{"id":873022,"date":"2026-08-29T20:06:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T20:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/873022\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T20:06:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T20:06:27","slug":"australian-story-award-winning-producer-wendy-page-reflects-on-memorable-western-australian-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/873022\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Story: Award-winning producer Wendy Page reflects on memorable Western Australian stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

For three decades, Australian Story has told the tales that define us as a nation.<\/p>\n

It has detailed triumphs and tragedies, big and small.<\/p>\n

Shone light on tremendous miscarriages of justice.<\/p>\n

Helped push legislative change.<\/p>\n

Cleared the name of wronged people.<\/p>\n

And invited us into the lives of ordinary Australians, many of whom have extraordinary stories to tell.<\/p>\n

Thirty years on, the show still resonates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think because people see themselves in it,\u201d Wendy Page, a founding producer of the program, told The Sunday Times from her home in Tasmania.<\/p>\n

Page worked on the long-running news and current affairs program for 25 of its 30 years, winning two Walkley Awards for episodes she produced.<\/p>\n

\"DavidCamera IconDavid Pollock at Wooleen Station. Credit: Supplied\"DianaCamera IconDiana Bliss, pictured here with her husband Alan Bond, featured in two episodes of Australian Story. Credit: Supplied.<\/p>\n

A few days after speaking to The Sunday Times, Page travelled to Sydney for Australian Story Live, an event which took place at the Opera House, recorded to air as an extended episode of the show this Monday.<\/p>\n

It was Page\u2019s way of honouring a program that has been a huge part of her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people see their own lives in it, one way or another,\u201d she said of the show\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are not programs about the reporter \u2014 if you watch 60 Minutes, for example, the reporter is there all the way through, front and centre almost \u2014 but you don\u2019t see or hear the reporters from Australian Story at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just people (telling) their story.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the audience is incredibly discerning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LeighCamera IconLeigh Sales hosts Australian Story. Credit: Supplied.<\/p>\n

Page has been instrumental in bringing many of the program\u2019s most memorable stories to the small screen.<\/p>\n

Known for her exploration of miscarriages of justice, she won one Walkley for an episode about the wrongful conviction of Perth man John Button, accused of killing his girlfriend in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

She also produced a double episode titled \u201cThe Wronged Man\u201d, which looked at the 1994 murder of a Perth jeweller Pamela Lawrence and the case of another wrongly convicted Western Australian, Andrew Mallard.<\/p>\n

In 2004, she turned her attention to the then-unsolved Claremont murders, producing an Australian Story program about the case.<\/p>\n

\"DonCamera IconDon Spiers, father of Sarah Spiers, spoke with Wendy for Australian Story. Credit: Australian Story<\/p>\n

\u201cI did that (original) program back in 2004, and so I got to know the parents of two of the girls very well,\u201d Page explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I did all the interviews, I still had relationships with various people who had been in my original story, so I went back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou keep in contact with people like that \u2014 I still touch base with them now and again \u2014 because they become an important part of your career, but also of your life.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t not get close to people who entrust you with such deep, personal and emotional stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Page was also behind a story in 2003 about Lynette Dawson, later pursued in detail via the globally-popular Teacher\u2019s Pet podcast.<\/p>\n

\"SamCamera IconSam Neill chose Australian Story to discuss his battle with cancer. Credit: ABC\/Australian Story<\/p>\n

\u201cThe podcast was subsequent to that, and when (that) went crazy around the world, I had retired at that point, but they brought me back for that as well,\u201d Page explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cActually, a lot of my stories rear up again \u2014 when there\u2019s some dramatic new development they\u2019ll bring me back for an update.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Opera House, some of the show\u2019s most notable past subjects took to the stage, including actor and producer Claudia Karvan, Olympic swimming champion Michael Klim, First Nations advocate and community leader Mechelle Turvey, maths educator Eddie Woo, and Queensland graziers, Gayle and Mac Shann. Tim Minchin and Alex Lloyd performed as well.<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s founding executive producer, Deborah Fleming, and current presenter Leigh Sales were also involved.<\/p>\n

At the show, Karvan opened up about her decision to share her story with the program for an episode which aired in 2023, saying she trusted Australian Story to tell her story faithfully.<\/p>\n

Page says this sense of trust ensured Australian Story\u2019s longevity and relevance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used to say we got the stories that money couldn\u2019t buy,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelCamera IconMichael Klim was at the Opera House to speak about his moving Australian Story episode. Credit: Supplied\/TheWest<\/p>\n

\u201cWe often got the stories (others) had brandished the cheque book for, but they said they wanted to go with us, because Australian Story has a great reputation for its integrity.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people will say, \u2018it\u2019s such a soft program, it\u2019s so easy if you go on Australian Story\u2019, but it\u2019s not soft \u2014 we require a lot from the people who surrender themselves to us.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not easy, and they have to answer the hard questions \u2014 even though you don\u2019t hear our questions, we do ask them \u2014 and sometimes they are not comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you are on a journey with them, you tell them in the beginning that you will treat them with integrity, but that you want them to answer the questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not given a free ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

WA STORIES TO REMEMBERThe Claremont Murders: He Who Waits (2004) & To His Door (2020)<\/p>\n

Page\u2019s 2004 episode dealt with the stalled investigation, featuring interviews with forensic experts, police, and the victim\u2019s families, including the parents of Jane Rimmer and Sarah Spiers.<\/p>\n

In the episode, experts called for a complete whole case review of all evidence, something that eventually happened, leading to the discovery of DNA evidence that led to the arrest of convicted murderer, Bradley Robert Edwards.<\/p>\n

Page returned to cover Edwards\u2019 guilty verdict 16 years later, reconnecting with many of those who had spoken years earlier.<\/p>\n

Diana Bliss: The Parson\u2019s Daughter (1997) & Her Hour Upon The Stage (2012)\"DianaCamera IconDiana Bliss first appeared on Australian Story in 1997. Credit: Australian Story<\/p>\n

Best known for her fraught marriage to disgraced businessman Alan Bond, Diana Bliss appeared on the program twice, first in 1997, when her famous husband was in jail on fraud charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt very strongly that she had been conned by him as much as everyone else had,\u201d Page says.<\/p>\n

Tragically, in 2012, Bliss took her own life and Page revisited her story in a double episode.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still had archive tapes with my original interviews, much of which hadn\u2019t seen the light of day,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was assigned to do a story about her life leading up to her death, which was quite challenging, but quite extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wooleen Station: Half a Million Acres (2012), Return to Wooleen (2012) & Splendour in the Grass (2017)\"SunsetCamera IconSunset at Wooleen Station. Credit: Tourism Western Australia<\/p>\n

These episodes detailed a couple\u2019s fight to rehabilitate their severely degraded 375,000 acre cattle property in WA\u2019s Murchison region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was classic \u2018Aus Story\u2019 material,\u201d Page says.<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid Pollock had been chosen over his older brother Richard to take over the family\u2019s pastoral lease.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an extremely painful decision for their father, but the two sons had radically different ideas about its future management.<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid\u2019s plan was to totally de-stock the land (despite a condition of WA pastoral leases that you must run stock), and nurture it back to good health.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut no stock means no income.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australian Story later followed the station\u2019s fascinating turn-around.<\/p>\n

John Button: Dancing With Strangers (1998) & Murder He Wrote (2002)<\/p>\n

Journalist Estelle Blackburn was writing a book about notorious WA serial killer Eric Edger Cooke, on a quest to prove that he was behind the murder of a woman in 1963, a murder that John Button was convicted of carrying out on his girlfriend 40 years prior.<\/p>\n

Page connected with Blackburn and followed the fascinating story for an hour-long special.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe book led to the reopening of the case, but I think Australian Story substantially helped with that, because it lifted the profile,\u201d Page says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI followed (the story) for the next four years, and managed to have the confidence of all three families involved: the family of Eric Cooke, the parents of the murdered girl, and John Button\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew Mallard: The Wronged Man (2010 & 2019)\"AndrewCamera IconAndrew Mallard walks out of Casuarina prison a free man.. Credit: Australian Story\/The West Australian \/ WestPix<\/p>\n

In May 1994, Perth jeweller Pamela Lawrence was murdered inside her Mosman Park jewellery shop \u2014 police wrongly charged a local man, Andrew Mallard, who was living in the area at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t Australian Story\u2019s story that proved his innocence \u2014 that was all Colleen Egan and John Quigley\u2019s work \u2014 but we had the exclusive television story about Mallard, after he was released,\u201d Page says.<\/p>\n

In April 2019, while living in LA, Mallard was tragically killed \u2014 Australian Story honoured his memory with an episode later that year.<\/p>\n

Australian Story Live: Celebrating 30 Years airs Monday, 8pm, on ABC and ABC iview.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For three decades, Australian Story has told the tales that define us as a nation. It has detailed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,134,44,427],"class_list":["post-873022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-news","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}