ABC TV: Wide Open Road

While watching the misery of the Wallabies’ demise at the hands of New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup we managed to catch a glimpse at the first episode from a three-part series on ABC1 about Australia’s history and infatuation with the motor car. Wide Open Road promises to explore the reasons why “the car has been tangled up in the social, political and economic fabric of Australia.”

If you missed the first episode you can catch up on ABC iView or via the program’s website. You’ll learn that in the early decades of the 20th century unofficial attempts to break the speed record for the Melbourne–Sydney drive on dusty tracks were commonplace. Nine hours was the benchmark, would you believe! You’ll also wonder why Francis Birtles, who spent much of 1928 driving his Bean 14 from London to Melbourne, isn’t revered as highly as the likes of pilot Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, who achieved fame for his solo flight from the Unites States to Australia in the same year.

The remaining episodes are due to air at 7:30pm on the following two Sundays (23 and 30 October). From the portions we saw last night we recommend finding the time to watch the show.