Episode notes
An arresting photograph has Clare Wright duck-diving into the history of surfing in Australia.
Podcast
ABC Rewind
ABC Australia · History · English
A deep dive into the past told by the people who lived through it. The Rewind podcast interrogates the events and characters that have shaped our world and revisits history through archives, interviews, and compelling storytelling.
More from ABC Rewind All episodes →
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8 Oct 2026
04 | Bondy | Inside the boy's club
With his hands deep in the West Australian government ‘s coffers, a chance meeting with a man named Tiny could spell the beginning of the end for Alan ‘Bondy’ Bond. The Black Monday stock market crash sends shock waves through the world economy, threatening to turn Bondy’s business empire upside down. With everything on the line, Bond needs to act fast but his recklessness catches the attention of his enemies, who seize the opportunity to bring him down. This is episode 4 of a 6-part history podcast series for ABC Rewind from Radio National and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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1 Oct 2026
03 | Bondy | Burn the b*stards
Diamonds, mansions and mistresses, Bondy has been living the high life, but his ruthless pursuit of success begins to have devastating consequences for his marriage to Eileen. After his win in the America’s Cup banks lend Bond billions and he’s doing deals with the likes of Donald Trump. But his true character is revealed when he becomes a beer baron and ruins the lives of people on the edge of his empire. This is episode 3 of a 6-part history podcast series from ABC Rewind for Radio National and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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24 Sep 2026 · 40 min
02 | Bondy | An ulterior motive
As his yacht crosses the finish line of The America’s Cup and sails into history, the world holds its breath, but does Alan Bond have an ulterior motive when he enters this race? Bondy infuriates the Yanks with his radical boat design and brazen attitude. But combined with a crack crew and heaps of underdog energy, the Aussies' are in Newport Rhode Island to win. This is episode 2 of a 6-part history podcast series from ABC Rewind for Radio National and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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24 Sep 2026
01 | Bondy | The Outsider
Determined to make his first million before his 21st birthday, Alan Bond's questionable business ethics ruffle feathers in small-town Fremantle and earn him a reputation as an audacious English upstart. Shaped by his deprived childhood in post-war Britain, Bondy develops the gift of being able to sell anything to anyone. In his new home of Perth WA his rapid rise from juvenile delinquent to property developer is astonishing. This is episode 1 of a 6-part history podcast series from ABC Rewind for Radio National and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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10 Sep 2026
INTRODUCING: Bondy From Hero to Zero
Alan Bond was a genius, master salesman and con man. His '80s win of the America’s Cup, the sailing race of tycoons, put Australia on the global stage and the public adored Bond for it. In this series of ABC Rewind, satirist Mark Humphries tells the remarkable true story of Alan Bond; from his sporting highs, to building his global business empire and his lavish lifestyle rubbing shoulders with celebrities, to his business empire crashing and burning spectacularly and the scandal uncovered that saw Bondy pay the ultimate price. This is a 6-part history podcast series from ABC Rewind for…
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10 Sep 2026
05 | Shooting the Past | Roughy Justice
A fishy looking photograph throws Clare Wright into the deep end of the battle between industry and sustainability.
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10 Sep 2026
04 | Shooting the Past | Alien Nation
Clare Wright explores the story behind a studio portrait of an Edwardian family, and raises some tricky questions about citizenship, the Australian constitution and the subtle art of belonging.
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10 Sep 2026
03 | Shooting the Past | All Tragic to the Moon
Clare Wright unravels the dramatic story within a family photograph that takes us to the searing heart of an Australian summer tragedy: bushfire.
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10 Sep 2026
02 | Shooting the Past | Camp Sovereignty
A photograph of two men, one Indigenous and one non-Indigenous, holding hands leads Clare Wright to investigate the history of First Nations resistance in Australia
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5 Sep 2026 · 29 min
01 | Shooting the Past | The Ruins of Science
Historian Clare Wright takes a deep dive into Australia's past through six intriguing photographs. In this episode Clare tries to uncover the story behind a baffling photo, and finds herself transported back to the not-so-swinging 1960s.
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