Back Roads

- Season 9

(2023)

In this special 100th episode of the program, Heather Ewart looks at the great Australian pub. The nation's very own unique style of watering hole, the humble pub sits at the heart of many communities.

The team head to one of the country's largest cattle stations, Brunette Downs in the NT. Heather Ewart learns what makes life on this remote and rugged property so attractive and arrives in time for the Brunette Races.

Foodie and farmer Paul West packs his surfboard for a visit to tiny Marrawah in northwest Tasmania for the legendary West Coast Classic: three days of big swells, blowing gales and woolly beanies.

Heather Ewart visits the Quilpie shire in outback Queensland. With an average age of under 40, residents have transformed this former Opalopolis into a vibrant community, with a little help from Australia's biggest dinosaur.

Wiradjuri woman and journalist Rae Johnston goes on a water-fuelled odyssey to the East Kimberley region, at the very top of WA, where the mighty Ord River is the lifeblood of the community.

Nhill and Pyramid Hill lie 260km apart but are connected in the most surprising ways. These two old farming towns offer newcomers a fresh start and a fair go.

Champion Paralympian Kurt Fearnley finds a heart of gold shining brightly in the townsfolk of Tennant Creek. Locals are overcoming intergenerational trauma by nourishing residents with great education, art and religion.

Heather Ewart hitches a ride with singer-songwriter Josh Arnold across western Queensland as he makes stars of local kids, teaching them how to celebrate their community.