Australian Story: May 4

On Monday Australian Story revisits the episode that was voted by viewers as its most popular program ever, and finds a development that will leave many people in shock.

The iconic rural property at the centre of that program, Tarwyn Park, has been sold to make way for an open cut coal mine.

In 2005, the series featured the story of Peter Andrews, a racehorse breeder and farmer credited with remarkable success in converting degraded land into fertile pasture.

The episode topped an online viewers’ poll of programs they would like to see again.

Ten years later, Australian Story returns to find a very different situation at Tarwyn Park.

The Bylong Valley property has been sold to Korean power company Kebco, in a deal which has exposed deep divisions in the Andrews family.

Peter Andrews’ son Stuart made the difficult decision to sell the property.

His family has two years left to live on Tarwyn Park before Kebco plans to start digging an open cut coal mine, 300 metres from the homestead.

But the mine has yet to get approval from the NSW government, and there are calls for Tarwyn Park to be protected by a heritage order.

Newcastle University academic Peter Stevens says the land use reforms demonstrated by Peter Andrews in the Upper Bylong are of inestimable value to the nation and probably internationally.

“If ever there was a property that represents the quintessential Australian landscape and how it can be developed and used in the long term for productivity, Tarwyn Park is it,” he told Australian Story.

8pm Monday on ABC.