Australian Encounters S1:E8

Bob Hawke and Frank Sinatra 1974

Presented with humour & verve, Australian Encounters celebrates historic encounters between a renowned Australian & an international mover & shaker. This episode recounts when Bob Hawke met Frank Sinatra in 1974.

Billy Hughes and Woodrow Wilson 1919

It was 1919 and the world's statesmen were gathered at Versailles to redraw the map of the world. Australia had sacrificed much blood to win the peace, and Billy Hughes was there to see it got its fair share of the spoils.

Isabel Letham and Duke Kahanamoku 1914

In December 1914, an athletic young Hawaiian strode across the beach at Freshwater, a stretch of sand between Manly and Curl Curl. He was about to perform a feat never before seen in Australia: surfing!

Nellie Melba and Enrico Caruso 1902

The imperious Australian soprano and the effusive Italian tenor had transformed La Boheme from a slow burn sleeper into a blockbuster hit that's still putting bums on seats a century later. Their double act was sensational.

Joe Lyons and Benito Mussolini 1935 and 1937

Herr Hitler was busy in the Rhineland, so Joseph Aloysius Lyons decided to pay a visit to Signor Mussolini instead. It was 1935 and collecting dictators was de rigueur for Australian politicians on visits to Europe.

Rupert Murdoch and Kamahl 1958

Just before Christmas, 1958, Rupert Murdoch, then aged 27, met a sensitive young Tamil on the dodge from the immigration authorities. A poor scholar with black skin, Kamahl's days in White Australia were numbered.

George Johnston and Leonard Cohen 1960

In the backroom bar of the Katsikas brothers' grocery store, amid tins of olive oil and sacks of flour, a young unknown Canadian poet met an Australian expatriate named George Johnston.

Lionel Rose and Elvis Presley 1968

Twenty-year-old boxer Lionel Rose was in Los Angeles to defend his world bantamweight title. When he received the message that Elvis wanted to meet him, he jumped under the shower and drove straight to the MGM lot.

Edward Kelly and Redmond Barry 1880

In 1880, an unschooled Catholic bushman and a Protestant judge traded points, back and forth, neither ultimately persuading the other. "Edward Kelly," concluded Redmond Barry, "I hereby sentence you to death by hanging."