Tonight | Australian Story on ABC: Blood on the Tracks revisits the Mark Haines case – Australian Story turns to the death of Indigenous teenager Mark Haines tonight, and the long fight by his family to have the case properly examined.
Blood on the Tracks follows a story that has carried deep pain, public interest and unanswered questions for decades. Mark was 17 when he was found dead on railway tracks near Tamworth in NSW, and his family has never accepted the early finding that he died by suicide.
The episode gives ABC viewers a focused look at the people who kept pushing when official answers did not satisfy them, including Mark’s uncles Jack Craigie and Don “Duck” Craigie.
Australian Story Blood on the Tracks also sits within a long-running strand of ABC storytelling that centres personal testimony, family memory and public record. In this case, those elements come together around a death that remains deeply significant for Mark’s relatives and community.
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Blood On The Tracks
Mark Haines was found dead in January 1988. His family believed there had been foul play, while the initial police report suggested suicide.
Australian Story follows the family’s pursuit of answers and the leads they believed had been missed. It also revisits the work of Indigenous journalist Allan Clarke, whose 2018 ABC investigation revealed new evidence.
That reporting later contributed to a second coronial inquest. Tonight’s episode examines fresh evidence from the inquest and hears from Uncle Don Craigie, who has spent decades pushing for justice for his nephew.
When To Watch Australian Story Blood On The Tracks
Australian Story: Blood on the Tracks airs Monday 3 August 2026 at 8.00pm on ABC and streams on ABC iview.
For more ABC stories, visit TV Central. More information on Australian Story is available through ABC iview.
