I Was Actually There - Season 2

Nine's Tom Steinfort is one of the interview subjects in tonight's season premiere, I Was Actually There.

The second season begins with the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009.

Steinfort was the first TV reporter into the Marysville area following the fires.

Nine's own former anchor Brian Naylor and wife Moiree also lost their lives in the Kinglake area.

As temperatures hovered in the mid 40s, bushfires of unprecedented ferocity tore across Victoria. One hundred and seventy-three lives were lost, thousands were left homeless and entire communities destroyed. Premier John Brumby would describe it as "by a long way, the worst day ever in the history of the state."

I Was Actually There collects personal stories from survivors, first responders and community members who faced the catastrophe. They share the terror and heartbreak of that day, as well as the extraordinary resilience and luck required to make it through.

Even with warnings, nothing could counter the scale and speed of the fires when they arrived.

Townships including Marysville, Kinglake and Kinglake West were overwhelmed. Jason Lynn recalls, "I heard the noise first … it was like something coming through the bush, like a monster."

Through the devastation, unexpected stories also emerged. While evacuating citizens from above, Police helicopter rescuer David Key was surprised to find animals tagging along: "There were deer, a koala … They probably sixthsensed that, yes, they're heading into safety. We'll follow them."

Kinglake restaurateur Isabella Laudisio remembers the moment she learned her father had perished in his car while trying to escape town. "It was just really surreal. It's like, can it possibly be happening in just one normal day?"

For local police officer Cameron Caine, some of the worst moments happened after the worst of the fire fronts had passed through: "In the first hour and a half, I located 11 bodies. I couldn't fathom the size and the scale of disaster within 12 hours."

Sixteen years later, the towns and survivors are still recovering from the events of Black Saturday. "Living through trauma is like quicksand," says Laudisio. "You try and crawl out and you go further down."

Interviewees:

Glen Fiske Captain of the Marysville CFA, lost his wife and son
Karen Barrow Firefighter with the Kinglake CFA
Jason Lynn Kinglake West resident, stayed and fought the blaze
Juliet Moore Kinglake West resident, escaped the bushfire guided by a Victoria Police helicopter
Sharen Donovan Marysville B&B owner, trapped in town
Isabella Laudisio Kinglake restaurant owner, lost her father
Cameron Caine Police officer, discovered many of the victims
David Key Victorian Police Helicopter rescuer
Tom Steinfort Nine Network news reporter

This episode of I Was Actually There offers a range of unique perspectives on the events of September 11, from expatriates, family members, journalists, photographers and first responders.

In a single morning, they found themselves at the epicentre of a catastrophe that changed their lives forever.

James Dorney was working on the 92nd floor of the World Trade Center South Tower. He saw the North Tower erupt before his eyes: "There's no other way to explain it. I was actually looking out the window. The building in front of me exploded right in front of my face." Unaware it had been hit by a plane, he began the harrowing descent down the emergency stairs, confused, panicked, determined to escape. He was in the stairwell when the second plane hit.

While most were running away, Channel Ten correspondent Michelle Stone, in New York for the US Open, raced toward the chaos. Mike Makatron, a twentysomething Aussie working as a bike courier, remembers youthful curiosity kicking in as smoke poured from the towers: "My mentality was: bike messengers get in everywhere … I'm going to go in there and check it out. I'm going to get inside those buildings."

Danielle Meredith sprinted across the Brooklyn Bridge, desperate to reach her husband, who was on the 94th floor of the North Tower. Blocked by frightened New Yorkers rushing the other way, she returned to her apartment, eyes glued to the TV.

"Everybody remembers what they were doing at that exact moment in time," says New Yorker Genevieve Gyulavary, whose Australian father went to work in the Twin Towers and never came home. "But I don't care because my dad was dying … I don't really care that you were eating Wheaties or whatever you were doing."

Interviewees:

James Dorney Australian working on the 92nd floor of the South Tower
Danni Meredith Australian widow of Craig Gibson, who was in the North Tower
Genevieve Gyulavary Was 13 when she learned her Australian dad was killed in the towers
Michelle Stone Channel Ten foreign correspondent
Hans Kunnen Australian economist attending a conference in the North Tower
Paul Bernasconi Australian businessman living in New York
Mike Makatron Bike courier who rode toward the towers
Luis Torres FDNY Squad 41; spent seven months recovering bodies
Nathan Edwards Australian news photographer who captured an image of Luis Torres at Ground Zero

It was a move that shocked the nation. Fifty years ago, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr. The government was dissolved and an election called.

On a hot December Sunday, racial tensions boiled over at Sydney's Cronulla beach. The fuse had been lit a week earlier by an altercation between off-duty lifesavers and men described by police as "of middle eastern appearance".

When nightclub singer Fairlie Arrow disappeared from her Gold Coast home in 1991, the tabloid media went to town. Arrow was reported as abducted by "an obsessed fan". Spoiler alert: it was all a hoax.

The 1998 Sydney to Hobart race was a moment when nature asserted its dominance with terrifying force. Six lives were lost, five yachts sank and hundreds of sailors were pulled into a brutal fight for survival.