Australian Story: Apr 8

Monday’s Australian Story is the first of a two part special on the story of Australia II and the America’s Cup.

Introduced by Ray Martin, it features Bob Hawke, Alan and Eileen Bond, James Spithill and John Bertrand.

“The task confronting Australia in 1983 was just mind bogglingly difficult. America was the leading technological nation in the world and this was one of the things I loved. Here was little Australia popping up with new technology and knocking the buggers off.”
— Bob Hawke, Prime Minister 1983

“The Americans were in the business of winning not losing. Americans will eat their grandmother if required, they’re super competitive people.”
— John Bertrand, skipper, Australia Two.

“If you were going to go to war, you’d just lift the whole Australian team up there and you’d know you’d have the best chance of survival. They did it for the love of their country.”
— Alan Bond

If you are a certain age, chances are you remember exactly where you were in the early hours of September 27, thirty years ago. It was the day an Australian yacht ended the longest winning streak in sporting history, grabbing the legendary America’s Cup from the grandees of the New York Yacht Club.

Unprecedented and spontaneous celebrations broke out all around the nation from the coastal fringe, and deep into the Outback. In this thirtieth anniversary year, Australian Story revisits those euphoric and nation-defining events.

There are surprising and entertaining new insights from all the main players, including then Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Alan Bond and his former wife Eileen and skipper John Bertrand. Also interviewed are Australia Two crew member Grant Simmer, London Olympics gold medallist Tom Slingsby and Sydney-born 2010 America’s Cup winning skipper James Spithill.

Down by the Sea strongly evokes the eighties with a newly elected Hawke Government, economic adversity, drought and bushfires and the infectious music of Men at Work, Midnight Oil and Australian Crawl. There is also priceless and rarely seen archival footage with cameos from US Presidents Reagan and John F Kennedy and early film of Alan Bond and Ben Lexcen.

Begins Monday, April 8 at 8pm, ABC1 concludes Monday, April 15 at 8pm, ABC1