0:00:02 > 0:00:06This is Coast's biggest challenge ever.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10We're traversing the oldest continental landmass on Earth...
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Australia.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14It's the sixth largest country in the world by size,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18offering us an endless, unimaginable coastline
0:00:18 > 0:00:22to discover incredible stories of history and intrigue.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26We're taking you to magnificent cities, remote areas
0:00:26 > 0:00:30never before seen from the air and meeting the people who have
0:00:30 > 0:00:34chosen to hug their coastline like no other population on the planet...
0:00:34 > 0:00:37This is a landscape that dwarfs humankind.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41..and it has a history of equal magnitude,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43dating back 50,000 years.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Yet its modern history is so young,
0:00:46 > 0:00:50a new people discovering a land of immense potential
0:00:50 > 0:00:55and unlimited beauty, on a scale that's hard to describe.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59If you want to feel young and, frankly, reassuringly insignificant,
0:00:59 > 0:01:00you should come here.
0:01:03 > 0:01:09So for us, it's an epic journey full of wonder, surprise and fascination.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30I've made it to the Top End, to the legendary Northern Territory.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35It's home to a capital city that's been destroyed and rebuilt twice.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42This is Australia's tropical frontier, its front door to Asia.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45In fact, capital city Darwin is closer to Jakarta
0:01:45 > 0:01:47than it is to Sydney.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51History's merchants have plied their wares here since antiquity.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Macassans from the Spice Islands, the Chinese,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58traded with the Saltwater people and then the colonists.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03But the Northern Territory has no gentle tale of settlement.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06With crocodiles for company in the warm waters
0:02:06 > 0:02:08and crushing humidity above,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12this is a coast that rewards the fearless and punishes the reckless.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Joining me on this extraordinary journey through the Top End,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Palaeontologist Professor Tim Flannery unearths
0:02:20 > 0:02:21an uncomfortable truth.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26It was this country that defeated the greatest empire
0:02:26 > 0:02:28the world's ever seen, the British Empire.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33There will be blood with Marine Biologist Dr Emma Johnston.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Miriam Corowa confirms that not all Hollywood dreams come true.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41While it began with a million dollars,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43it was really nowhere near enough.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47And I relive the day the front line moved to Australia.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50The attack has gone down in history as Australia's Pearl Harbour.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57This is Coast Australia.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Our journey centres around Darwin,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30heads to the coastal flood plains of the Adelaide River
0:03:30 > 0:03:33and up to the pristine Cobourg Peninsula in the east.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46In 1606, the Dutch had begun mapping the northern coastline
0:03:46 > 0:03:48of what they called New Holland.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50But they were well east of here,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53in the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56It's generally accepted that the first Europeans to sail
0:03:56 > 0:04:01into these waters were the crew of the HMS Beagle, under the command
0:04:01 > 0:04:04of John Lort Stokes, who wrote admiringly
0:04:04 > 0:04:07of the impressive location of the many-armed harbour.
0:04:11 > 0:04:17In 1839, HMS Beagle came in here and the captain was so struck
0:04:17 > 0:04:20by the natural beauty of the splendid harbour,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24he decided to name it after a gifted young naturalist he'd sailed
0:04:24 > 0:04:27with on previous trips - a chap by the name of Charles Darwin.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Ironically, Charles Darwin never actually visited
0:04:34 > 0:04:35this part of Australia
0:04:35 > 0:04:38and he would have had good grounds for being grateful for the fact,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40because it was hellish to settle.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44The British tried and failed on three separate occasions.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Eventually, 30 years after the Beagle's visit,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54a fourth attempt... and this time, success!
0:04:54 > 0:04:57The state of South Australia, which governed this region,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00sent a surveyor up here to establish a settlement,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02a dynamo of a man called George Goyder.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Goyder was nicknamed Little Energy, and he was so tenacious,
0:05:08 > 0:05:13he quickly established this camp and ensured it was sustainable.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16As Goyder built his camp right here on the coast,
0:05:16 > 0:05:20two extraordinary engineering projects were under way.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28First, an Overland Telegraph Line that spanned the continent
0:05:28 > 0:05:29from Adelaide to Darwin,
0:05:29 > 0:05:343,200km across some of the harshest country on Earth...
0:05:36 > 0:05:40..linking up to this the long distance undersea cable.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Now, it might not look like much today,
0:05:42 > 0:05:47but when this cable arrived here 150 years ago, it was a huge event.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53This revolutionised Australia.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56It provided a direct link back to Britain
0:05:56 > 0:06:00and near-instantaneous communication with the rest of the world.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Laid on the seabed, the submarine cable snaked 2,000km
0:06:06 > 0:06:08to connect Darwin and Java
0:06:08 > 0:06:13and then onto Jakarta, Singapore, Europe and London...
0:06:13 > 0:06:15a true feat of engineering excellence.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Goyder's camp and the founding of Darwin
0:06:22 > 0:06:26was a triumph of endurance rather than inspiration.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30This tropical strength coastline defeated the British time and again
0:06:30 > 0:06:34and particularly harshly in the Cobourg Peninsula,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36a historical moment that has long intrigued
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Palaeontologist Professor Tim Flannery.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41I've just arrived on the Cobourg Peninsula.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45It's about 300km north-east of Darwin and about as far north
0:06:45 > 0:06:47as you can get in Australia's Top End.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50And for as long I can remember, I've really wanted to come here
0:06:50 > 0:06:53because about 25km to the east of here,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56a chapter in Australia's history unfolded that I think is
0:06:56 > 0:06:59one of the most extraordinary in the whole history of the continent.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02- Oh, Alan, is it?- Good morning. How are you, Tim?- Good morning.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04- Glad to see you. - Pleased to meet you, mate.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06'It's certainly remote.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10'In the early 19th century, this was the frontier for European
0:07:10 > 0:07:12'settlement in Australia's north.'
0:07:12 > 0:07:16A tantalising prospect for any explorer.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Even today access is limited,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21to boat or plane in the wet season,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23'or one long dirt road in the dry,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26'ensuring that something of the severely mythic
0:07:26 > 0:07:28'still attaches to this tropical place.'
0:07:29 > 0:07:31'This beach looks as untouched by the human hand
0:07:31 > 0:07:34'as any place I've ever seen.'
0:07:34 > 0:07:36But there are hints here of a different history.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42The people who cut this block of iron stone 180 years ago
0:07:42 > 0:07:44thought they were laying the foundations
0:07:44 > 0:07:46for one of the world's great trade cities.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48They were fantastic optimists
0:07:48 > 0:07:52and they named the place after their young queen, Victoria.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57I'm keen to find out why the Victoria Settlement,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00which became known as Port Essington, was conceived
0:08:00 > 0:08:03with such enthusiasm and confidence,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05yet within a few short years
0:08:05 > 0:08:07had been abandoned as a bitter failure.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12This was the site of British attempts to, in effect,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14ring-fence the nascent colony.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Paranoid about a French foothold,
0:08:16 > 0:08:20Victoria was first about defence and then trade,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23a desire to break into the lucrative trepang
0:08:23 > 0:08:25or sea cucumber market with Asia.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Wow. This is my first sight of the Victoria Settlement.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33And already I can see why people had trouble surviving here.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Just look at that chimney on the married men's quarters
0:08:38 > 0:08:40here on the outskirts of the settlement.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42That must have taken a huge amount of effort to build,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44it's absolutely solid. You look at it here...
0:08:46 > 0:08:49there's probably a few weeks' work gone into building this,
0:08:49 > 0:08:50cutting the stone..
0:08:50 > 0:08:54shaping the fireplace and all of the energy you put into doing this,
0:08:54 > 0:08:59in a climate where all you need is an open fire 364 days a year,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01is energy you don't have for other things.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06History Professor Alan Powell has written extensively
0:09:06 > 0:09:09about the maritime record of northern Australia.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11- Ah, Alan Powell, is it?- Yes, indeed.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13- Hello, Tim Flannery.- How are you?
0:09:13 > 0:09:15So this could have been Nouvelle-France?
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Possibly, although in fact the English worried too much.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21The French had already decided by the time this place was set up
0:09:21 > 0:09:23that they were going to concentrate on New Zealand
0:09:23 > 0:09:27- and New Caledonia, but the British didn't know that.- No.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30That's the only painting I've seen of aborigines here.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32But some of the major ones, Jack White there,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35who was still around in the 1880s to greet the buffalo hunters.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37So, what's the building back here?
0:09:37 > 0:09:39That's the hospital behind you here.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41So they were standing right here when they were painted.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Isn't that extraordinary? Look at that.
0:09:45 > 0:09:46Well, you know, Alan, I'm really keen
0:09:46 > 0:09:48to have a look at this hospital,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51because it just to an untrained eye, it looks to me to be rather outsized
0:09:51 > 0:09:53for the size of the settlement.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55There seems to be a gigantic hospital
0:09:55 > 0:09:57on what's rather a trivial-sized settlement, really.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59Well, oddly enough, they thought...
0:09:59 > 0:10:03For the first four years or so, there was almost no sickness.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06They didn't realise, when they started getting supply ships in
0:10:06 > 0:10:09from Timor, that they were bringing in malaria with them.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12And at one stage, everybody except one man
0:10:12 > 0:10:13on the settlement had malaria.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17It's difficult to comprehend the conditions
0:10:17 > 0:10:19that the settlers endured here.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Dressed in their thick woollen uniforms, in their stone buildings,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25on a day that was so hot that you'd be bathed in sweat
0:10:25 > 0:10:27just standing still.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30And when you add to that the malaria, the other illnesses,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33the snakes and a hospital full of colleagues
0:10:33 > 0:10:35in various stages of death and dying...
0:10:35 > 0:10:38you know, it's a wonder they endured as long as they did.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44'You know, almost everyone who arrived here came by sea.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48'But there was one man who walked into Port Essington.'
0:10:48 > 0:10:50His name was Ludwig Leichhardt
0:10:50 > 0:10:53and he was one of Australia's greatest explorers.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56It took him 15 months to cover the 4,800km
0:10:56 > 0:11:00between South East Queensland and here.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02And on the way, he discovered some of the best pastoral
0:11:02 > 0:11:06property in the whole of Australia.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08One of the things that makes Leichhardt so interesting
0:11:08 > 0:11:11is that he wasn't just a geographical explorer,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14he was a culinary explorer, as well.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18One of the greatest scourges for people travelling through
0:11:18 > 0:11:22the country or even at sea was scurvy.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Explorers in Australia came home with their skin so black
0:11:25 > 0:11:26their wives didn't recognise them,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28with their gums so swollen they couldn't swallow,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30all as a result of the disease.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32But Leichhardt was the exception.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35He never got scurvy, neither did his crew
0:11:35 > 0:11:39and part of the reason lies in this humble-looking little bush here,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41a thing called a Billy Goat Plum.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Leichhardt tried the fruit as he went along and he discovered
0:11:44 > 0:11:46in those small berries up there,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48one of the richest sources of vitamin C on Earth
0:11:48 > 0:11:52and that's what you need if you want to keep scurvy at bay.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59The same couldn't be said for those doomed pioneers of Port Essington,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02'who were sick, despondent and isolated.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06'And this was the last stop for many of them...
0:12:06 > 0:12:08'the cemetery.'
0:12:08 > 0:12:10So, Alan, what happened here at the end?
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Well, it just outlived its usefulness.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16It'd been here for 11 years,
0:12:16 > 0:12:18it attracted no settlers, it attracted no traders,
0:12:18 > 0:12:23it was too far away to act as a port of refuge for shipwrecked sailors
0:12:23 > 0:12:27from the Torres Strait and by now, it was quite apparent the French
0:12:27 > 0:12:31had no more interest in Australia, so they simply pulled out.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Well, one day in 1849, the last survivors of the Port Essington
0:12:38 > 0:12:40settlement walked down that jetty,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42you can see the remains of it behind me,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46and bade farewell to this place, presumably without regret.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Their story was really one of heroic endurance, but for me,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54it's a deeply disturbing story because they didn't seem to learn
0:12:54 > 0:12:56through the experience of living in this land.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00They weren't like Leichhardt, they weren't like the aborigines.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02And really, you know, at the end of the day,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05it was this country that defeated the greatest empire
0:13:05 > 0:13:07the world's ever seen, the British Empire.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10And to this day, it's as it was,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12pristine functioning ecosystems,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16tremendous biodiversity that have endured beyond everything
0:13:16 > 0:13:20that really the world has been able to throw at it to this point.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26But the harsh country wasn't done claiming its pioneering victims.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Just three years later, Leichhardt himself disappeared
0:13:29 > 0:13:33while on another continent-crossing journey.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35His warmth towards Port Essington
0:13:35 > 0:13:38contrasts with another famous visitor's bile.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43Biologist Thomas Huxley visited by ship in the settlement's last days,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and recorded his disgust in vivid terms.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49"The most useless, miserable, ill-managed hole
0:13:49 > 0:13:56"in Her majesty's dominions, fit for neither man nor beast.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59"Day and night, there is the same fearful damp
0:13:59 > 0:14:03"and depressing heat, producing unconquerable languor...
0:14:03 > 0:14:06"Port Essington is worse than a ship.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09"It is no small comfort to know this is possible."
0:14:12 > 0:14:16A damning description, but perhaps fortunate for the Cobourg Peninsula
0:14:16 > 0:14:18and its unspoiled environment,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22when European settlement took hold faraway in Port Darwin.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27This part of the coastline is spoilt for choice
0:14:27 > 0:14:29when it comes to special places.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Many of them are sacred to the traditional owners,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35people who've inhabited them sustainably for centuries.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Long before any European ever laid eyes on this part of Australia,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44the Aboriginal people living here had a working relationship
0:14:44 > 0:14:47with the maritime people of the Macassan kingdom of Gowa,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49part of modern day Indonesia.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52They were in the habit of coming down here to fish for sea cucumbers
0:14:52 > 0:14:54that they then traded with the Chinese.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58All of that created an Asian legacy that lasts to this day
0:14:58 > 0:15:01and it's why this region is known as a melting pot,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04not because of the crushing heat but because of the people.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Contact between Australia's northern indigenous peoples
0:15:08 > 0:15:11and the Macassans, who hailed from Sulawesi
0:15:11 > 0:15:16and other Spice Islands, dates as far back as the 1600s.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21Later, in the 1700s, they exchanged commodities like tobacco, cloth
0:15:21 > 0:15:26and rice for the right to harvest the highly prized sea cucumber.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30The Macassans lived semi-permanently along this tropical coastline
0:15:30 > 0:15:34and mixed in with the locals until trade dwindled out after tax and
0:15:34 > 0:15:40licences were imposed by the British towards the end of the 19th century.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Today, 50 different cultures live and work together in Darwin.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Asian, European and Aboriginal cultures,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50blended together in this cosmopolitan city.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57I've come to secluded Casuarina Beach, just north of the city,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00to catch up with Roque Lee, a fisherman and artist
0:16:00 > 0:16:04who traces his lineage back through that rich multicultural mix.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09We paint what we call X-Ray style of art.. so, it shows internals.
0:16:12 > 0:16:13Oh, I see.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17If it wasn't for my Aboriginality, I wouldn't be doing this.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21How do you see yourself in terms of...Aborigine, Asian...?
0:16:21 > 0:16:25I have both different ancestries in me,
0:16:25 > 0:16:30um, but the strongest of my feelings is towards my Aboriginal side.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32If you lived in Darwin for any period,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35you'd soon find that you'll have a cross...
0:16:35 > 0:16:41multicultural crosses that you, you know, didn't think were possible.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52The history of this coastline is one of challenge.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55It thwarted settlement for a further 50 years after the first
0:16:55 > 0:16:58fleet arrived in Sydney in 1788.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01So, it's not surprising that its recent history is also
0:17:01 > 0:17:03marked by adversity,
0:17:03 > 0:17:08an attack of such force and ferocity in the opening months of 1942,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12that it laid waste to a small frontier town as it was then,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14called Darwin.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Among the library of stories about World War II,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23there are few to choose from that feature combat on Australian soil.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28In fact, Australians fought the enemy elsewhere
0:17:28 > 0:17:30with great distinction,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32in the fetid jungles of New Guinea
0:17:32 > 0:17:35to the burning deserts of North Africa.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41But there was one day, 70 years ago, that war's menacing hand
0:17:41 > 0:17:44reached across the sea and gripped this country.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47I've come here, to Darwin,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50to investigate the incredible violence of that day
0:17:50 > 0:17:54and an extraordinary story of atonement in its aftermath.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57At the height of their expansion into the Pacific,
0:17:57 > 0:18:02the Japanese had good tactical reasons for targeting Australia
0:18:02 > 0:18:06and they did it with such force in this anchorage in February 1942,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08the attack has gone done in history
0:18:08 > 0:18:10as Australia's Pearl Harbour.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Darwin had become an important Allied base for the defence
0:18:15 > 0:18:19of the Dutch East Indies and so it became a target
0:18:19 > 0:18:23for the rapid, all-conquering Japanese Imperial Army.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28They rained bombs upon Darwin and the small town of 10,000 residents
0:18:28 > 0:18:32simply wasn't prepared for such horror and destruction.
0:18:32 > 0:18:33On a warm day in town,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37I'm meeting author and military historian Tom Lewis,
0:18:37 > 0:18:39who paints a dire picture
0:18:39 > 0:18:43of Australia's readiness for war at that time.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46The anti-aircraft defences hadn't really been tested in anger before.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49The big guns that were based here hadn't been fired.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51They weren't allowed to be fired,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54because it might upset the townspeople.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56The trees here weren't allowed to be cut down
0:18:56 > 0:18:58because it might spoil the view.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01So there were a lot of bored troops sitting around wondering
0:19:01 > 0:19:04whether they were going to be able to defend the place at all.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Some of the ammunition was World War I
0:19:07 > 0:19:09and some of it was marked "Not For Use In The Tropics",
0:19:09 > 0:19:11- and it is pretty hot here.- Yeah.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14So, they weren't that prepared but there were quite a number of them
0:19:14 > 0:19:16and they were ready to fight... DISTANT SIRENS
0:19:16 > 0:19:19..and when they did have to fight, they did a good job.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21DISTANT EXPLOSIONS
0:19:21 > 0:19:23The Japanese were expected,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26but we weren't sure on which day they'd arrive.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28And we thought they'd arrive from this direction,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- when in fact, they arrived from... - Which is?- That's roughly north.
0:19:31 > 0:19:32Right - oh, right.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35...they arrived from pretty well that direction,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37so, taking the enemy by surprise.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43And the initial attack was from high level bombers at about 10,000ft,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46followed by the dive bombers after the high level bombers had done
0:19:46 > 0:19:50their work and left, and escorted all the time by the fighters.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52And 188 aircraft, it was pandemonium.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57The raid began on 19th of January, 1942,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01just before 10am and lasted till about 10:20...
0:20:01 > 0:20:07only 25 minutes to destroy Darwin Harbour and then the town.
0:20:07 > 0:20:1336 Zero fighters, 71 dive-bombers and 81 level bombers
0:20:13 > 0:20:17comprised the Japanese attack force that assaulted Darwin.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19The Post Office was utterly destroyed.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21The civilian people were killed inside
0:20:21 > 0:20:24and a number of big buildings were struck,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27but the main action was in the harbour. So, it was here.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30And right throughout this area here were fighting ships
0:20:30 > 0:20:34trying to put up a defence against the aircraft.
0:20:34 > 0:20:40Within hours, 235 were dead, including civilians.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45And 22 ships, 38,000 tonnes worth, were sinking or sunk.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48It was a catastrophic event,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50- it was as bad, really, as it could have been.- Oh, yes.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54It's the biggest attack on the Australian landmass we've ever had.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59What were the Japanese hoping to achieve?
0:20:59 > 0:21:01What's their the strategy here?
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Two main reasons for attacking Darwin.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07The first is that they'd now taken the Southeast Asian Japanese empire
0:21:07 > 0:21:09that they'd hoped for,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12stretching down as far south as the islands of Indonesia.
0:21:12 > 0:21:13They'd overrun Singapore,
0:21:13 > 0:21:17they'd swept the Americans out of the Philippines, they'd done a great job.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22Now's the time for consolidation - so what you don't want is this large
0:21:22 > 0:21:27deepwater harbour, with airfields and oil tanks and everything else,
0:21:27 > 0:21:32to be used as a base to attack what you've now got in Southeast Asia.
0:21:32 > 0:21:33So that's reason one.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36But reason two is they were going to take New Guinea.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Part of the plan was to take New Guinea because if you took
0:21:39 > 0:21:42New Guinea, you can control the eastern seaboard to Australia
0:21:42 > 0:21:45and you can stop the perfidious Americans arriving
0:21:45 > 0:21:47to attack the Japanese.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49And this is...?
0:21:49 > 0:21:52This is one of the guns from USS Peary, a fighting destroyer
0:21:52 > 0:21:57of the United States Navy and she went down on 19th February.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Fought very bravely,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03but the end was over for her within 10 minutes, 12 minutes.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Was USS Peary the single biggest loss of life?
0:22:07 > 0:22:13The Peary lost 88 people and the gun points to where she went down,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16stern down in the water, guns still going, surrounded by smoke...
0:22:16 > 0:22:17very sad.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23A day of great tragedy and loss,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27the scars from which dwelt within the hearts, minds and landscapes
0:22:27 > 0:22:29of the besieged for many years.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33But Darwin's dark memories defied history and within a few
0:22:33 > 0:22:37short years, took a remarkable turn towards reconciliation.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44If you'd been here in Darwin's harbour at the end of World War II,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48you'd have looked out at a disturbing, extraordinary sight...
0:22:48 > 0:22:52the sea in every direction littered with sunken ships.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Seven decades on, Darwin Harbour has a murky
0:22:58 > 0:23:03but haunting tale to tell of that day and others that followed.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08'With the help of marine archaeologist David Steinberg,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11'I'm going to find out what lies beneath.'
0:23:11 > 0:23:13- Ta.- Good to see you, mate. - How are you?
0:23:13 > 0:23:16David, I have to say on the surface, the water looks like green soup.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19What is it like for diving?
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Underwater, it looks like green soup, as well.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27This is foul ground, a marine term,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31a harbour of half submerged, war-torn hulls.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34But it wasn't for aesthetic reasons,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36or even out of respect for the dead,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39that the harbourmaster wanted it cleared.
0:23:39 > 0:23:40It was a shipping hazard.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44So after the war, what did the people of Darwin
0:23:44 > 0:23:47do about their harbour full of wrecks?
0:23:47 > 0:23:49Well, they actually turned to the Japanese.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Ironically, there was a Japanese salvage company, privately owned,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55that operated in Southeast Asia successfully,
0:23:55 > 0:24:00salvaging Japanese wrecks from the war.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03It's just about the most controversial move I can think of,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05to actually bring in Japanese people
0:24:05 > 0:24:08to clear up from the Japanese bombing raid.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10It's extraordinary, isn't it?
0:24:10 > 0:24:13And they certainly appreciated the irony at the time.
0:24:13 > 0:24:14How did the locals feel?
0:24:14 > 0:24:17I mean, they can't all have been in favour of it,
0:24:17 > 0:24:18however practical a step it was...?
0:24:18 > 0:24:20I think that's a fair enough statement to say,
0:24:20 > 0:24:22that there were people that upset about it,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25but the general consensus was it was OK.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29These people were coming to do a job, a job that we couldn't do.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32And there was a sense, also, by the Japanese company
0:24:32 > 0:24:34of how sensitive this was
0:24:34 > 0:24:37and they saw this as self-imposed war reparation.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41They saw it as their job to clear up the scars of the landscape.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Talk about historical irony...
0:24:48 > 0:24:50and grace.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Ryogo Fujita took on the salvage of Darwin Harbour
0:24:53 > 0:24:56as a commercial proposition when no suitably qualified
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Australian company could be found.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01But he endeared himself
0:25:01 > 0:25:05when he spoke of building friendship between his country and Australia.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Imagine the courage and moral fibre it would have taken
0:25:08 > 0:25:10to be living in the heart of territory
0:25:10 > 0:25:13so recently regarded as enemy.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17A good guy the locals least expected, in word and in deed.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27The abundance of life here is not confined to the coastline.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30As we travel along the mangrove fringe of the Northern Territory,
0:25:30 > 0:25:34the sea arcs and reaches in to the unique coastal flood plains
0:25:34 > 0:25:35of the Adelaide River,
0:25:35 > 0:25:39where Miriam Corowa investigates the intriguing history
0:25:39 > 0:25:42behind one of the most unusual agricultural endeavours
0:25:42 > 0:25:44undertaken in this country.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50It was an idea that bizarrely brought Hollywood to Humpty Doo,
0:25:50 > 0:25:52about an hour south-east of Darwin
0:25:52 > 0:25:56and a million miles from anywhere else.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58'Heather Boulden, from the Friends of Fogg Dam,
0:25:58 > 0:26:00'explains the vision splendid to me.'
0:26:00 > 0:26:03What's the significance of this area?
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Well, this place is Fogg Dam,
0:26:05 > 0:26:10which was built for the Humpty Doo Rice Project of the 1950s.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15After the bombing of Darwin in the Second World War,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18the Australia government was keen to develop the north,
0:26:18 > 0:26:20increase the population.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23One of the federal ministers at the time, Harold Holt,
0:26:23 > 0:26:28went to the US and sold the idea of growing rice here,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32in the Northern Territory on the Adelaide River flood plains.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37The late 1940s and into the '50s was boom-time in America,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40but also the advent of the Cold War.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44The dream was to grow rice in Humpty Doo to support
0:26:44 > 0:26:45a recovering post-war world,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48in the fervent belief that hunger bred communism.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53The Northern Territory could become the region's food bowl.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55New skills, new markets, big money
0:26:55 > 0:27:00and big ideas here would feed the starving millions of Asia
0:27:00 > 0:27:04and become a bulwark against the spread of communism.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Through Holt's Washington connections,
0:27:06 > 0:27:10the idea was taken up by a syndicate of wealthy businessmen,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14along with TV personality and philanthropist, Art Linkletter.
0:27:14 > 0:27:20They invested heavily and Territory Rice Limited was born in 1955.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23- RECORDING:- Here in northern Australia, Humpty Doo Farm
0:27:23 > 0:27:26along the flats of the Adelaide river, 30 miles from the coast,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30is producing a robust long grain rice ready for world markets.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35The project, though, was absolutely massive, it ended up being a joint
0:27:35 > 0:27:39Australian-American project and the agreement was that the business
0:27:39 > 0:27:45could have 200,000 hectares of land, which would be from more or less
0:27:45 > 0:27:48the Adelaide River to Kakadu, for rice farming,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50which is pretty amazing.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55And they went into it in a big way with machinery
0:27:55 > 0:27:59and very little planning and expected to sort of...
0:27:59 > 0:28:01it to work out quickly, too.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06As we've already seen and heard, this coastline is not to be
0:28:06 > 0:28:11underestimated, especially by men with more money than sense.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14For such a grand scheme, at a million dollars,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17it was woefully underfunded.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21The distance from Darwin, along 70km of rough track,
0:28:21 > 0:28:24was a major impediment to its success.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27The wet season delivered rain in monsoonal floods,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30bogging heavy harvesting machinery for months,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33while the rest of the year was bone dry.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38The local birdlife was blamed wrongly of eating too much grain.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42- And if those weren't challenges enough...- They were also using
0:28:42 > 0:28:46some of the water from the Adelaide River which, being close to the sea,
0:28:46 > 0:28:50would sometimes be brackish and they were growing salt-sensitive rice.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54So I mean, as I say, so many issues, really.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59A champagne business model drowned by a salty Mother Nature.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04By 1960, after only five years, the project went down as
0:29:04 > 0:29:09one of the biggest agricultural failures in Australian history.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11And a final irony -
0:29:11 > 0:29:14little did they know that wild rice had been growing in these
0:29:14 > 0:29:20coastal plains and harvested by Aborigines, for thousands of years.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22Perhaps, someone should have asked them
0:29:22 > 0:29:24before embarking on what was a grand folly.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30History repeating itself.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33Much like the fate of this coast's early settlers,
0:29:33 > 0:29:38Australia's unforgiving northern frontier defeated the unprepared.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42To survive and prosper here requires tenacity, local knowledge
0:29:42 > 0:29:44and a wide variety of skills.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47And a particularly fine example of all that
0:29:47 > 0:29:50is a legend who's harvested more from these muddy mangroves
0:29:50 > 0:29:52than the average man.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57All the history books will tell you that Australia was first
0:29:57 > 0:30:01sighted by Europeans in the year 1606, but a curious piece of
0:30:01 > 0:30:07flotsam has turned up in these parts that could rewrite the history.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10I'm told the mysterious artefact was turned up by a local fisherman,
0:30:10 > 0:30:14Bill Boustead, who just happens to be a former world champion
0:30:14 > 0:30:17in a very niche sport...
0:30:17 > 0:30:19How are you doing, Bill?
0:30:19 > 0:30:22'World Barefoot Crab Tying, in fact!'
0:30:22 > 0:30:23Good to meet you.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29And this is Bill's bountiful backyard,
0:30:29 > 0:30:32about 30km northeast of Darwin,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35mangroves and mudflats that are the perfect habitat
0:30:35 > 0:30:39for the highly prized crustacean, Mud Crab.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42There's the first spot.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46- Feels good.- You take them, yeah? - There's three keepers.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51Well, we'll move on, see if there's some more in the next pot.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54- Some place you've got here, Bill. - It is, eh.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56But you've seen nothing yet.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59Well, here's another pot. We'll try this one.
0:30:59 > 0:31:04- This one feels kind of light. Oh, look.- Oh.- Gigantor, look at them!
0:31:04 > 0:31:06- I win.- Oh, look at that. - I win!- You win. You win.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09- Look at them monsters! - Champion!
0:31:11 > 0:31:13Right. We're going to tie them up, yeah?
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Oh, look. It's the size of them.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19How much damage could the claws do to a person's fingers and toes?
0:31:19 > 0:31:21- Oh, see those beady eyes?- Yeah.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23When they grab you, they just give a bit of a squeeze
0:31:23 > 0:31:26and they look you fair in the eye and say, "Is that hurting?"
0:31:26 > 0:31:27And then they squeeze a bit harder.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30And why are you putting your barefoot on it?
0:31:30 > 0:31:33That seems like the wrong thing to do.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36You need the toe to be able to hold it down, you can't really get
0:31:36 > 0:31:38a feel if you've got boots on.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42Yeah, it sounds sort of like it's more risky and that, but it's not.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46- So you go round there like that. Tip him up and over.- So neat.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50- And that makes it that he's safe to handle.- You make it look so simple.
0:31:50 > 0:31:51Yeah. It is rather simple.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54- I'll grab another one. - Right. Do another one.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57So in the competition, what were you required to do?
0:31:57 > 0:32:02We stood on a stage and they'd throw three crabs, wild and woolly,
0:32:02 > 0:32:06to each contestant and you had to then grab them one at a time,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09tie them against the clock and the other contestant.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12- Yeah.- And how fast were you able to tie it?
0:32:12 > 0:32:15Well, my record was three crabs in 32 seconds.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18What a strange and unexpected skill to have,
0:32:18 > 0:32:20barefoot crab tying.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24And before you ask, no, I don't want a go.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Now that I've escaped that challenge, Bill is going cook up
0:32:27 > 0:32:29some of his morning's catch for me
0:32:29 > 0:32:31to try and see what all the fuss is about.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34- Instant death.- Instant death.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40Right, Bill, while we wait for those crabs, tell me about this.
0:32:40 > 0:32:41Where did this come from?
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Well, I was waiting for fishing that particular day
0:32:45 > 0:32:46so I had time on my hands.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50So I walked through the mangroves along an old, ancient sort of
0:32:50 > 0:32:55beach line and this was just exposed at top of the high water mark.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59- Wow. Have you had experts take a look at it?- I have.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02I took it to the Wollongong University.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06It came back, probable southern European of 500-600 years old.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09And by southern European, what countries do you mean?
0:33:09 > 0:33:11They thought that it could be Portugal
0:33:11 > 0:33:13and that Portugal at that time...
0:33:13 > 0:33:16There were suspicions that they'd been in the area here
0:33:16 > 0:33:18around those sorts of dates.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21So you don't think that this vessel washed ashore
0:33:21 > 0:33:24from further north in Asia?
0:33:24 > 0:33:27I would like to think that...
0:33:27 > 0:33:29that it was thrown off or for whatever reason,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32discarded from a Portuguese vessel within close range.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35- But that's a bit of, you know... that's my dreaming..- I'm with you.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37I'm with you. That's a good one. I like that...
0:33:37 > 0:33:40Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43Well, that's what I think, too.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45And if history is anything to go by,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48Bill's dreaming is not too far-fetched.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50After all, the Portuguese,
0:33:50 > 0:33:53at the height of their imperial reach in the 1500s,
0:33:53 > 0:33:57were a colonial presence in the Spice Islands of south-east Asia.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04Time for lunch and my first taste of fresh mud crab.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06Is that going to...?
0:34:06 > 0:34:11The next best thing is a bit of fresh bread and a real cold beer.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13- You got that?- I have.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Crab is my favourite food in the world and...
0:34:19 > 0:34:21..it's quite possible that's the nicest crab I've ever had
0:34:21 > 0:34:23anywhere in the world.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31Well, it's been a truly memorable experience.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34I've been treated to a coastal jewel of the Top End
0:34:34 > 0:34:38and I've seen a relic, which, if the experts can agree on its age,
0:34:38 > 0:34:42could rewrite the history of European contact with Australia.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51Australia's vast remote northern coastline harbours many a surprise.
0:34:51 > 0:34:56It's a tropical wonderland, with a huge and exotic marine population.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00But there are hidden challenges to this beautiful environment.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02As Dr Xanthe Mallett discovers,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05one of the more insidious is marine debris,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08the lethal flotsam and jetsam of ocean trade.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13I have a really rare privilege today to be going out with
0:35:13 > 0:35:16the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
0:35:16 > 0:35:18and we're actually on the hunt for a ghost net.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23Ghost nets are a major concern here,
0:35:23 > 0:35:26a hazard to sea traffic and marine life.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30Carried across vast distances by currents and tides,
0:35:30 > 0:35:34the nets are roaming and fishing indiscriminately...
0:35:34 > 0:35:36a floating wall of death.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Australia shares its northern seas with the expanding
0:35:40 > 0:35:43populations of Southeast Asia.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46With increasing demand on declining fish stocks,
0:35:46 > 0:35:47fishing is getting harder.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51So bigger boats are fishing with bigger nets,
0:35:51 > 0:35:53which can be lost or discarded,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56only to drift the oceans for months or even years,
0:35:56 > 0:35:59becoming ghost nets.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Two hours from port, they've spotted a net,
0:36:04 > 0:36:08As Northern Territories Fisheries' Simon Xuereb tells me.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12The tide's dropped now, it's just poking its head up.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14You can see there's not a lot of floats up top
0:36:14 > 0:36:17- and it is definitely caught on a reef.- It looks quite small, though.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20Is that one a problem? Something that size?
0:36:20 > 0:36:24'Everything is a problem. So, we've seen nets about 40cm by 40cm,
0:36:24 > 0:36:26'pieces of net and those things have killed turtles,'
0:36:26 > 0:36:28just by himself.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31So a panel that's about that big, as big as a rubbish bin lid,
0:36:31 > 0:36:33is a potential killer for turtle and wildlife.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45- This is a Taiwanese net. - Taiwanese?- Taiwanese.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48- How do you know? - Mainly by the knitting and the mesh.
0:36:48 > 0:36:53And as you can see that is just a very efficient thin gauge killer.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56So a lot of fish will get caught up in this easily.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59Would this have washed in from outside Australian waters?
0:36:59 > 0:37:01This has been more travelled than backpackers.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03This thing here might have been in the water for,
0:37:03 > 0:37:06with the green slime on it, for up to maybe two years or a year, at least.
0:37:06 > 0:37:07Oh, really!
0:37:09 > 0:37:11The net is caught on a reef 12m down.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16Captain Nathan Crofts and Simon will wrap a line around it
0:37:16 > 0:37:18to gauge its weight and size.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23With the line in place, the boat moves forward...
0:37:27 > 0:37:30..and the rope that can carry two-and-a-half tonnes...
0:37:30 > 0:37:32snaps!
0:37:33 > 0:37:38Well, the big boat just moved 50m and that's moved on a big angle.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41That net's massive underneath, so that is the tip of the iceberg.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43That thing may even be going five to six,
0:37:43 > 0:37:46maybe even ten tonne, who knows?
0:37:46 > 0:37:47It's a big net.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50Having ascertained the size of the ghost net,
0:37:50 > 0:37:53the crew secures it and marks its location.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58The net will be retrieved and destroyed by a specialist vessel.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01It's been a good day for this multi-agency crew...
0:38:01 > 0:38:06another hazard to shipping and marine life successfully eliminated.
0:38:12 > 0:38:17The north coast of Australia teems with life, both onshore and off.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21But what Mother Nature supplies in abundance, she can also destroy,
0:38:21 > 0:38:23with fury and without excuse.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33It was Christmas Eve, 1974.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36As the good folk of Darwin were rushing to finish the shopping
0:38:36 > 0:38:40and wrapping presents for the big day ahead, out in the harbour,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43an occasional peril was gathering menace.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47A depression in the Arafura Sea was tracking slowly southwest.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50But then, after passing close to Bathurst Island,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53it turned a sharp left, intensified
0:38:53 > 0:38:56and Cyclone Tracy slammed into Darwin at midnight,
0:38:56 > 0:39:00recording winds of 217km per hour,
0:39:00 > 0:39:02until the wind gauge itself was shattered.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15- RECORDING:- The term Merry Christmas will probably almost be
0:39:15 > 0:39:18a dirty term for Darwin people following Cyclone Tracy.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20And one of the sad things about it is that
0:39:20 > 0:39:23I don't think anyone really took the danger seriously.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26Sun down on Christmas Eve, there's a bit more wind, a bit more rain.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28But I don't think anyone was going to allow it
0:39:28 > 0:39:30to spoil their Christmas.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34The cyclone gradually built up to a crescendo,
0:39:34 > 0:39:39with ever increasing noise, companied by smashing glass
0:39:39 > 0:39:42and, um...tearing roofs.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44And then it was quite classical
0:39:44 > 0:39:49because in the middle, we had a very brief lull,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52rather than a complete calm, a lull.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54- RECORDING:- We even went in and assured the kids
0:39:54 > 0:39:58that Santa would be able to brave Cyclone Tracy without any trouble.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02Then Tracy really struck.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05There had been damage. There had been sheets of iron torn off roofs.
0:40:05 > 0:40:10There had been roof joists torn away and these came back at us
0:40:10 > 0:40:14from a different angle at possibly twice the speed of the first stage.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20In the morning's gloom, the city counted its losses.
0:40:20 > 0:40:2449 dead, a further 16 lost at sea.
0:40:24 > 0:40:2870% of homes and buildings destroyed...
0:40:28 > 0:40:30no-one escaped unscathed.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33A flying sheet of iron off the roof next door
0:40:33 > 0:40:35flew through the bedroom window.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39The next thing I knew I was flying out with the refrigerator
0:40:39 > 0:40:41and the kitchen sink and the cupboards.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47It's a complete house. Walls...walls and all just disappeared...
0:40:47 > 0:40:50leaving us out in the yard.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Just picked us up and threw us.
0:40:53 > 0:40:54And what happened to your wife?
0:40:56 > 0:40:59My wife was killed.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01- Flying debris?- Debris.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06Essential services were severed.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Food and shelter at a premium.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13Such was the devastation, an airlift was organised,
0:41:13 > 0:41:17the biggest peacetime evacuation ever undertaken in this country.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19Many residents drove out.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23Within weeks, three-quarters of the population had left.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27Those that stayed had to face the massive clean-up task
0:41:27 > 0:41:30and begin the rebuilding of a city.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33It was a Christmas to forget.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36The people who are the Darwinites or the Territorians,
0:41:36 > 0:41:37they believe in it,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41I believe in it and I believe that Darwin has a great future.
0:41:41 > 0:41:4740 years on and Darwin is a boom town of mining and tourism,
0:41:47 > 0:41:50a multicultural gateway to Asia...
0:41:50 > 0:41:53proof again that these are no ordinary people
0:41:53 > 0:41:56that enjoy life along this recalcitrant coastline
0:42:01 > 0:42:05Living on this coast also requires a unique antenna for wildlife.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08Australia has no shortage of beasties that can bring
0:42:08 > 0:42:12a sunny bushwalk or a dip in the sea to a premature end.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15Up here is an age-old survivor that rules its domain
0:42:15 > 0:42:17both on land and sea.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21Marine scientist Dr Emma Johnston delves into the danger zone.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25In the Top End of Australia,
0:42:25 > 0:42:27headlines like these sell many a newspaper
0:42:27 > 0:42:32and fuel our morbid fascination with one of nature's great survivors.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35But our relationship may be about to change for the better.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38And that's what I'm here to investigate.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42In the natural world, when humans run foul of crocodiles,
0:42:42 > 0:42:44we usually come off second best.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48If the bite and death roll doesn't kill,
0:42:48 > 0:42:51then the subsequent infection can be lethal...
0:42:52 > 0:42:55..because crocs can carry bacteria and diseases that are foreign
0:42:55 > 0:42:59to humans and don't respond to our antibiotics.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02But after vicious encounters, wounded crocodiles can live on,
0:43:02 > 0:43:07without succumbing to infection, even in filthy waters.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10It must be something in the blood...
0:43:10 > 0:43:12'and that sparked the interest of Dr Adam Britton,
0:43:12 > 0:43:17'a zoologist who's been studying crocodiles for 17 years.'
0:43:17 > 0:43:18You see it all the time.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20You see a wild crocodile, you pull them out of the river
0:43:20 > 0:43:21and they're missing an arm
0:43:21 > 0:43:24or they've got this giant gash down their stomach.
0:43:24 > 0:43:25You see it in captivity as well.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27I mean, there's really horrific injuries.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30And a week later, it's completely healed.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32So, their immune system's doing something really cool.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34- And can we test this? - Well, we can.- Can I see it in action?
0:43:34 > 0:43:36We can, actually.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39We can do a really, really simple test which hopefully will work.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42So what I'm going to need is some crocodile blood
0:43:42 > 0:43:44but I'm also going to need some of your blood.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46I want to show you just how effective crocodile blood is
0:43:46 > 0:43:51against your blood, which is going to be pretty useless in comparison.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53It's high tide in Darwin Harbour
0:43:53 > 0:43:56and I've got to get some crocodile blood.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58I'm joining Northern Territory Parks Rangers
0:43:58 > 0:44:01Tom Nichols, Rachel Pearce and Dani Best,
0:44:01 > 0:44:04to inspect traps as part of their monitoring of crocodile health
0:44:04 > 0:44:07and numbers which have increased significantly
0:44:07 > 0:44:10since hunting was banned in 1971.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12How many years have you been working here?
0:44:12 > 0:44:16I've been working with Parks and Wildlife 33, nearly 34 years.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18Things have definitely changed a lot.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21When I first started, obviously crocodiles weren't a problem.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24They were still on the endangered species list.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28Now there are more than 100,000 crocs,
0:44:28 > 0:44:32which means the increased likelihood of contact between us and them.
0:44:33 > 0:44:38- So, has anyone ever been bitten? - I've been bitten once, but, yeah.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42- Wow. When did that happen?- Oh, ten years ago now.- Right.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46'Up here, I guess you'd call that a flesh wound?'
0:44:46 > 0:44:49The traps are set using cuts from a wild boar carcass
0:44:49 > 0:44:52and are checked three times a week.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55Captured crocs are recorded and then given to local farms.
0:44:55 > 0:44:56So, what's Rachel doing now?
0:44:56 > 0:44:59Rachel's... see the zip tie in her hand?
0:44:59 > 0:45:01The snout rope will be going down through the centre of that
0:45:01 > 0:45:04and then she will put that behind the rope,
0:45:04 > 0:45:06close the jaws and that locks the jaws tight.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12OK, open that front gate up.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17Whoa.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22Wow.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29She's covering up those eyes again.
0:45:33 > 0:45:34One, two, three.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40OK, from here we're just going to take a blood sample.
0:45:40 > 0:45:41So we'll see if we can get one.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44Sometimes you can't always get it, but we'll see what happens.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49'Got the croc blood.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52'Now it's my turn.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55'In this experiment, Adam is hoping to show that crocodile blood
0:45:55 > 0:45:57'kills more bacteria than human blood.'
0:45:57 > 0:46:01Well, we're going to take a very small amount of this
0:46:01 > 0:46:04and put it onto these agar plates.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08Now each one of these has got a colony of bacteria on it,
0:46:08 > 0:46:10evenly spread.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13We put one drop there on the crocodile side
0:46:13 > 0:46:15and then also do the same with the human serum here.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17What will happen is,
0:46:17 > 0:46:22if there's any anti bacterial properties in the serum,
0:46:22 > 0:46:26then it will kill the bacteria adjacent to the spot.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29After a night in the incubator,
0:46:29 > 0:46:32the bacteria cultures are ready for viewing.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35- Do you want to have a look down there.- Sure.- Focus on there.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37So on the left we've got the crocodile
0:46:37 > 0:46:38and on the right we've got the human.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42We can see that the crocodile blood bacteria kill zone
0:46:42 > 0:46:45is twice as large as for human blood.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49So, what's it actually doing to the bacteria?
0:46:49 > 0:46:53Well, we've identified a protein and the way this protein seems to work
0:46:53 > 0:46:57is it attaches itself to the bacteria and literally tears open a hole.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00So all the bacteria's cell contents leak out and it kills it.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04So even against the famous antibiotic resistant bugs
0:47:04 > 0:47:06like golden staph?
0:47:06 > 0:47:08Or even antibiotic resistant bacteria.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10This antibiotic that we've found is effective against it.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12That's pretty potent, exciting stuff.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16Plenty of potential for human medical applications
0:47:16 > 0:47:19but clearly, the research will take time.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22So, after a history of mutual antagonism,
0:47:22 > 0:47:25crocodiles have secrets that may yet turn
0:47:25 > 0:47:27one of nature's most resilient killers,
0:47:27 > 0:47:29into one of our greatest saviours.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32And wouldn't that make a great headline?
0:47:37 > 0:47:40This coast took four attempts to settle.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43It's capital was twice laid low
0:47:43 > 0:47:45and twice reborn.
0:47:46 > 0:47:51These are exceptional people on the frontier of northern Australia.
0:47:51 > 0:47:57They are stoic and convinced about a steady life on an intemperate coast.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02This has been a fascinating stretch of coastline to visit,
0:48:02 > 0:48:06but it's also challenging in so many different ways.
0:48:06 > 0:48:07But if you can overcome the challenges,
0:48:07 > 0:48:10if they don't break you, then they'll make you stronger
0:48:10 > 0:48:13and eventually, they'll win you over completely.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Next time,
0:48:18 > 0:48:21Dr Xanthe Mallett investigates a mass murder...
0:48:21 > 0:48:24These people were either strangled or stabbed.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27- It's easy to kill someone without leaving a mark.- Yeah, yeah.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30..nirvana, at least for Professor Tim Flannery...
0:48:30 > 0:48:32These black rocks, they're not just rocks.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36They're some of the oldest living things on our planet.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41..Dr Emma Johnston, up close with a 60-million-year-old fish...
0:48:41 > 0:48:44and I'm tracing the mystery of a lost Australian battle cruiser.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48And why does no-one get off of Sydney alive?
0:48:48 > 0:48:51Those stories and more from Western Australia's Coral Coast.