1 00:00:05,339 --> 00:00:07,537 I'm on a journey around Australia. 2 00:00:11,573 --> 00:00:13,572 A country the size of a continent. 3 00:00:19,207 --> 00:00:22,284 This is a vast land with extraordinary wildlife. 4 00:00:28,799 --> 00:00:31,996 A rich, booming country on the edge of Asia. 5 00:00:37,112 --> 00:00:39,190 It's not just cricket and kangaroos! 6 00:00:43,147 --> 00:00:45,145 Thanks, ladies. You're welcome. 7 00:00:46,225 --> 00:00:49,102 If you think you know Australia, think again. 8 00:00:52,579 --> 00:00:54,038 On this first leg of my journey, 9 00:00:54,138 --> 00:00:57,555 I'm travelling from the heart of the continent to the south coast 10 00:00:57,655 --> 00:01:01,572 and then across the country to the capital of Western Australia. 11 00:01:03,890 --> 00:01:08,066 On a vast outback ranch I join an extraordinary round-up. 12 00:01:08,166 --> 00:01:10,165 Jump start, bush-style! 13 00:01:12,243 --> 00:01:15,060 Give the glass a nice swirl, like that. 14 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:17,998 A legendary winemaker gives me a tasting lesson. 15 00:01:19,637 --> 00:01:21,655 This is blowsy, this is... 16 00:01:21,755 --> 00:01:24,972 This is first on the dance floor! Yes, it is! 17 00:01:25,072 --> 00:01:27,810 And I witness the effects of a water crisis 18 00:01:27,910 --> 00:01:30,927 on the world's driest inhabited continent. 19 00:01:31,027 --> 00:01:34,324 There are hundreds and hundreds of dead trees here. 20 00:01:34,424 --> 00:01:38,321 Before joining a real-life 21st-century gold rush. 21 00:01:38,421 --> 00:01:40,000 DETECTOR WHINES 22 00:01:40,100 --> 00:01:43,737 That is gold, yeah. Gold! You're onto it. Wahey! 23 00:01:58,205 --> 00:02:01,522 Now, that is... an extraordinary view. 24 00:02:05,119 --> 00:02:07,657 I'm here in the Red Centre of Australia, 25 00:02:07,757 --> 00:02:10,155 standing on the magnificent Mount Conner. 26 00:02:12,872 --> 00:02:15,370 And on this first part of my journey, 27 00:02:15,470 --> 00:02:17,329 I head towards the west coast 28 00:02:17,429 --> 00:02:19,427 and the city of Perth. 29 00:02:24,183 --> 00:02:27,400 My travels around Australia will take me thousands of miles 30 00:02:27,500 --> 00:02:31,137 across a country more than 30 times the size of the UK. 31 00:02:40,010 --> 00:02:42,428 Australia is a vast continental landmass 32 00:02:42,528 --> 00:02:46,185 that's been cut off from the rest of the world for millions of years, 33 00:02:46,285 --> 00:02:49,362 creating a unique and fragile environment. 34 00:02:54,678 --> 00:02:58,554 Hundreds of thousands of species here exist nowhere else on earth. 35 00:03:03,310 --> 00:03:06,308 But I was about to encounter a long-legged outsider. 36 00:03:12,783 --> 00:03:14,781 That is not what you expect to see, eh? 37 00:03:17,778 --> 00:03:19,777 Let's get out and see if we can get closer. 38 00:03:33,845 --> 00:03:38,101 There's a group just coming right here. 39 00:03:38,201 --> 00:03:40,200 A small herd of them. 40 00:03:43,077 --> 00:03:45,635 You can see two, four, five camels right here. 41 00:03:47,793 --> 00:03:51,091 But there are hundreds more in this area, 42 00:03:51,191 --> 00:03:53,209 thousands more in this region 43 00:03:53,309 --> 00:03:55,827 and hundreds of thousands across Australia. 44 00:03:58,065 --> 00:04:00,703 Every time we trot towards them, they trot off. 45 00:04:02,062 --> 00:04:04,340 Let's go the other side of these bushes. 46 00:04:09,096 --> 00:04:13,512 Camels have adapted perfectly to Australia. 47 00:04:13,612 --> 00:04:16,709 You could say they are a huge Australian success story. 48 00:04:16,809 --> 00:04:19,307 They we're originally introduced into the country 49 00:04:19,407 --> 00:04:21,385 to help with exploration 50 00:04:21,485 --> 00:04:26,501 and the expansion of the rail network and the telegraph network. 51 00:04:26,601 --> 00:04:28,459 Motorcars made them redundant, 52 00:04:28,559 --> 00:04:32,256 and several thousand of them were released into the outback. 53 00:04:32,356 --> 00:04:36,773 There is now thought to be about three quarters of a million camels 54 00:04:36,873 --> 00:04:39,490 roaming wild in Australia. 55 00:04:39,590 --> 00:04:42,828 They are the largest wild herd in the world. 56 00:04:44,946 --> 00:04:48,683 With no natural predators, these feral camels have thrived here 57 00:04:48,783 --> 00:04:51,340 and they're having a huge impact on this wilderness. 58 00:04:56,696 --> 00:05:00,473 Now, this is a, erm... what you call a stock fence. 59 00:05:00,573 --> 00:05:05,309 So this is running... well, it looks like kilometres in each direction, 60 00:05:05,409 --> 00:05:10,025 and this is just to keep cattle in place, we're on a farm out here. 61 00:05:10,125 --> 00:05:13,782 This land, although it does look and is fairly infertile, 62 00:05:13,882 --> 00:05:16,779 it is farmed, they do have cattle on the land. 63 00:05:16,879 --> 00:05:21,156 This keeps it in place, stops cattle, doesn't stop a camel. 64 00:05:23,434 --> 00:05:27,290 Ranching out here on this dry land is a tough business. 65 00:05:27,390 --> 00:05:29,928 In their search for water and food, camels cause 66 00:05:30,028 --> 00:05:33,066 millions of pounds' worth of damage to farms and waterholes. 67 00:05:35,344 --> 00:05:38,121 Lyndee Severin has a one million acre ranch 68 00:05:38,221 --> 00:05:40,619 that's been overrun by wild camels. 69 00:05:42,498 --> 00:05:45,555 Camels are our biggest management issue. 70 00:05:45,655 --> 00:05:48,193 How do camels cause problems for you? 71 00:05:48,293 --> 00:05:52,669 A number of ways. They do a lot of damage to infrastructure for us, 72 00:05:52,769 --> 00:05:55,147 so there's a lot of damage to fences. 73 00:05:55,247 --> 00:05:58,305 They do a lot of damage around water points and bores. 74 00:05:58,405 --> 00:06:01,222 In what way? They knock things over trying to get to the water. 75 00:06:01,322 --> 00:06:03,301 So they break things. 76 00:06:03,401 --> 00:06:06,698 So they break pumps, they break tanks, they break pipes. 77 00:06:06,798 --> 00:06:10,555 They break fences - fences have been our biggest concern. 78 00:06:13,112 --> 00:06:15,910 But Lyndee's worried about more than just damaged fences. 79 00:06:17,189 --> 00:06:19,167 A million animals in this environment 80 00:06:19,267 --> 00:06:21,685 do a lot of damage to the environment. 81 00:06:21,785 --> 00:06:24,283 They will just take everything in the landscape 82 00:06:24,383 --> 00:06:27,760 and if they destroy the trees, if they eat the grasses, 83 00:06:27,860 --> 00:06:31,077 there's no kangaroos, there's no emus. 84 00:06:31,177 --> 00:06:34,954 There's no small birds if there's no trees, there's no reptiles. 85 00:06:35,054 --> 00:06:36,713 A catastrophe, basically? Yeah. 86 00:06:36,813 --> 00:06:39,830 The fundamental issue is that there are too many. 87 00:06:39,930 --> 00:06:43,267 And what... what do you do? We shoot them. 88 00:06:43,367 --> 00:06:46,824 So we shoot the camels where we see them and we leave them. 89 00:06:46,924 --> 00:06:49,902 It's not something that we enjoy doing, 90 00:06:50,002 --> 00:06:52,080 but it's something that we have to do. 91 00:06:55,277 --> 00:06:57,256 Camels are just one of dozens of species 92 00:06:57,356 --> 00:07:00,133 that humans have introduced into Australia 93 00:07:00,233 --> 00:07:03,670 which have become a major problem for this vulnerable ecosystem. 94 00:07:07,187 --> 00:07:09,445 Culling feral camels is controversial. 95 00:07:09,545 --> 00:07:12,983 But many farmers out here don't feel they have much choice. 96 00:07:17,938 --> 00:07:21,795 I went to visit Ian Conway, who runs Kings Creek station, 97 00:07:21,895 --> 00:07:23,933 another huge cattle ranch. 98 00:07:25,692 --> 00:07:27,391 ELECTRICITY BUZZES Oh, shucks, Jesus! 99 00:07:27,491 --> 00:07:29,149 That was a bloody kick and a half! 100 00:07:29,249 --> 00:07:31,867 About 600 volts. They reckon it's good for the heart 101 00:07:31,967 --> 00:07:33,965 to get a bit of a kick now and again. 102 00:07:36,123 --> 00:07:37,542 Rather than shooting the camels, 103 00:07:37,642 --> 00:07:40,879 Ian thinks there's a better way of managing their numbers. 104 00:07:45,635 --> 00:07:48,453 I was here to join a camel round-up. 105 00:07:48,553 --> 00:07:51,031 You can get a bit of pressure on it. 106 00:07:52,070 --> 00:07:54,168 Are they likely to rip it off, or something? 107 00:07:54,268 --> 00:07:57,406 You're going to have a helicopter blowing over the top of this. Right. 108 00:07:57,506 --> 00:07:59,544 So everything has to be fairly secure. 109 00:08:01,822 --> 00:08:05,839 To round up camels in this rough, outback terrain, Ian uses 110 00:08:05,939 --> 00:08:09,735 heavily modified off-road vehicles and puts eyes in the sky. 111 00:08:13,332 --> 00:08:15,590 The area they are operating in is so huge 112 00:08:15,690 --> 00:08:19,747 that the chopper goes up to look for the mobs of camels, 113 00:08:19,847 --> 00:08:22,465 as they call them here, 114 00:08:22,565 --> 00:08:24,503 and then he's going to call in the cars 115 00:08:24,603 --> 00:08:27,321 and we're going to go out and bring the camels in. 116 00:08:35,474 --> 00:08:38,032 Finding a mob of camels here is no mean feat. 117 00:08:42,028 --> 00:08:46,185 They range over a vast area and can travel more than 40 miles in a day. 118 00:08:51,820 --> 00:08:55,477 So, Ian, what's, erm... what's happening? 119 00:08:55,577 --> 00:08:57,516 We've got the helicopter coming in. 120 00:08:57,616 --> 00:09:01,472 He's got a herd of camels coming in, it looks to be about 20 to 30 head, 121 00:09:01,572 --> 00:09:04,150 and they'll just keep moving forwards. 122 00:09:04,250 --> 00:09:06,108 So the idea is they're going to come up here, 123 00:09:06,208 --> 00:09:08,107 we're going to stay quiet while they go past, 124 00:09:08,207 --> 00:09:09,825 and then we get the cars in behind them. 125 00:09:09,925 --> 00:09:13,682 We'll get in behind and give him a hand to push them along a little quicker than they are. 126 00:09:20,117 --> 00:09:23,494 First of all, we had to get everyone up and running. 127 00:09:23,594 --> 00:09:25,592 Second gear! 128 00:09:27,750 --> 00:09:29,749 Jump start, bush-style! 129 00:09:33,306 --> 00:09:35,304 So now we're going after the camels. 130 00:09:38,462 --> 00:09:40,460 Chopper's at two o'clock. 131 00:09:43,258 --> 00:09:45,576 Here, what's that dead ahead? Look. 132 00:09:47,854 --> 00:09:49,992 Just ahead! 133 00:09:50,092 --> 00:09:54,108 Two, four, six, eight, ten, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. 134 00:09:54,208 --> 00:09:56,307 Maybe 25 there. 135 00:09:56,407 --> 00:09:58,405 25 camels. 136 00:09:59,204 --> 00:10:00,863 That is a sight. We go round the corner 137 00:10:00,963 --> 00:10:03,521 and suddenly there's a whopping great camel. 138 00:10:08,596 --> 00:10:10,854 We're just going to let them go until they get up close 139 00:10:10,954 --> 00:10:13,113 to the yards, before we do any forcing, you know. 140 00:10:14,551 --> 00:10:17,329 We'd kept the camels herded together. 141 00:10:17,429 --> 00:10:20,127 Now it was time for the trickiest part of the whole round-up - 142 00:10:20,227 --> 00:10:22,225 getting them into the holding pen. 143 00:10:24,343 --> 00:10:28,999 This is the key moment, isn't it? This is the key moment, yeah. 144 00:10:29,099 --> 00:10:30,958 You're putting your seat belt on. 145 00:10:31,058 --> 00:10:34,275 Yeah, my daughters insist, because I roll over quite often. 146 00:10:34,375 --> 00:10:36,373 Wonderful(!) 147 00:10:38,651 --> 00:10:40,650 OK, let's go, fellas. 148 00:10:45,126 --> 00:10:47,124 Where are you, Alan? Where are you? 149 00:10:48,363 --> 00:10:52,280 Ian has been mustering animals out here for more than 40 years. 150 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:55,957 It's difficult and dangerous. 151 00:10:58,715 --> 00:11:00,713 IAN WHISTLES 152 00:11:09,066 --> 00:11:11,344 Whoo! Ow, ow, ow! 153 00:11:34,325 --> 00:11:37,902 He'd managed to round up 15 of the camels. 154 00:11:38,002 --> 00:11:42,059 Ian was going to sell them on to the Middle East for their meat. 155 00:11:42,159 --> 00:11:45,456 They don't taste different to beef. You've eaten it, haven't you? Yes. 156 00:11:45,556 --> 00:11:48,653 There's no difference between camel and beef. 157 00:11:48,753 --> 00:11:51,890 In fact, to a lot of people who live on camel, like we do, 158 00:11:51,990 --> 00:11:53,249 we prefer it to beef. 159 00:11:53,349 --> 00:11:58,725 And so are all the camels that you catch and sell on sold for meat? 160 00:11:58,825 --> 00:12:00,443 No, not all of them. 161 00:12:00,543 --> 00:12:06,238 Quite a few of them are sold for riding camels and also for, um... 162 00:12:06,338 --> 00:12:08,636 Like, the Saudis are always interested in them, 163 00:12:08,736 --> 00:12:10,994 but they're looking for a specific camel. 164 00:12:11,094 --> 00:12:15,751 I've got a bloke who wants beauty camels at the moment. 165 00:12:15,851 --> 00:12:17,469 Like, these bulls are no good. 166 00:12:17,569 --> 00:12:20,267 They like the cows because they've thin heads. 167 00:12:20,367 --> 00:12:22,345 But the cows have got to have their lips hanging. 168 00:12:22,445 --> 00:12:24,443 For what reason, I don't know. 169 00:12:25,203 --> 00:12:27,661 It may seem harsh for these camels to be rounded up 170 00:12:27,761 --> 00:12:30,498 because they're pretty or to be sold on for meat, 171 00:12:30,598 --> 00:12:33,895 but few experts doubt that camel numbers need controlling. 172 00:12:33,995 --> 00:12:37,373 And Ian thinks a round-up is more humane than the alternative. 173 00:12:37,473 --> 00:12:40,090 They just shoot them and they lay on the ground, and that's it. 174 00:12:40,190 --> 00:12:41,289 Nothing is done with them. 175 00:12:41,389 --> 00:12:44,007 We don't know whether there's any system of where they might 176 00:12:44,107 --> 00:12:47,164 go along and check to see if they're dead or whatever they are. 177 00:12:47,264 --> 00:12:49,842 So they might lay there for a few days. 178 00:12:49,942 --> 00:12:51,441 What would you like to see happen? 179 00:12:51,541 --> 00:12:54,199 I'd like to see them come into a yard like this 180 00:12:54,299 --> 00:12:56,237 and be sent away and sold as meat, 181 00:12:56,337 --> 00:12:59,574 or riding camels or whatever else you can pull out of it. 182 00:13:01,972 --> 00:13:03,950 At the moment, a lack of abattoirs means 183 00:13:04,050 --> 00:13:06,548 that in many outback areas it isn't cost-effective 184 00:13:06,648 --> 00:13:08,946 to round up camels and sell them for their meat. 185 00:13:09,046 --> 00:13:11,504 But Ian's convinced that, with the right investment, 186 00:13:11,604 --> 00:13:16,120 this can be a profitable way of protecting ranches and the environment. 187 00:13:20,916 --> 00:13:25,093 I left Kings Creek in the dusty heart of the country. 188 00:13:25,193 --> 00:13:28,710 The neighbouring state is South Australia. 189 00:13:33,946 --> 00:13:38,082 South Australia is the driest state in the whole country. 190 00:13:38,182 --> 00:13:41,379 But farmers here have managed to make the outback bloom. 191 00:13:43,218 --> 00:13:45,576 These look like... Are these fruit trees? 192 00:13:47,214 --> 00:13:49,073 I was travelling through an area 193 00:13:49,173 --> 00:13:51,551 that produces vast quantities of fruit. 194 00:13:51,651 --> 00:13:54,768 And one crop in particular has put it on the map. 195 00:14:01,563 --> 00:14:04,180 Bill Hardy is the great-great-grandson 196 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:08,197 of the founder of one of the world's best-known wine brands, Hardys. 197 00:14:13,073 --> 00:14:15,651 What should I be looking for? OK. 198 00:14:15,751 --> 00:14:19,208 If you're going to do it strictly, you should look at colour first. 199 00:14:19,308 --> 00:14:23,045 Get a lovely backdrop. Look at the colour of that. Isn't it beautiful? 200 00:14:23,145 --> 00:14:27,441 It's got a nice straw-yellow colour. It's not light and green yellow. 201 00:14:27,541 --> 00:14:31,797 It is a strawy yellow. Yeah. This is good language. 202 00:14:31,897 --> 00:14:34,435 And when do I start getting a sense of vanilla? 203 00:14:34,535 --> 00:14:38,112 Give the glass a nice swirl like that. Can we try it, Bill? Yes. 204 00:14:38,212 --> 00:14:40,510 You're allowed to put it on the palate. 205 00:14:40,610 --> 00:14:43,707 Leave it there for three or four seconds. 206 00:14:43,807 --> 00:14:45,786 Let it move around your mouth. 207 00:14:45,886 --> 00:14:49,463 Let it warm up in your mouth and it will release more flavour. 208 00:14:49,563 --> 00:14:51,980 Yeah, as something gets warmer, it releases more flavour. 209 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:53,179 HE MAKES MUFFLED SOUNDS 210 00:14:53,279 --> 00:14:55,498 No, no! Swallow, swallow! 211 00:14:55,598 --> 00:14:58,335 Ah. It's much better that way. 212 00:14:58,435 --> 00:15:00,034 I thought you were supposed to spit it out. It's delicious. 213 00:15:00,114 --> 00:15:03,851 It is good, isn't it? Delicious. Very much an Aussie Chardonnay. 214 00:15:03,951 --> 00:15:07,528 It's quite big and rich in body, quite a lot of flavour. 215 00:15:07,628 --> 00:15:12,004 It's not a light, thin, aromatic wine. 216 00:15:12,104 --> 00:15:14,801 'As I talked to this aristocrat of the wine world, 217 00:15:14,901 --> 00:15:17,399 'I was hoping to pick up just a bit of the lingo.' 218 00:15:17,499 --> 00:15:21,296 So I know what I'm looking for now. It's a swirl. Yep. A sniff. 219 00:15:22,455 --> 00:15:26,512 And a swallow. It's a big wine, but it's not aggressive in any way. 220 00:15:26,612 --> 00:15:29,509 It's got a generosity to it. A gener...! 221 00:15:29,609 --> 00:15:31,588 Yeah. How do you keep this up when...? 222 00:15:31,688 --> 00:15:35,824 We talk about it being voluptuous often. This is blowsy, this is... 223 00:15:35,924 --> 00:15:39,001 This is first on the dance floor. Yes, it is! 224 00:15:40,081 --> 00:15:44,936 This saucy little Shiraz has its roots in the region's dry land. 225 00:15:45,036 --> 00:15:47,055 All of the vines here need tender care 226 00:15:47,155 --> 00:15:50,132 and, of course, plenty of water. 227 00:15:50,232 --> 00:15:52,170 They look in good nick. 228 00:15:52,270 --> 00:15:55,128 Vines would not exist here unless you irrigated them. 229 00:15:55,228 --> 00:16:01,762 A vine tends to need 600, 700mm of rain to work properly. 230 00:16:01,862 --> 00:16:05,679 So we need to irrigate. And that's what's going on here? It is. 231 00:16:05,779 --> 00:16:11,474 So you are watering tens of thousands of vines, presumably, this way? Yes, yes. 232 00:16:11,574 --> 00:16:14,951 'These vines drink millions of gallons of water, 233 00:16:15,051 --> 00:16:18,668 'which is pumped out of South Australia's main river system.' 234 00:16:18,768 --> 00:16:21,506 What sort of figures, in terms of bottles, 235 00:16:21,606 --> 00:16:25,343 is your company producing each year? Well, the overall group these days 236 00:16:25,443 --> 00:16:30,119 produces somewhere around the 20 to 25 million bottles a year. 237 00:16:31,478 --> 00:16:35,015 20 to 25 million bottles? That's... 238 00:16:35,115 --> 00:16:37,493 That would supply a country, wouldn't it? 239 00:16:37,593 --> 00:16:40,091 HE CHUCKLES It probably would. 240 00:16:40,191 --> 00:16:43,488 In fact, it supplies about 80 countries around the world. 241 00:16:43,588 --> 00:16:46,725 This isn't rustic wine-making, of course. 242 00:16:46,825 --> 00:16:50,902 This region is producing wine on a truly industrial scale. 243 00:16:54,938 --> 00:16:57,396 Just a few miles from Hardys vineyard 244 00:16:57,496 --> 00:17:00,334 is the biggest winery in the southern hemisphere. 245 00:17:03,291 --> 00:17:05,290 Oh, my goodness. 246 00:17:07,128 --> 00:17:09,126 Yeah, so a sea of tanks. 247 00:17:11,724 --> 00:17:13,543 The scale of this! 248 00:17:13,643 --> 00:17:15,501 So each of these tanks 249 00:17:15,601 --> 00:17:20,937 can hold roughly 350,000 bottles of wine, 250 00:17:21,037 --> 00:17:24,374 and they've got a thousand of them. 251 00:17:24,474 --> 00:17:30,988 So, er... 350 million bottles of wine at this one facility. 252 00:17:33,346 --> 00:17:36,603 Of course, if you're going to put a decent bottle of wine 253 00:17:36,703 --> 00:17:39,121 on a table in Britain for a few quid, 254 00:17:39,221 --> 00:17:41,360 this is how you have to make it. 255 00:17:41,460 --> 00:17:45,576 It has to be done industrially, and the process has to be mechanised. 256 00:17:48,973 --> 00:17:52,230 Australia has changed the way the world drinks wine 257 00:17:52,330 --> 00:17:54,948 with mass production, big-name brands like Hardys 258 00:17:55,048 --> 00:17:57,047 and clever marketing. 259 00:17:58,126 --> 00:18:00,124 Whoa! 260 00:18:02,962 --> 00:18:08,057 Central to the entire wine-making process is vast quantities of water. 261 00:18:08,157 --> 00:18:11,574 It's estimated that on average it takes around 500 litres 262 00:18:11,674 --> 00:18:14,012 to make a single bottle of wine. 263 00:18:14,112 --> 00:18:18,089 The precious resource is carefully managed here. 264 00:18:18,189 --> 00:18:20,707 But this region still faces a water crisis. 265 00:18:24,024 --> 00:18:26,522 For those of us who come from countries 266 00:18:26,622 --> 00:18:29,999 where water does fall quite regularly from the sky, 267 00:18:30,099 --> 00:18:34,835 we can very easily forget how utterly fundamental, erm... 268 00:18:34,935 --> 00:18:39,551 drops, pints, gallons, gigalitres of water is 269 00:18:39,651 --> 00:18:43,188 in creating and sustaining communities in a dry place like this. 270 00:18:43,288 --> 00:18:46,046 If you haven't got the water, you don't have life. 271 00:18:47,485 --> 00:18:52,181 And it's very easy for us all to take it for granted. 272 00:18:52,281 --> 00:18:54,878 But here, it's such a precious resource. 273 00:18:57,756 --> 00:19:00,294 The River Murray is the longest river in Australia, 274 00:19:00,394 --> 00:19:04,011 running for more than 1,400 miles. 275 00:19:04,111 --> 00:19:07,328 I was heading to meet environmental engineer Tim Stubbs, 276 00:19:07,428 --> 00:19:10,086 who was taking me out on the water. 277 00:19:10,186 --> 00:19:11,445 Tim? 278 00:19:11,545 --> 00:19:13,962 How are you doing? Doing very well, thank you. 279 00:19:14,062 --> 00:19:15,841 Flipping heck, look at this! 280 00:19:15,941 --> 00:19:18,718 This is a houseboat, one of the best ways to see the river 281 00:19:18,818 --> 00:19:21,616 and actually understand it. How are you doing? Thank you. 282 00:19:24,933 --> 00:19:26,932 Get off! 283 00:19:32,008 --> 00:19:34,545 Along with its major tributary, the Darling, 284 00:19:34,645 --> 00:19:37,423 the River Murray forms one of the most important river basins 285 00:19:37,523 --> 00:19:41,520 in the world, with a catchment area twice the size of Spain. 286 00:19:44,597 --> 00:19:47,395 This is Australia's Mississippi. 287 00:19:48,634 --> 00:19:50,632 It really is. 288 00:19:52,271 --> 00:19:58,266 This vital agricultural region is completely dependent on fresh water from the Murray-Darling. 289 00:20:00,384 --> 00:20:03,002 It's not just the wine producers that are drawing water 290 00:20:03,102 --> 00:20:06,819 from these rivers, and they're by no means the thirstiest. 291 00:20:08,737 --> 00:20:11,035 There are cotton farmers and even rice paddies here, 292 00:20:11,135 --> 00:20:14,232 which can use more than 2,000 litres of water 293 00:20:14,332 --> 00:20:16,411 to make a single kilo of rice. 294 00:20:21,406 --> 00:20:25,103 Why is what has been happening here with the Murray-Darling so important? 295 00:20:25,203 --> 00:20:29,699 The Murray-Darling is just a microcosm for what is happening around the world. 296 00:20:29,799 --> 00:20:33,097 Our fresh water, both here and around the world, is critical 297 00:20:33,197 --> 00:20:36,454 to how we are going to continue to survive as a human race 298 00:20:36,554 --> 00:20:40,291 and it will be critical to geopolitics around the world. 299 00:20:40,391 --> 00:20:45,366 The next great migrations, I think, will be partially based on fresh water and how we use it. 300 00:20:45,466 --> 00:20:49,003 Do you mean that we have been overusing our freshwater supplies 301 00:20:49,103 --> 00:20:51,002 and just taking it for granted? I think we have. 302 00:20:51,102 --> 00:20:54,199 There's a rule of thumb that is used in Australia that says 303 00:20:54,299 --> 00:20:57,556 if you have two thirds of the natural flow in the river, 304 00:20:57,656 --> 00:20:58,755 your river should be OK. 305 00:20:58,855 --> 00:21:00,953 That kind of says there is a third there 306 00:21:01,053 --> 00:21:04,031 that we can use for irrigation and different industry 307 00:21:04,131 --> 00:21:07,228 and still have a healthy, functioning river system. 308 00:21:07,328 --> 00:21:10,645 But the problem for us in Australia is we've gone too far. 309 00:21:13,843 --> 00:21:17,699 Tim's research suggests that more than 60% of the natural flow 310 00:21:17,799 --> 00:21:21,177 of the Murray system is now being diverted to provide water 311 00:21:21,277 --> 00:21:23,814 for farms, homes and businesses. 312 00:21:23,914 --> 00:21:28,950 And that's having serious consequences for some parts of this river basin. 313 00:21:31,308 --> 00:21:33,247 Bloody hell. 314 00:21:33,347 --> 00:21:35,365 It's devastating. 315 00:21:35,465 --> 00:21:38,542 There are hundreds and hundreds of dead trees here. 316 00:21:44,018 --> 00:21:49,193 This is what made people in Australia start to stop and think we need to change what we are doing. 317 00:21:49,293 --> 00:21:51,311 This is an indicator of what's coming. 318 00:21:51,411 --> 00:21:54,908 If we want to live here and if we want to irrigate for the next 50, 319 00:21:55,008 --> 00:21:58,426 100 and 150 years, we need to get this right. 320 00:21:58,526 --> 00:22:00,064 If this river system crashes 321 00:22:00,164 --> 00:22:03,901 and the devastation we see here extends up and down the system, 322 00:22:04,001 --> 00:22:06,938 we're not going to have a healthy river for our healthy industries, 323 00:22:07,038 --> 00:22:09,456 and then we are not going to have healthy communities. 324 00:22:09,556 --> 00:22:12,734 The Australian government is now regulating how much water 325 00:22:12,834 --> 00:22:15,611 farmers can take out of the Murray Basin. 326 00:22:15,711 --> 00:22:18,749 But critics like Tim don't think they're doing enough. 327 00:22:21,586 --> 00:22:25,603 This is something that is going to be a much bigger issue in the century we're in now 328 00:22:25,703 --> 00:22:28,441 than it perhaps has been in centuries past, 329 00:22:28,541 --> 00:22:30,239 when there were fewer of us 330 00:22:30,339 --> 00:22:33,916 and the demands on our freshwater supply were much lower. 331 00:22:34,016 --> 00:22:37,953 What Australia is experiencing here now is something 332 00:22:38,053 --> 00:22:40,511 that's going to start affecting many more countries 333 00:22:40,611 --> 00:22:44,108 and hundreds of millions more people around the world. 334 00:22:44,208 --> 00:22:46,206 BIRD SQUAWKS 335 00:22:49,044 --> 00:22:52,780 I left the Murray River and headed west towards Port Lincoln, 336 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:55,318 known as the fishing capital of Australia. 337 00:23:04,870 --> 00:23:08,667 This looks like a prosperous and comfortable little town. 338 00:23:09,706 --> 00:23:12,584 Port Lincoln has grown rich fishing for tuna. 339 00:23:18,899 --> 00:23:22,036 Before dawn the next morning, I headed to the dock to join 340 00:23:22,136 --> 00:23:26,392 one of the scores of commercial fishing boats based in the town. 341 00:23:26,492 --> 00:23:30,689 It's ten to six on a Wednesday morning. We're heading out to sea. 342 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,138 The boat took us out into the Southern Ocean 343 00:23:43,238 --> 00:23:45,517 and some of the roughest waters on the planet. 344 00:23:49,313 --> 00:23:52,051 The pens out here are what we are heading for, 345 00:23:52,151 --> 00:23:56,188 because the guys we're with are more like farmers than fishermen. 346 00:23:57,706 --> 00:24:00,164 These pens, which are anchored to the ocean floor, 347 00:24:00,264 --> 00:24:03,621 are stocked with southern bluefin tuna. 348 00:24:05,140 --> 00:24:08,517 Captain Ben Bartley and his crew caught the fish in the open ocean 349 00:24:08,617 --> 00:24:12,754 and herded them here to these pens, where they will fatten and grow. 350 00:24:12,854 --> 00:24:15,272 It's known as tuna ranching. 351 00:24:15,372 --> 00:24:18,389 How long ago were this lot caught? Two weeks ago, these ones. Right. 352 00:24:18,489 --> 00:24:22,626 And they've just been transferred into these holding cages a week ago. 353 00:24:22,726 --> 00:24:24,944 So you're fattening them up, basically? 354 00:24:25,044 --> 00:24:28,241 Yeah. They should almost double in size in the next six months. 355 00:24:31,318 --> 00:24:33,696 To monitor their progress, specialist divers 356 00:24:33,796 --> 00:24:36,514 check on the fish every day, and I was going to join them. 357 00:24:43,748 --> 00:24:47,325 The southern bluefin tuna can grow to more than 2m long 358 00:24:47,425 --> 00:24:49,583 and weigh nearly a quarter of a tonne. 359 00:24:51,302 --> 00:24:54,739 But it can still propel itself to more than 40 miles an hour. 360 00:24:55,818 --> 00:24:59,095 It's a magnificent, elegant and powerful fish. 361 00:25:02,213 --> 00:25:04,151 It is a weird sight. 362 00:25:04,251 --> 00:25:07,089 Like being on the hard shoulder of a motorway. 363 00:25:08,847 --> 00:25:13,303 They zip past you and every so often a tuna will suddenly accelerate 364 00:25:13,403 --> 00:25:17,040 to super-fast speed, like a cheetah or something. 365 00:25:20,717 --> 00:25:24,094 This fish is a delicacy beloved of sushi eaters, 366 00:25:24,194 --> 00:25:27,552 making it the most lucrative commercial fish in the world. 367 00:25:30,549 --> 00:25:32,807 When fully grown and flown off to Japan, 368 00:25:32,907 --> 00:25:36,025 the fish in this pen should be worth millions of pounds. 369 00:25:37,264 --> 00:25:40,721 The value we put on this creature means that, in recent decades, 370 00:25:40,821 --> 00:25:45,057 bluefin tuna has been heavily over-fished from our oceans. 371 00:25:48,494 --> 00:25:51,711 Tuna ranching like this allows the authorities to monitor 372 00:25:51,811 --> 00:25:54,989 the catch and regulate the amount of fish caught. 373 00:25:55,089 --> 00:26:00,444 Nevertheless, the southern bluefin is still classed as critically endangered in the wild. 374 00:26:07,079 --> 00:26:10,696 Tuna ranching has made Port Lincoln rich 375 00:26:10,796 --> 00:26:13,293 and the city is believed to have one of the highest number 376 00:26:13,393 --> 00:26:15,991 of millionaires per capita in the southern hemisphere. 377 00:26:21,107 --> 00:26:23,585 I went to meet one of the richest men in town. 378 00:26:28,101 --> 00:26:30,559 Afternoon. Good afternoon, how are you? 379 00:26:30,659 --> 00:26:32,158 Hello, I'm Simon Reeve. 380 00:26:32,258 --> 00:26:34,636 Welcome to my humble cottage! 381 00:26:34,736 --> 00:26:38,393 Your humble cottage is quite large, Hagen. 382 00:26:38,493 --> 00:26:42,589 'Hagen Stehr is a German-born fisherman who jumped ship here in 1960 383 00:26:42,689 --> 00:26:45,147 'with just $3 in his pocket.' 384 00:26:45,247 --> 00:26:47,305 They put me in jail for two days or three days, 385 00:26:47,405 --> 00:26:50,343 and then they threw me out of jail and said, "Now do some work." 386 00:26:50,443 --> 00:26:56,298 They said if you don't get drunk for six months, you've got the makings of a good Australian. 387 00:26:56,398 --> 00:26:59,095 And that was 53 years ago, and I'm still here, 388 00:26:59,195 --> 00:27:01,054 in the greatest country in the world. 389 00:27:01,154 --> 00:27:06,010 When I arrived here, tuna fishing was just starting here in Port Lincoln 390 00:27:06,110 --> 00:27:09,367 and they were catching fish with small vessels. 391 00:27:09,467 --> 00:27:14,722 It was sort of dog eat dog and very fierce in the early stages. 392 00:27:14,822 --> 00:27:18,239 'Fishing here developed into a huge industry. 393 00:27:18,339 --> 00:27:21,996 'But Hagen now believes we can't keep emptying the seas of fish.' 394 00:27:22,096 --> 00:27:24,314 The government know for the future 395 00:27:24,414 --> 00:27:30,309 food security will become more and more and more relevant in years to come. 396 00:27:30,409 --> 00:27:32,707 1.3 billion people in China. 397 00:27:32,807 --> 00:27:39,702 Ten years ago, each Chinese person ate between 9 to 10 kilos of fish. 398 00:27:39,802 --> 00:27:44,418 The latest figures coming out are saying that, in another 15 years, 399 00:27:44,518 --> 00:27:47,455 that will go up to 30 kilo. 400 00:27:47,555 --> 00:27:49,553 Where is it going to come from? 401 00:27:51,831 --> 00:27:56,987 With wild tuna stocks collapsing around the world, Hagen has come up with a new plan. 402 00:27:58,386 --> 00:28:02,443 The Holy Grail, really, for fish farmers is to be able 403 00:28:02,543 --> 00:28:06,579 to breed their fish under relatively controlled circumstances. 404 00:28:07,778 --> 00:28:10,276 And I'm on my way to a fairly secret facility 405 00:28:10,376 --> 00:28:12,614 where they're trying to do just that. 406 00:28:13,973 --> 00:28:16,031 Hagen has invested millions of pounds 407 00:28:16,131 --> 00:28:18,130 in a secretive new venture. 408 00:28:24,804 --> 00:28:27,742 What is it you're doing here? We're developing new technology. 409 00:28:27,842 --> 00:28:29,580 It's costing a lot of money to get it going, 410 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:34,116 so we try to restrict access to it, and that's why it's no windows! 411 00:28:38,553 --> 00:28:43,429 Dr Craig Foster has worked at the cutting edge of the fisheries industry for 20 years. 412 00:28:44,468 --> 00:28:47,085 The fish in here cost us multi-millions to get in here 413 00:28:47,185 --> 00:28:51,242 and we look after them 12 months a year, 365 days, 24 hours a day, 414 00:28:51,342 --> 00:28:54,479 and I don't want to take any chances in losing them. 415 00:28:54,579 --> 00:28:57,497 In case you've been somewhere you shouldn't have been. 416 00:29:00,055 --> 00:29:03,692 OK. My goodness. This is our brood-stock tank. 417 00:29:05,810 --> 00:29:10,346 It's huge! You get a better view from up here. 418 00:29:10,446 --> 00:29:13,463 They're massive. Look at the size of them! 419 00:29:13,563 --> 00:29:15,702 These fish, they're about 150 kilos, 420 00:29:15,802 --> 00:29:18,020 they're about as long as you and me. 421 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:21,017 The technology Craig's team are developing could mean 422 00:29:21,117 --> 00:29:26,692 that, one day, wild southern bluefin tuna no longer need to be fished from our oceans. 423 00:29:26,792 --> 00:29:29,290 They're trying to breed the tuna, 424 00:29:29,390 --> 00:29:31,888 but it's not as easy as you might think. 425 00:29:31,988 --> 00:29:36,964 This tank is all about reliably producing eggs to enable us to produce juveniles. 426 00:29:37,064 --> 00:29:40,481 Why is it so hard to get them to breed in this sort of situation? 427 00:29:40,581 --> 00:29:43,079 Because the reality is there is very little known about them. 428 00:29:43,179 --> 00:29:45,077 These tuna are temperature spawners, 429 00:29:45,177 --> 00:29:48,714 so their major breeding cycle is governed by temperature. 430 00:29:48,814 --> 00:29:52,731 Naturally, they'd spawn in the Java Sea at about 27 degrees. 431 00:29:53,970 --> 00:29:58,366 In the wild, tuna only breed after they migrate thousands of miles. 432 00:29:59,565 --> 00:30:03,302 To recreate those conditions, this state-of-the-art facility 433 00:30:03,402 --> 00:30:05,740 mimics the daylight, moonlight 434 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:08,298 and water temperatures that they'd encounter 435 00:30:08,398 --> 00:30:11,355 on that epic journey around Australia to the Java Sea. 436 00:30:16,191 --> 00:30:18,250 So are you businessmen, businesspeople, 437 00:30:18,350 --> 00:30:21,207 or are you conservationists, or a bit of both? 438 00:30:21,307 --> 00:30:23,565 Though we're not doing this as a conservation project, 439 00:30:23,665 --> 00:30:26,323 there is a declining supply of tuna. 440 00:30:26,423 --> 00:30:30,439 With declining supply becomes increasing prices. 441 00:30:30,539 --> 00:30:34,236 So there's an opportunity to support that supply 442 00:30:34,336 --> 00:30:37,514 and take the pressure off the wild fishery 443 00:30:37,614 --> 00:30:39,991 by producing it in a farm manner. 444 00:30:40,091 --> 00:30:41,870 Hopefully, if we can succeed, 445 00:30:41,970 --> 00:30:44,308 we will take pressure off fishing stocks 446 00:30:44,408 --> 00:30:48,564 and the world will go on as we would have found it years ago. 447 00:30:50,443 --> 00:30:53,340 Southern bluefin tuna have been successfully spawned 448 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:57,817 at this research centre - the first time ever in captivity. 449 00:30:57,917 --> 00:31:00,035 But that's only the first stage. 450 00:31:01,913 --> 00:31:03,892 You probably need your glasses on for this, 451 00:31:03,992 --> 00:31:08,887 but these are tuna eggs, gold dust! Look at that. 452 00:31:08,987 --> 00:31:12,844 Those things will grow into a fish very rapidly, hatch within 30 hours. 453 00:31:12,944 --> 00:31:17,840 But if all the tuna in here were to grow to full size 454 00:31:17,940 --> 00:31:21,917 and be sold on to a market in Japan, let's say, 455 00:31:22,017 --> 00:31:25,234 that could be £200-300,000 of fish. 456 00:31:25,334 --> 00:31:27,692 Correct. And I'd be a happy person. 457 00:31:28,851 --> 00:31:31,109 If they can raise tuna to full size, 458 00:31:31,209 --> 00:31:33,827 they may be able to change how we fish our oceans 459 00:31:33,927 --> 00:31:36,724 and help save the southern bluefin tuna. 460 00:31:39,122 --> 00:31:41,740 Of course, it is sad to see such magnificent creatures 461 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:44,977 being held captive like this and farmed. 462 00:31:45,077 --> 00:31:49,374 But we've been doing the same to cattle for thousands of years. 463 00:31:49,474 --> 00:31:51,732 And at the moment the human population of the planet 464 00:31:51,832 --> 00:31:53,890 is increasing by tens of millions every year. 465 00:31:53,990 --> 00:31:56,728 We're emptying our oceans of fish. 466 00:31:56,828 --> 00:32:01,763 Maybe fish farming, aquaculture, can play a role in finding 467 00:32:01,863 --> 00:32:06,579 a solution which feeds humans, but protects life in our seas. 468 00:32:16,731 --> 00:32:18,230 The sun's going down, 469 00:32:18,330 --> 00:32:20,548 and we've got another couple of hours of driving to do 470 00:32:20,648 --> 00:32:23,305 before we going to get to Port Augusta, 471 00:32:23,405 --> 00:32:25,783 which is our next destination, 472 00:32:25,883 --> 00:32:28,022 and there we're supposed to be hopping on a train 473 00:32:28,122 --> 00:32:30,180 which is going to take us west. 474 00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:31,818 But it's going to be quite tight, 475 00:32:31,918 --> 00:32:35,715 and the problem with this train is it only goes once a week. 476 00:32:37,274 --> 00:32:40,971 The town of Port Augusta was a quick drive by Australian standards - 477 00:32:41,071 --> 00:32:44,248 just 140 miles further along the coast. 478 00:32:44,348 --> 00:32:46,346 It's ten o'clock now. 479 00:32:46,986 --> 00:32:48,984 The train comes in soon. 480 00:32:50,143 --> 00:32:52,661 The train station, I can see, is over there. 481 00:32:54,819 --> 00:32:58,276 The Pichi Richi Railway Station. 482 00:32:58,376 --> 00:33:01,294 OK. I'll stop here. 483 00:33:07,729 --> 00:33:12,205 I'm really looking forward to this, I love travelling by train. 484 00:33:15,882 --> 00:33:19,858 And to be honest, Australia was pretty much designed for it, 485 00:33:19,958 --> 00:33:26,113 being utterly vast and having roads that never seem to end. 486 00:33:30,709 --> 00:33:32,708 Thank you. 487 00:33:34,107 --> 00:33:37,024 We're just going to lock the doors and we'll be on our way. Thank you. 488 00:33:44,338 --> 00:33:46,336 Oh, wow. 489 00:33:48,734 --> 00:33:52,951 Bathroom's in there. It's pretty easy to work out. The bathroom, yeah. 490 00:33:53,051 --> 00:33:55,269 You've got your towels and stuff here. 491 00:33:55,369 --> 00:33:58,027 It's rather flashy, isn't it? It is, yeah. 492 00:33:58,127 --> 00:34:02,263 This is much better than driving. OK. Just a little. Thank you. 493 00:34:02,363 --> 00:34:04,941 Breakfast runs from 6:30 to 8:30. 494 00:34:05,041 --> 00:34:09,617 Keep going till I can smell bacon, basically! Yeah! OK. Thank you. 495 00:34:09,717 --> 00:34:11,715 No worries. 496 00:34:12,555 --> 00:34:13,933 HE EXHALES DEEPLY 497 00:34:14,033 --> 00:34:16,232 Oh, lovely, lovely. 498 00:34:18,110 --> 00:34:20,108 Sleep well. 499 00:34:28,022 --> 00:34:31,519 The Indian Pacific Railway runs all the way across Australia 500 00:34:31,619 --> 00:34:33,477 from coast to coast. 501 00:34:33,577 --> 00:34:36,714 It's an astonishing 2,700 miles - 502 00:34:36,814 --> 00:34:39,852 further than a journey from London to Baghdad. 503 00:34:45,327 --> 00:34:50,603 "Available till 8:30 this morning, breakfast from the Queen Adelaide restaurant car." 504 00:34:53,161 --> 00:34:56,138 It's one of the world's greatest train journeys 505 00:34:56,238 --> 00:34:58,436 and carries 60,000 people a year. 506 00:35:08,548 --> 00:35:11,805 So we are now at the start of the Nullarbor Plain, 507 00:35:11,905 --> 00:35:15,922 a vast area of flat nothingness in some ways, 508 00:35:16,022 --> 00:35:18,260 but starkly beautiful in its own right. 509 00:35:23,895 --> 00:35:26,833 The world's longest straight stretch of railway track took me 510 00:35:26,933 --> 00:35:30,630 across the Nullarbor Plain and into the state of Western Australia, 511 00:35:30,730 --> 00:35:34,886 where I hopped off the train at the city of Kalgoorlie. 512 00:35:41,161 --> 00:35:45,897 In the late 1800s, three Irishmen, who stopped here to shoe a horse, 513 00:35:45,997 --> 00:35:48,814 found gold nuggets lying on the ground. 514 00:35:48,914 --> 00:35:52,871 So began one of the largest gold rushes in history. 515 00:35:54,190 --> 00:35:58,366 Thousands flooded into this remote region to make their fortune. 516 00:35:58,466 --> 00:36:02,083 When gold prices rocketed after the recent global financial crisis, 517 00:36:02,183 --> 00:36:04,621 a new gold rush began. 518 00:36:05,860 --> 00:36:08,278 Look. 519 00:36:08,378 --> 00:36:12,894 Hey, guys. Hello, Ted? Simon, Simon Reeve. Pleased to meet you, mate. 520 00:36:14,014 --> 00:36:17,231 'Ted Mahoney is one of the biggest gold dealers in town.' 521 00:36:17,331 --> 00:36:20,548 Are people still coming in from outside the area, 522 00:36:20,648 --> 00:36:24,784 are people coming here drawn by the obvious ancient lure of gold? Oh, mate... 523 00:36:24,884 --> 00:36:28,541 Gold prices are very high, which draws a lot of people. 524 00:36:28,641 --> 00:36:31,419 And you're buying gold from people who are prospecting 525 00:36:31,519 --> 00:36:35,815 just in this area? Every day. That's what our shop runs on. 526 00:36:35,915 --> 00:36:38,933 That's all we do, is just buy gold. 527 00:36:39,033 --> 00:36:41,690 'And some of the locals are striking it rich.' 528 00:36:41,790 --> 00:36:43,089 Simon, hello. Hello. 529 00:36:43,189 --> 00:36:46,227 Can we see what you've brought in? Yes, certainly. 530 00:36:48,505 --> 00:36:52,541 Look at this! That's probably about a kilo of raw gold. 531 00:36:53,661 --> 00:36:59,156 At today's prices, a kilo of pure gold is worth around £30,000. 532 00:36:59,256 --> 00:37:02,713 I told you it was a kilo. Yeah, 18 grams out. 533 00:37:02,813 --> 00:37:06,550 They say the streets are covered with... SIMON LAUGHS LOUDLY 534 00:37:06,650 --> 00:37:09,108 Congratulations on this. 535 00:37:09,208 --> 00:37:11,026 You're very calm about it. 536 00:37:11,126 --> 00:37:14,343 You should take some time off now. No, I don't like taking time off. 537 00:37:14,443 --> 00:37:17,940 Thank you so much. Best of luck. Cheers. We'll see you again, eh? 538 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:21,098 Hopefully. He's still going to be out there getting more. 539 00:37:21,198 --> 00:37:24,215 Yeah. One kilo is not enough. 540 00:37:24,315 --> 00:37:29,491 Last year, the year before, we had a 24 kilo nugget come in. A 24 kilo nugget. 541 00:37:29,591 --> 00:37:34,287 They're still out there. Yeah. Found by a guy with a metal detector, mate! 542 00:37:34,387 --> 00:37:37,844 He thought it was a tin can, dug it out and there was gold. Oh! 543 00:37:37,944 --> 00:37:41,641 They're drawn by the lure of gold because people are still finding gold. 544 00:37:41,741 --> 00:37:47,196 It is a very sort of fundamental human desire, isn't it? 545 00:37:47,296 --> 00:37:49,954 It is so attractive and shiny! 546 00:37:50,054 --> 00:37:53,810 You live with this all the time. That's gold fever. That's gold fever 547 00:37:58,247 --> 00:38:02,603 With 24 kilo nuggets still being found, I headed straight for the hills. 548 00:38:04,402 --> 00:38:08,698 I was meeting a family who've moved to Kalgoorlie to seek their fortune. 549 00:38:08,798 --> 00:38:10,796 Now, where are they? 550 00:38:14,833 --> 00:38:18,170 Steve? How are you? Rowanne? Morning. 551 00:38:18,270 --> 00:38:20,248 Morning, morning, morning. Simon. 552 00:38:20,348 --> 00:38:22,407 It's a lovely morning after the rain. SIMON LAUGHS 553 00:38:22,507 --> 00:38:27,322 Hello. Hello, my dear. Hello! Who are you? Teela. 554 00:38:27,422 --> 00:38:31,479 Teela. She's got the spade. It's a family affair. It is. 555 00:38:31,579 --> 00:38:33,917 METAL DETECTOR WHISTLES 556 00:38:34,017 --> 00:38:37,754 Steve Smith and his wife Rowanne try to get out here every weekend 557 00:38:37,854 --> 00:38:39,552 with their metal detectors, 558 00:38:39,652 --> 00:38:42,110 and they've had their fair share of luck. 559 00:38:42,210 --> 00:38:43,269 What's this here? 560 00:38:43,369 --> 00:38:46,886 A gold nugget Steve found. He found that? 561 00:38:48,085 --> 00:38:52,022 That is the sort of thing that is out here... under the ground. 562 00:38:52,122 --> 00:38:56,019 METAL DETECTOR WHISTLES 563 00:38:56,119 --> 00:39:00,775 My chance... My bit now. This is your part of fame. 564 00:39:00,875 --> 00:39:05,451 Just loosen the ground up around where you think it is. 565 00:39:05,551 --> 00:39:07,009 There could be gold right here. 566 00:39:07,109 --> 00:39:10,087 There could be. Get in with your hand. 567 00:39:10,187 --> 00:39:14,243 Nothing in that. There you go, there's something there. 568 00:39:14,343 --> 00:39:16,761 DETECTOR BEEPS QUICKEN 569 00:39:16,861 --> 00:39:20,778 What's that? It looks like a bit of an old lead shot. 570 00:39:22,617 --> 00:39:24,715 MUTED WHISTLING 571 00:39:24,815 --> 00:39:30,270 Another lovely bit of rubbish, an old bullet, an old.22. That really is. Look. 572 00:39:30,370 --> 00:39:32,748 When the gold rush really started here, 573 00:39:32,848 --> 00:39:37,104 it was really like the Wild West, and robbers would shoot anybody 574 00:39:37,204 --> 00:39:40,182 if they had gold or they knew where it was as well. 575 00:39:40,282 --> 00:39:42,580 I suppose knowing where the gold was 576 00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:46,337 was almost as valuable as having it in the first place. 577 00:39:46,437 --> 00:39:47,416 Yep, yep. 578 00:39:47,516 --> 00:39:50,613 So information and knowledge became very precious, didn't? 579 00:39:50,713 --> 00:39:55,729 Even now, you're keen for us not to show your car numberplates or precisely where we are. 580 00:39:55,829 --> 00:39:58,227 Yeah, yeah. Completely understandably. 581 00:40:00,665 --> 00:40:02,843 Prospecting is a serious business. 582 00:40:02,943 --> 00:40:05,021 But Steve was happy to let me have a go. 583 00:40:11,776 --> 00:40:15,672 HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLES Ooh! 584 00:40:15,772 --> 00:40:19,629 Your gold ring! My gold ring – I realised as I did it, idiot! 585 00:40:19,729 --> 00:40:21,068 STEVE LAUGHS 586 00:40:21,168 --> 00:40:24,245 On that occasion, it's just this tiny bit of metal. 587 00:40:25,284 --> 00:40:28,961 But on other times, it could be gold. 588 00:40:33,837 --> 00:40:37,055 After an hour of searching, I failed miserably. 589 00:40:37,155 --> 00:40:41,131 'But Steve kept my hopes alive with a small pile of quartz.' 590 00:40:41,231 --> 00:40:43,329 I've got a few bits here. We can take it home 591 00:40:43,429 --> 00:40:46,007 and get you to crush it up. 592 00:40:46,107 --> 00:40:48,105 'He said it might contain gold.' 593 00:40:52,622 --> 00:40:54,620 Hey, hey, hey. 594 00:40:58,177 --> 00:41:00,155 That's it. 595 00:41:00,255 --> 00:41:01,594 Have you ever done any panning? 596 00:41:01,694 --> 00:41:04,951 You know, strangely, no! You haven't? No. 597 00:41:05,051 --> 00:41:07,949 Basically, we're just going to drop it in. Just agitate it. 598 00:41:08,049 --> 00:41:10,347 Try and work the gold back down to the bottom, 599 00:41:10,447 --> 00:41:12,865 because your gold is obviously heavier. 600 00:41:12,965 --> 00:41:14,903 It will be down in this bottom riffle 601 00:41:15,003 --> 00:41:16,702 and then just going to work it around, 602 00:41:16,802 --> 00:41:20,978 try and work it back to this corner into the middle of the riffles. 603 00:41:21,078 --> 00:41:25,694 And then what you're doing is just washing and a nice little light wash. 604 00:41:25,794 --> 00:41:30,450 Like that. There you go. Look, look! There is gold in it. 605 00:41:30,550 --> 00:41:33,288 Wahey! There is, too. Sensational. 606 00:41:33,388 --> 00:41:38,044 There you go. That is gold, yeah. Gold! You're onto it. 607 00:41:38,144 --> 00:41:40,442 Although it's not big, this weight accumulates up. 608 00:41:40,542 --> 00:41:42,800 And then you take it down to the gold shop and sell it on. 609 00:41:42,900 --> 00:41:45,597 And we go on holidays. BOTH LAUGH 610 00:41:45,697 --> 00:41:47,696 Yeah! 611 00:41:48,815 --> 00:41:52,552 So this is your brew? This is my brew. 612 00:41:52,652 --> 00:41:55,869 Steve, thank you very much indeed for showing it to us. And thank you. 613 00:41:55,969 --> 00:41:59,066 And best of luck with your future prospecting. Cheers. 614 00:41:59,166 --> 00:42:01,165 Down the hatch. 615 00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:11,056 Steve, that's good. That is good, isn't it? Whoo-ah! 616 00:42:11,156 --> 00:42:12,575 STEVE LAUGHS 617 00:42:12,675 --> 00:42:14,673 Whoo-hoo! 618 00:42:24,985 --> 00:42:28,202 It is not just part-time prospectors like Steve who are making money 619 00:42:28,302 --> 00:42:30,300 from the Kalgoorlie gold rush. 620 00:42:32,299 --> 00:42:36,415 This is the site of one of the world's biggest goldmines. 621 00:42:38,014 --> 00:42:42,011 Kalgoorlie lies on what local say is the richest square mile on earth. 622 00:42:44,808 --> 00:42:45,787 Across Australia, 623 00:42:45,887 --> 00:42:50,603 vast mines like this are fuelling an unprecedented resources boom. 624 00:42:53,041 --> 00:42:55,040 Flipping heck. 625 00:42:59,076 --> 00:43:02,613 More than two miles long and one third of a mile deep, 626 00:43:02,713 --> 00:43:06,630 the Kalgoorlie Super Pit can be seen from space. 627 00:43:10,947 --> 00:43:15,523 When you start looking at the dumpers over there, I think you get an idea. 628 00:43:15,623 --> 00:43:17,441 Each one of the massive trucks 629 00:43:17,541 --> 00:43:21,738 can haul 225 tonnes of rock out of the pit. 630 00:43:26,374 --> 00:43:29,871 The mine operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 631 00:43:29,971 --> 00:43:33,648 producing 7% of the world's gold. 632 00:43:39,403 --> 00:43:43,020 I'm suddenly really just taken by this roundabout we're on. 633 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:48,135 There is a sign here that says Tropicana gold mine that way. 634 00:43:48,235 --> 00:43:51,693 And then there is a sign here that says nickel mine that way, 635 00:43:51,793 --> 00:43:53,651 silver mine that way. 636 00:43:53,751 --> 00:43:55,210 HE LAUGHS 637 00:43:55,310 --> 00:43:59,726 This land is just peppered with resources 638 00:43:59,826 --> 00:44:03,383 and just incredible wealth. 639 00:44:05,501 --> 00:44:09,538 But that wealth didn't seem to be trickling down to everyone around here. 640 00:44:11,856 --> 00:44:14,234 Just a stone's throw from the super pit, 641 00:44:14,334 --> 00:44:18,031 this is an Aboriginal settlement called Ninga Mia. 642 00:44:18,131 --> 00:44:19,669 Like many across the country, 643 00:44:19,769 --> 00:44:22,927 it suffers from high unemployment, crime and addiction. 644 00:44:24,046 --> 00:44:29,161 This is... such a dark aspect of Australia. 645 00:44:32,239 --> 00:44:36,036 The pitiful suffering of Aboriginal people. 646 00:44:37,874 --> 00:44:43,969 We are just a short distance from one of the most valuable patches of land on planet earth 647 00:44:44,069 --> 00:44:49,744 and here, at the edge of this Aboriginal settlement, there is rubbish everywhere. 648 00:44:50,983 --> 00:44:55,220 And there are these cars that have almost been annihilated. 649 00:44:56,259 --> 00:45:00,056 It's as if people have taken out their anger on them. 650 00:45:04,252 --> 00:45:07,669 Across Australia, large deposits of valuable minerals have been found 651 00:45:07,769 --> 00:45:09,848 on traditional Aboriginal lands. 652 00:45:11,007 --> 00:45:16,162 In many cases, those Aboriginal communities have been paid for the right to mine the land. 653 00:45:17,241 --> 00:45:20,399 But the money has often done little to improve lives. 654 00:45:23,236 --> 00:45:26,294 Many people here in Ninga Mia don't feel they are benefiting 655 00:45:26,394 --> 00:45:31,250 from the gold that's being mined out of land they believe belongs to them. 656 00:45:31,350 --> 00:45:34,667 As a result, there is upset and anger. 657 00:45:35,746 --> 00:45:39,463 I met with Pastor Geoffrey Stokes, a local community leader. 658 00:45:40,982 --> 00:45:43,999 Can you tell us a little bit about this community. Where are we? 659 00:45:44,099 --> 00:45:50,554 The original reserves for Kalgoorlie and Boulder were just back over there. 660 00:45:50,654 --> 00:45:53,431 And they moved the people from there to here. 661 00:45:53,531 --> 00:45:55,110 That is the Kalgoorlie Super Pit. 662 00:45:55,210 --> 00:45:57,907 They get millions of dollars every day out of this. 663 00:45:58,007 --> 00:46:02,783 And, um... we don't get nothing, not a cent from it. 664 00:46:02,883 --> 00:46:05,601 Nothing. Everybody else is benefiting. 665 00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:10,777 It's 200 years since Europeans arrived, took this land 666 00:46:10,877 --> 00:46:14,054 and subjugated Aboriginal people. 667 00:46:14,154 --> 00:46:17,091 In recent decades, there have been committees, commissions, 668 00:46:17,191 --> 00:46:19,010 compensation. 669 00:46:19,110 --> 00:46:20,928 But in many Aboriginal communities, 670 00:46:21,028 --> 00:46:23,286 there's still suffering and resentment. 671 00:46:23,386 --> 00:46:26,843 The rest of Australian seems to be getting on with its happy lives, 672 00:46:26,943 --> 00:46:30,800 and its barbecues and its beaches and its resource boom. 673 00:46:30,900 --> 00:46:34,477 I come here and you start to see the other side of life here. 674 00:46:34,577 --> 00:46:36,355 For them to have their lifestyle 675 00:46:36,455 --> 00:46:40,272 and their jobs and their trucks and boats and planes 676 00:46:40,372 --> 00:46:44,349 and all the rest of it, someone had to pay for it. 677 00:46:44,449 --> 00:46:46,827 Who's paying for it here? The Aboriginal people. 678 00:46:46,927 --> 00:46:48,905 I'm paying for their lifestyle. In what way? 679 00:46:49,005 --> 00:46:53,181 Because I'm missing out on my inheritance and my birth right 680 00:46:53,281 --> 00:46:55,100 and my wealth 681 00:46:55,200 --> 00:46:59,256 and the benefits that come out of the country. Out of the ground? 682 00:46:59,356 --> 00:47:01,535 Out of the ground. Yeah. 683 00:47:01,635 --> 00:47:04,272 We're still living in Third World conditions. 684 00:47:07,669 --> 00:47:10,047 HE EXHALES HEAVILY 685 00:47:10,147 --> 00:47:13,485 There is a huge gulf 686 00:47:13,585 --> 00:47:18,600 between the lives of most Aboriginal people in this country 687 00:47:18,700 --> 00:47:21,458 and other Australians. 688 00:47:22,857 --> 00:47:26,434 Australians, most Australians, I think, they do, 689 00:47:26,534 --> 00:47:29,991 of course, care about what is happening in communities like this, 690 00:47:30,091 --> 00:47:33,028 and it would be completely wrong for anyone to suggest or imagine 691 00:47:33,128 --> 00:47:36,605 that the government isn't trying to help. 692 00:47:38,124 --> 00:47:42,940 But make no mistake, this is a hugely challenging situation 693 00:47:43,040 --> 00:47:47,356 and there are no quick fixes and definitely no easy answers. 694 00:47:53,351 --> 00:47:56,089 The plight and problems of Aboriginal communities 695 00:47:56,189 --> 00:47:58,767 was something I'd encounter and explore in more detail 696 00:47:58,867 --> 00:48:01,185 later on my journey around Australia. 697 00:48:08,379 --> 00:48:11,516 I drove nearly 400 miles west of Kalgoorlie 698 00:48:11,616 --> 00:48:16,212 to the coastal city of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. 699 00:48:20,569 --> 00:48:24,406 Money from Australia's resources boom is pouring into this city. 700 00:48:26,404 --> 00:48:28,402 So this is Perth. 701 00:48:29,002 --> 00:48:32,499 It's one of the fastest-growing cities in Australia 702 00:48:32,599 --> 00:48:35,896 and, to be honest, it feels more like a capital city 703 00:48:35,996 --> 00:48:38,674 than the capital of just a state in the country. 704 00:48:42,311 --> 00:48:47,366 Average household incomes here have risen 35% in just five years. 705 00:48:47,466 --> 00:48:49,465 There's no recession here. 706 00:48:50,264 --> 00:48:53,681 The unemployment rate is less than half of what it is in Europe, 707 00:48:53,781 --> 00:48:56,119 attracting workers from across the globe, 708 00:48:56,219 --> 00:48:58,737 including Brits in their droves. 709 00:49:00,576 --> 00:49:04,872 More than 11% of Perth's population are British expats. 710 00:49:04,972 --> 00:49:06,970 I headed off to meet one of them. 711 00:49:07,570 --> 00:49:09,568 I think this is it. 712 00:49:09,888 --> 00:49:10,947 They're busy! 713 00:49:11,047 --> 00:49:13,285 I'll just park here, I think. 714 00:49:14,444 --> 00:49:19,060 This is just one of hundreds of truck-driving schools in Australia. 715 00:49:19,160 --> 00:49:23,776 Thousands of men and women come here every year to get their heavy-goods licence, 716 00:49:23,876 --> 00:49:26,654 so they can go off and work on remote mining projects 717 00:49:26,754 --> 00:49:28,752 and earn a fortune. 718 00:49:31,550 --> 00:49:34,487 The success of this driving school, and the fact that so many people 719 00:49:34,587 --> 00:49:40,642 want to be truck drivers, is largely down to the resources boom here. 720 00:49:40,742 --> 00:49:43,799 In Australia, you don't just need to be a stockbroker 721 00:49:43,899 --> 00:49:45,798 or a banker to have a high income. 722 00:49:45,898 --> 00:49:49,295 You can be a blue-collar worker and still make a lot of money. 723 00:49:51,133 --> 00:49:55,670 Steve Mutch left his job as a binman in Hull when the recession hit. 724 00:49:55,770 --> 00:49:58,048 He's now a truck-driving instructor. 725 00:49:59,606 --> 00:50:05,302 Steve. Hello. Hello, mate. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, too. 726 00:50:05,402 --> 00:50:09,458 I do about ten lessons a day. I have 50 lessons a week on average. 727 00:50:09,558 --> 00:50:12,136 You've got that many pupils coming through here? Yeah. 728 00:50:12,236 --> 00:50:15,573 It's very busy, very busy. Are you ready for another one? I am. 729 00:50:15,673 --> 00:50:17,671 HE LAUGHS 730 00:50:19,470 --> 00:50:23,726 Right. It's like a plane, quite frankly. 731 00:50:23,826 --> 00:50:26,924 Flipping heck, how many gears has this got? This one's got 18 gears. 732 00:50:27,024 --> 00:50:29,521 18? 18 forward gears, yeah. 733 00:50:29,621 --> 00:50:31,560 And it's two clutches for every gear change. 734 00:50:31,660 --> 00:50:34,477 Clutch, neutral, clutch, gear, tap-tap, that sort of speed. 735 00:50:34,577 --> 00:50:37,355 If I make it into second, I will consider that a major achievement. 736 00:50:37,455 --> 00:50:39,673 If I change gears without destroying the gearbox, 737 00:50:39,773 --> 00:50:41,392 I'll be very happy. So will I. 738 00:50:41,492 --> 00:50:42,910 BOTH LAUGH 739 00:50:43,010 --> 00:50:45,368 How reassuring. Thank you, Steve! 740 00:50:48,845 --> 00:50:52,582 'Steve took me out onto the open road to show me how it's done.' 741 00:50:52,682 --> 00:50:56,659 OK, so once your revs are about 1,250 revs, 742 00:50:56,759 --> 00:50:59,496 you go into neutral. So it's neutral, off the clutch, back on. 743 00:50:59,596 --> 00:51:01,375 Right. 744 00:51:01,475 --> 00:51:04,292 When it goes to 12½, it's clutch, neutral, clutch, gear. 745 00:51:04,392 --> 00:51:07,790 Stop doing everything so quickly! How am I supposed to...? 746 00:51:13,025 --> 00:51:15,024 Suddenly, it was my turn. 747 00:51:15,943 --> 00:51:19,560 I was taking charge of a vehicle called a prime mover - 748 00:51:19,660 --> 00:51:22,997 a truck capable of pulling more than 40 tonnes - 749 00:51:23,097 --> 00:51:25,115 if I could get it started. 750 00:51:25,215 --> 00:51:27,213 Flipping heck. 751 00:51:32,929 --> 00:51:36,666 Don't rev to start with. You press your foot all the way to the floor on the clutch. 752 00:51:36,766 --> 00:51:38,744 Give the gearbox chance to stop spinning. 753 00:51:38,844 --> 00:51:41,382 You don't need to accelerate at first. 754 00:51:41,482 --> 00:51:43,480 Oh, goodness, we're moving! 755 00:51:44,839 --> 00:51:46,837 That's it. Now gently accelerate. 756 00:51:53,951 --> 00:51:56,369 Strewth! What am I doing? 757 00:51:56,469 --> 00:51:58,088 Clutch to the right. 758 00:51:58,188 --> 00:52:01,285 It will pop into neutral. It's off the clutch back on and into two. 759 00:52:01,385 --> 00:52:04,922 That's it. I just changed gear. We're in second gear now. 760 00:52:05,022 --> 00:52:07,320 It was a little bit jumpy, I'll grant you that. 761 00:52:07,420 --> 00:52:10,158 That's that kangaroo fuel they put in them! 762 00:52:10,258 --> 00:52:13,315 CLANGING SOUND Oh, God! 763 00:52:13,415 --> 00:52:16,153 We'll pick them bits of the gearbox back up when we come back round! 764 00:52:16,253 --> 00:52:18,711 Steve, I'm sorry. STEVE LAUGHS 765 00:52:18,811 --> 00:52:20,809 Really slow, yep. 766 00:52:24,246 --> 00:52:26,224 Steve, have you got a seat belt on? 767 00:52:26,324 --> 00:52:28,582 I have, yes. And I've had my Valium(!) 768 00:52:28,682 --> 00:52:30,940 Had your Valium! STEVE CHUCKLES 769 00:52:31,040 --> 00:52:35,656 We're doing 38 kilometres an hour. Start pulling back on that gear stick a little. 770 00:52:35,756 --> 00:52:37,935 Into neutral, release the clutch, back on the... 771 00:52:38,035 --> 00:52:39,813 GEARS GRIND Oof! 772 00:52:39,913 --> 00:52:41,532 Why's it doing that? 773 00:52:41,632 --> 00:52:45,888 Steve, this can't be less stressful than working for the council in Hull. 774 00:52:45,988 --> 00:52:49,245 That's why they pay us so well. SIMON LAUGHS LOUDLY 775 00:52:49,345 --> 00:52:51,343 Danger money. 776 00:52:51,903 --> 00:52:54,161 Come on now, Steve, you're getting good money here. 777 00:52:54,261 --> 00:52:57,878 Are you going to tell us what you're earning? Roughly. Roughly. 778 00:52:57,978 --> 00:53:02,874 I will probably earn $90,000 a year. $90,000 a year. 779 00:53:02,974 --> 00:53:05,911 £60,000 a year. 780 00:53:06,011 --> 00:53:08,309 Before tax. 781 00:53:08,409 --> 00:53:11,587 'Many of Steve's pupils go on to work in Australia's mines, 782 00:53:11,687 --> 00:53:14,424 'earning even more than he does.' 783 00:53:14,524 --> 00:53:16,383 I was talking to a driver the other day, 784 00:53:16,483 --> 00:53:19,340 he's earning $4,000 a week after tax. 785 00:53:19,440 --> 00:53:25,095 $4,000 a week, $200,000 a year. That's 130,000... 786 00:53:25,195 --> 00:53:27,653 If we start to slow down again. 787 00:53:27,753 --> 00:53:31,330 Yep. £130,000, eh? Just for driving a truck. 788 00:53:31,430 --> 00:53:35,087 You'd probably pay your house off after one year. 789 00:53:35,187 --> 00:53:38,764 It's quite a draw for people, isn't it? Oh, yes. 790 00:53:38,864 --> 00:53:41,641 Neutral, big rev, clutch and into gear. That's it. 791 00:53:41,741 --> 00:53:44,919 Indicate to your right. Good. 792 00:53:45,019 --> 00:53:47,017 And we'll turn in the yard in this gear. 793 00:53:50,494 --> 00:53:53,452 You want me to reverse between those two trucks there? Yes. 794 00:53:55,370 --> 00:53:57,628 Is that all right? Look in that bottom mirror. 795 00:53:57,728 --> 00:54:00,546 You're very close to the yellow one. 796 00:54:00,646 --> 00:54:04,462 And stop there. Good. You did well. 797 00:54:04,562 --> 00:54:08,060 Yay! Thank you so much. You're welcome. 798 00:54:08,160 --> 00:54:10,278 You're very calm and reassuring. 799 00:54:13,155 --> 00:54:15,154 Phew! 800 00:54:19,390 --> 00:54:22,847 'Steve lives in a large house with a pool in the suburbs of Perth 801 00:54:22,947 --> 00:54:26,364 'with his wife Sharon, a nurse, and his daughter Jess.' 802 00:54:26,464 --> 00:54:29,602 Hello! Hello! Simon. 803 00:54:29,702 --> 00:54:32,999 Hello. Sharon. Hello, Sharon, lovely to meet you. Hello. Hello. Jess. 804 00:54:33,099 --> 00:54:35,477 Lovely to meet you. Simon. How are you? Good, thanks. 805 00:54:35,577 --> 00:54:37,915 Have you cleaned up because you knew we were coming? Yes. 806 00:54:38,015 --> 00:54:41,132 All day I've been cleaning! Oh, no! 807 00:54:46,887 --> 00:54:48,786 It was always a dream to get the boat 808 00:54:48,886 --> 00:54:51,583 and it's great just to be able to take that out on the weekend. 809 00:54:51,683 --> 00:54:56,339 Was there a point when you were in Hull and you heard that your salary 810 00:54:56,439 --> 00:54:57,818 was going to be more than halved 811 00:54:57,918 --> 00:55:00,056 and you just were pulling your hair out slightly, 812 00:55:00,156 --> 00:55:01,695 wondering what you were going to do? 813 00:55:01,795 --> 00:55:04,053 Well, I suppose after being in a job for so long, 814 00:55:04,153 --> 00:55:07,130 cos I worked there for 22.5 years, it's a bit of a worry. 815 00:55:07,230 --> 00:55:08,729 And you come out here... 816 00:55:08,829 --> 00:55:10,687 I was expecting to have a few weeks off. 817 00:55:10,787 --> 00:55:13,525 The first job I applied for I was offered. 818 00:55:13,625 --> 00:55:16,842 But you must be pleased with how things have turned out? Oh, yeah, yeah. 819 00:55:16,942 --> 00:55:20,919 No, it's great. Like I say, we're living the dream. It does feel like that. 820 00:55:21,019 --> 00:55:23,956 It is, yeah. You'd never have this back home in England. 821 00:55:24,056 --> 00:55:26,914 You couldn't use a boat like that on the River Humber. 822 00:55:27,014 --> 00:55:29,012 HE LAUGHS 823 00:55:40,603 --> 00:55:43,100 Blue-collar workers like Steve are making a good living 824 00:55:43,200 --> 00:55:46,338 on the back of Australia's resources boom. 825 00:55:46,438 --> 00:55:50,734 To understand the scale of what is going on, I headed to Perth Airport. 826 00:55:50,834 --> 00:55:52,413 From here, thousands of workers 827 00:55:52,513 --> 00:55:55,850 head off to the mines of Western Australia every day. 828 00:55:55,950 --> 00:55:59,767 It is known as "fly in, fly out" or FIFO. 829 00:55:59,867 --> 00:56:05,322 So all the planes over here, these planes here 830 00:56:05,422 --> 00:56:10,937 and this lot over here, these are all for the FIFO workers. 831 00:56:13,535 --> 00:56:18,591 165 planes a day are shuttling people back and forwards 832 00:56:18,691 --> 00:56:22,528 to remote mining sites and drilling sites. 833 00:56:29,642 --> 00:56:33,299 So long as the giant economies of Asia keep growing, Australia 834 00:56:33,399 --> 00:56:38,015 will keep supplying them with iron, coal, copper, oil and gas. 835 00:56:38,115 --> 00:56:40,673 And people here will continue to cash in. 836 00:56:43,710 --> 00:56:47,886 I think basically everybody here is FIFO. It's extraordinary. 837 00:56:47,986 --> 00:56:51,204 It's like watching commuters in a London Underground station, 838 00:56:51,304 --> 00:56:53,702 except here, they're all flying out. 839 00:56:55,021 --> 00:56:59,397 Where are you off to yourselves? West Angeles. West Angeles? 840 00:56:59,497 --> 00:57:02,954 And that's iron ore. You're iron-ore men? 841 00:57:03,054 --> 00:57:06,671 There's about 20 of us on this plane going up today for five days. 842 00:57:06,771 --> 00:57:08,909 Your accent's not local, is it? 843 00:57:09,009 --> 00:57:13,225 40 years ago, I used to live in Sheffield. So what's your rotation? 844 00:57:13,325 --> 00:57:15,583 You never know, or...? Yeah. 845 00:57:15,683 --> 00:57:19,540 Because we're senior citizens, they sort of... 846 00:57:19,640 --> 00:57:20,699 They have us for a week 847 00:57:20,799 --> 00:57:23,177 and then we might not get a call for another three weeks, 848 00:57:23,277 --> 00:57:26,255 or four weeks, and then they want us for another four of five days. 849 00:57:26,355 --> 00:57:29,692 Do you remember that English phrase "cushy"? 850 00:57:29,792 --> 00:57:31,930 Yeah. Dead cushy. It sounds a bit cushy. 851 00:57:32,030 --> 00:57:34,568 It's real cushy. Because after that you can come out to Perth, 852 00:57:34,668 --> 00:57:39,683 cut the grass in the garden, go fishing and look after grandkids. 853 00:57:39,783 --> 00:57:43,320 It's great. It's a hard life, but someone's got to do it! 854 00:57:43,420 --> 00:57:45,419 Too right! 855 00:57:58,648 --> 00:58:01,185 So they're heading off on their commute. 856 00:58:01,285 --> 00:58:03,983 This is the end of this part of my journey. 857 00:58:04,083 --> 00:58:06,141 On the next programme, I'll be travelling 858 00:58:06,241 --> 00:58:09,798 across the north of Australia to the Great Barrier Reef.