I Was Actually There on ABC and ABC iview S2E4 – On a hot December Sunday, racial tensions boiled over at Sydney’s Cronulla beach. The fuse had been lit a week earlier by an altercation between off-duty lifesavers and men described by police as “of middle eastern appearance”.
Fuelled by copious amounts of alcohol and the encouragement of nationalist groups, the crowd became violent, turning on anyone who even looked vaguely non-anglo.
The event, and the deep-seated issues it highlighted, reminds us how easy it is to let the racism genie out of the bottle, even in a place as supposedly chilled out as beachside Cronulla.
I Was Actually There on ABC and ABC iview – Tuesday 28 October at 8.00pm
Link to ABC iview HERE
TV Central ABC content HERE
I Was Actually There on ABC and ABC iview S2E4
About the Show
Gripping, powerful and moving, I Was Actually There returns for season two, exploring Australia’s past through the eyes of those who lived it.
The new season premieres Tuesday 7 October at 8pm on ABC TV, with every episode available to stream the same day on ABC iview.
From the makers of the ABC’s acclaimed series You Can’t Ask That, I Was Actually There brings together the recollections of those at the heart of the action as well as those who witnessed it from the sidelines.
Along with carefully chosen archive footage, much of it unseen or previously overlooked, I Was Actually There weaves conversational fragments into cohesive narratives, bringing intense moments back to life.
Each episode reveals new ways of seeing the past, challenging what we think and what we know.
What you saw depends on where you were standing. History is personal.
I Was Actually There Season Two:
- Episode One: Black Saturday Bushfires, 2009
- Episode Two: September 11 Terrorist Attack, 2001
- Episode Three: The Dismissal, 1975
- Episode Four: Cronulla Riots, 2005
- Episode Five: Fairlie Arrow Abduction Hoax, 1991
- Episode Six: Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race Tragedy, 1998
Always free and Always entertaining, catch up on season one of I Was Actually There now on ABC iview.
PRODUCTION CREDITS: A Docker Media production for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Finance by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Screen NSW.
Executive Producer: Kirk Docker. Series Producers: Loni Cooper and Josh Schmidt. Producers: Lizzie Norman and Laura Grace. Created by Kirk Docker, Aaron Smith and Jon Casimir. ABC Commissioning Editor: Julie Hanna. ABC Head Documentary and Specialist: Susie Jones.
Media Release – ABC
