Great Southern Landscapes: Sept 6

This week on Great Southern Landscapes Rachel Griffiths travels to Western Australia to find the exact spot where Narelle Autio framed her iconic 2004 snapshot.

Australia to find the exact spot where Narelle Autio photographed her iconic 2004 shot, Splash.

Along the way, she travels to Adelaide to meet Narelle on her favourite beach and see the original photograph in the flesh. Narelle’s story of how she captured Splash is quintessentially Australian: a scorching 40 degree summer’s day, a packed urban back, Australians young and old frolicking in the sun and surf…and a shark siren.

While in South Australia, Rachel also meets Lucky, a refugee from Somalia who Narelle photographed in 2011 in a surf lifesaving burqini. As they stroll on a beach esplanade, they discuss how – despite the 2005 Cronulla race riots – the beach can still be a place of freedom, regardless of race, religion, creed or colour.

She then flies to Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, to meet celebrated Australian author Tim Winton, whose work is awash with references to the beach and the surf in Australian culture.

And then it’s off to Cottesloe Beach in Perth, where Rachel meets a traditional owner who explains that this place, known to them as Mudurup, was a ceremonial site and a place of celebration for First Nations people.

8.00pm Tuesday 6 September on ABC.