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Four Corners: 'Carn a Saints': Aussie Rules and popular culture

How important is sport to Australians and how big a part of Australian popular culture is sport? This Four Corners program looks at the 1965 Victorian Football League (VFL) Grand Final between the St Kilda Saints and the Essendon Bombers. Discover the passion and excitement of the event and how much it meant to Australia ...

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Belief: Hare Krishnas in contemporary Australia

Have you ever seen a procession of Hare Krishnas in orange robes dancing through the streets? Hare Krishnas (people of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) are found in many countries around the world, including Australia. In this clip, learn about Hare Krishna beliefs, and find out how a Hare Krishna life ...

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Heywire: To disconnect or not to disconnect?

How often are you ever truly alone? Today's technology can mean that we're in constant contact with friends and family. In this Heywire audio story, Dayna Duncan shares a time when she both needed to be connected and to balance her use of social media with other priorities in her life.<br /><br /> Could you write or record ...

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Weekend Magazine: Vinyl: the Australian record industry, 1963

Discover a time in Australia's past when the vinyl record industry was thriving. Today you can download your choice of music at almost any time or place. But in this clip from 1963 you will experience life before music downloads and compact discs (CDs): the age of vinyl records. These records created a teenage mass market ...

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Four Corners: Coal-waste conflict, 1973

Watch this confrontation between a conservationist group and a coal-mining executive in 1973. The coal mine in Coalcliff was given the all-clear from the State Planning Authority to dump coal-mining waste on the Illawarra escarpment. This happened before a planned official inquiry into the issue.

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Four Corners: Radio pirates, 1973

Imagine life before mobile phones. In this 1973 clip from a Four Corners program, discover the lengths that many determined Australians were prepared to go to in order to communicate through the air waves from their cars and other locations. This was long before the invention of mobiles, video conferencing, social media ...

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This Day Tonight: Chinese Australians and the Moon Festival, 1978

How have the cultural traditions of people from Asia enriched Australian society? The Moon Festival is one such tradition. In this clip from 1978, an ABC reporter visits Dixon Street in Sydney's Chinatown to discover what this celebration means to Chinese Australians and the wider community.

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Benalla Migrant Camp

While many postwar immigrants were sent to Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre when they arrived in Australia, others lived at the smaller Benalla Migrant Camp. Like Bonegilla, Benalla is in north-east Victoria. Unlike at Bonegilla, however, many immigrants remained at Benalla for over a decade. Listen as Sabine ...

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Heywire: The slow sizzle of SFX

Without the benefit of visual images, audio texts often rely on sound effects to create a mood or to position the audience, sometimes without their realising it. Analyse how Rafiqua Fattah's sound effects affect you as you listen to her Heywire audio story, which presents her perspectives on life as an Australian who is ...

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ABC News: The fight to save Kelly's Bush, 1971

Discover why a determined group of residents in one of Sydney's wealthier suburbs stood up to their local council, the New South Wales government and a big property developer. This ABC report explores the controversy surrounding the planned development of Kelly's Bush, situated beside Sydney Harbour at Woolwich, and the ...

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Meet the Fremantle Port Hostesses

In the 1960s, Marie Novak and Pauline Noble worked for the Fremantle Port Authority as hostesses, welcoming new migrants who arrived by ship. Why were hostesses needed? How do Marie and Pauline describe their time as hostesses? Compare the migration experiences of Marie's and Pauline's families. How did their backgrounds ...

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Sydney Opera House: Construction launch

In what ways can a building reflect the aspirations of the society around it? The design and construction of the Sydney Opera House took place between 1957 and 1973. This short, silent clip shows part of the ceremony marking the commencement of the building's construction. This was a period of political and economic transition, ...

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Flashez: Teenage drinking in the 1970s

Do you think that Australian teenagers drink too much alcohol? If so, do you think this is a new problem? Discover what teenagers thought about such drinking back in the 1970s. This ABC program from 1977 looks at the issue of teenage drinking, some possible reasons for it and some of the social problems arising from it.

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Designing the Sydney Opera House

What does it take to create a building that is famous the world over? In 1956, NSW Premier Joseph Cahill announced a competition for the design of an opera house for Sydney. The winner was architect Jorn Utzon with 'design 218'. In this 1950s clip, learn about Utzon's aims in designing the building, the challenges in realising ...

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Weekend Magazine: A tour of the nation's capital

In the years following World War II, Australia sought to develop a new identity, one that honoured the past while embracing technological advances and increased political stability. As this clip shows, for many people during this period, Canberra - the nation's capital - served as a metaphor for the sort of place Australia ...

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ABC National TV Service: Opening night, 1956

Can you imagine life before television? How different would it have been? This clip is taken from the opening moments of the first ABC television broadcast in 1956. As you watch it, see how the presenter describes the event and try to imagine the impact such first broadcasts would have had on Australians more than half ...

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Four Corners: Surf story

Imagine riding a big wave on a surfboard back in the days when surfboard riding was the newest craze to hit Australia. At that time, many teenagers believed that surfing represented a whole new way of life. This Four Corners program from the early 1960s investigates the impact of the rise of the surfboard and surfing culture ...

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The Making of Modern Australia: Australians' 'birthright', a home of their own

Discover the characteristics of the Australian dream house in the 1950s and the significance of home ownership during this period.

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Belief: Sikhs in contemporary Australia

Did you know that Sikhs in Australia belong to the fifth most popular religion in the world? Sikhism began in the Punjab region of India and today has over 30 million followers. Find out more about the life and beliefs of people of this faith through the eyes of a Sikh. Watch a 'langar', a community meal, in process at ...

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ABC News: Sydney's Moon Festival, 1979

Discover the activities that take place during the Moon Festival and why it is considered to be one of the most important festivals in the Chinese calendar. In this clip from 1979, ABC reporter Neil Ross attends the Moon Festival in and around Dixon Street and Hay Street, in the heart of Sydney's Chinatown.