Mon, Apr 14, 2003
27 year old Gayle Shann was working with her husband putting in fence posts on their property "Cantaur Park" when her glove became entangled in a drilling machine inflicting shocking injuries and nearly ripping her apart. It would take half an hour for the nearest neighbour to arrive and a further two hours for the flying doctor to get there. Luckily for Gayle that neighbour was a former nurse - but she was shocked by the extent of the injuries. Gayle's right arm and shoulder and had been ripped from her body, the left arm paralysed, her face slashed and a leg fractured. It's left Gayle physically dependent on her 24 year old husband for almost every need - from putting on her make-up to being fed meals - a bitter blow for a young woman who excelled at physical tasks and was a top competitive horse rider (camp drafting). The couple's predicament has galvanised the local community. They've raised about $200,000 - nearly three times their original target - to help with medical and rehabilitation costs. Australian Story details the drama of the combined rescue effort which saved Gayle's life - and relates the love story which is making it possible for her to cope with her injuries and stay on the land.
Mon, Jun 2, 2003
Jacki Weaver is one of Australia's best loved, most enduring and most successful actors - in film, TV and on the stage. She has been a major figure in the Australian arts community for more than forty years. But the passions and tragedies on stage have sometimes been eclipsed by dramas in her own life - in particular her highly publicised relationships with men - from legendary theatrical director Richard Wherrett to controversial television and radio presenter Derryn Hinch. In 'Secret Life of Jacki' she talks candidly about the struggle to get over a devastating recent period in her life when grief and depression drove her into difficulties she believes she has now overcome... difficulties discussed in detail in the program. In a moving episode, Jacki Weaver, now 56, also reveals details of her long relationship with Richard Wherrett, who died of liver failure in December 2001 after a long struggle with HIV. Wherrett was openly gay but during his lifetime he acknowledged Jacki as the most important relationship of his life. The passionate personal and professional relationship between these two icons of the arts world has been the subject of a great deal of speculation over the years. Jacki Weaver now reveals the truth about that remarkable relationship...