacific, Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Piano) journeys in his wake uncovering stories that resonate from those times on both sides of the beach. Sam begins with a disclaimer – he is merely an actor – but the story of Cook, and the impact he has had on the Pacific in the 250 years since his first voyage, has always fascinated him.

Zoologist Jack Randall journeys into Australia's Outback to encounter extraordinary wildlife.

The ABC Of, a interview series, revisits the pasts of prominent Australians through moments drawn from the vast ABC archives.

Stephen Tompkinson's adventure begins in dramatic fashion when his maiden flight over South Australia's Flinders Ranges ends in a crash landing at 40 mph. But he presses on to the Barossa Valley, where a serene flight over the vineyards is followed by a far from calm cricket match against local winemakers - the outcome of which sends Stephen packing for Victoria and a spell on the mighty Murray River. Stephen's bid to win Australia’s biggest balloon competition continues. A childhood dream is fulfilled when he walks out onto the pitch of the Melbourne Cricket Ground during an Aussie Rules game - and trumped the following morning when his balloon flies through the ground's goalposts. His balloon truck gets a makeover and the city's Greek festival nearly ends in a diplomatic incident. Then heavy rain prevents him flying over Canberra - and to get back on track he risks a flight to 10,000 feet. Actor Stephen Tompkinson's attempt to win Australia's prestigious Canowindra Balloon Challenge concludes in this final episode. Stephen heads to Sydney, where he samples some of the city's culinary delights with MasterChef's Matt Preston, helps judge a drag competition, and receives some encouragement from the British High Commissioner to Australia. When the day of the race finally arrives, he meets his competitors at Canowindra. The teams have to hit three targets laid out over the countryside, but things start disastrously for Stephen when he misreads the wind and drifts off-course. Can he recover and win the challenge?

In Their Footsteps is a ten-part documentary depicting Australian families and war. The first episode aired in Australia on 8 May 2011 on the Nine Network. In each episode an Australian will retrace the steps of a close ancestor’s wartime experience.

Celebrating Countdown's 40th anniversary, host Julia Zemiro takes us through the show's fascinating story. Backed by a stellar cast of stars, original footage and music bringing the 70's and 80's alive.

Murder Down Under is a True Crime anthology documentary series that sheds light on some of the most iconic murders in Australia’s recent history.

Bindi the Jungle Girl is an Australian children's television nature documentary series, presented by Bindi Irwin, the daughter of Steve and Terri Irwin. The series is produced and shot in Queensland by The Best Picture Show Company for Discovery Kids and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The first series was scheduled for 26 episodes, and ran from 9 June 2007 until 31 May 2008 on American networks Discovery Kids and simulcast on Animal Planet and on ABC1 in Australia from 18 July 2007. Also appearing on the show are Bindi's mother Terri, her younger brother Robert, and Steve Irwin's "best mate" and director of Australia Zoo, Wes Mannion. Bindi performs songs and dances with a group called the Crocmen, and answers questions from viewers in the "Bindi's Blog" segment. It was aired on Playtime Krumeater. Steve Irwin appeared in several episodes filmed prior to his death in 2006. The second series was produced after his death, but he appears in archive footage in a segment named "Croc Hunter Unplugged", and is generally spoken of transcendentally in the present tense.

In Australia, there are over 40,000 men and women currently behind bars. Many of them have done very bad things. They have shattered countless lives, destroyed families and been responsible for unspeakable criminal acts. What did they do? How did they get here? And what are their lives like now?

Based on the BBC factual series of the same name, Ambulance Australia follows NSW Ambulance service, from the NSW Ambulance Triple Zero Control Centre to paramedics on the road in series 1 and 2. Series 3 follows the Queensland Ambulance Service.

A journey through the Australian landscape and the unique stories of the land, deepening our connection with nature.

40 years after Azaria Chamberlain’s disappearance, Lindy Chamberlain and her children speak exclusively and in detail, about that harrowing night and the devastating years that followed. From the hatred and discrimination the family endured to Lindy’s years in prison, nothing is off limits in this powerful and moving documentary.

Australie : l'Odyssée Sauvage

Aerial Australia takes viewers on a breathtaking airborne odyssey across this diverse continent unveiling a tapestry of awe-inspiring landscapes that exist alongside the rich heritage of one of the oldest living cultures on Earth.

The most remote and forbidding landscapes, lethal creatures and death-defying stories of survival of the world’s largest island, Australia.