>> Wildman: IN A CITY AT THE END OF THE WORLD, THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN TROUBLE BREWING UNDERGROUND. LOOK AT THAT -- A LOCKED BOX. DYNAMITE. I'M GONNA NOT FOOL AROUND WITH THAT ANYMORE. FROM RAMPAGING OUTLAWS... >> THREE SHOTS RANG OUT. THE OVERSEER FELL OVER DEAD. >> Wildman: ...TO FORBIDDEN WEAPONS TESTING... THEY'D EXPOSE THEM TO THE GAS? >> THEY HAD BIG BLISTERS HANGING OFF THEIR ARMS AND HANDS. >> Wildman: ...BUILDING A NATION DOWN UNDER WAS A DEADLY BUSINESS. THERE WERE SEVERAL MEN WHO DIED DOWN HERE, BASICALLY DOING WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW. THE SECRETS OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, ARE REVEALED ON "CITIES OF THE UNDERWORLD: ALCATRAZ DOWN UNDER." I'M DON WILDMAN. I'M IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. THIS PLACE IS ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AS WASHINGTON, D.C. BUT ITS UNDERGROUND CONTAINS THE SHOCKING SECRETS, VICIOUS CONSPIRACIES, AND UNLIKELY HEROES OF AN ENTIRE CONTINENT. SYDNEY WAS BUILT ON THE BACKS OF CONVICT LABORERS SHIPPED HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD TO PROP UP AN EMPIRE. BUT THEY ENDED UP BUILDING A FIERCELY INDEPENDENT NATION. FROM COVERT CHEMICAL-WEAPONS CACHES TO OUTLAWS OF THE AUSTRALIAN BUSH, WE'RE DIGGING UP THE DIRT DOWN UNDER. IN 1788, THE BRITISH EMPIRE PUT INTO ACTION A BOLD PLAN TO BUILD A NEW COLONY AT THE FAR END OF THE EARTH. A BOATLOAD OF BRITISH CONVICTS WERE SENT TO A REMOTE OUTPOST OF THE EMPIRE CALLED BOTANY BAY, NOW PART OF SYDNEY. BY THE ONSET OF WORLD WAR II, THE DESOLATE PRISON COLONY HAD GROWN INTO A VITAL PART OF THE EMPIRE. BUT FOR THE FIRST 50-ODD YEARS, IT WAS NOTHING BUT AN EXPENSIVE DUMPING GROUND FOR CRIMINALS. IN THE EARLY 19th CENTURY, THE BRITISH EMPIRE STILL CONSIDERED AUSTRALIA TO BE A DUMPING GROUND FOR POLITICAL REBELS AND PETTY CROOKS. BUT ALL THAT CHANGED WHEN, IN 1851, A COUPLE OF PROSPECTORS DISCOVERED A GLIMMERING SUBSTANCE IN A STREAM JUST OUTSIDE THIS TOWN NOT FAR FROM SYDNEY. IT WAS GOLD. THE BIRTH OF AUSTRALIA'S GOLD RUSH CAN BE TRACED 175 MILES FROM SYDNEY TO THE TINY TOWN OF OPHIR, NAMED AFTER A BIBLICAL LAND OF GOLD AND RICHES. I'M MEETING WITH A GUY NAMED ANDREW STACKPOOL. HE'S A COLONIAL HISTORIAN WHO'S TAKING ME DOWN INTO THE GUNNADOO GOLD MINE. GUNNADOO HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY AND IS STILL UP AND RUNNING TODAY, CHURNING OUT PAY DIRT, EVEN SOME OF THE GOLD USED IN THE MEDALS OF THE SYDNEY OLYMPICS. ANDREW. >> DON, WELCOME TO AUSTRALIA. WELCOME TO OPHIR. >> Wildman: THE MINES AT OPHIR ARE A DANGEROUS ANTHILL OF DECAYING, OLD VERTICAL SHAFTS FROM THE 19th CENTURY AND NEWER PASSAGEWAYS, SOME OF WHICH ARE STILL BEING DUG OUT TODAY. SO, THEY HAVEN'T PULLED OUT ALL THE GOLD FROM THESE MINES YET, HUH? >> NOT BY A LONG SHOT. >> Wildman: REALLY? >> NO, NOT BY A LONG SHOT. >> Wildman: SO WE MIGHT GET LUCKY TODAY, HUH? >> WE COULD GET LUCKY. WHO KNOWS? >> Wildman: ALL RIGHT. TRACES OF GOLD HAVE BEEN FOUND HERE AS EARLY AS 1814. BUT AT FIRST, NO MINES WERE ESTABLISHED. THE COLONY'S SMALL RULING CLASS WAS AFRAID GOLD FEVER WOULD MAKE THEIR UNRULY CONVICT LABOR FORCE RUN AMOK. >> THERE WERE ALMOST AN UPPER CLASS OF AUSTRALIANS, WHO WERE EX-BRITISH, WHO HAD HUGE TRACTS OF LAND. AND IN THE BUSH, MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T OF THAT CLASS WORKED FOR THEM. AND THEY WERE VERY CONCERNED THAT IF THERE WAS GOING TO BE A GOLD RUSH, THEY'D LOSE ALL THE WORKERS. >> Wildman: SO THIS COULD MAKE THE COUNTRY VERY UNSTABLE. BUT IN 1849, AUSTRALIANS HEARD ABOUT A GOLD RUSH IN CALIFORNIA, 7,000 MILES AWAY, WHERE FORTUNES WERE BEING MADE OVERNIGHT. AUSTRALIA'S LEADERS REALIZED THAT THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD UNDERGROUND COULD TRANSFORM THEIR COLONY FROM A NEGLECTED OUTPOST TO A POWER PLAYER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. >> THE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED A £10,000 REWARD, WHICH IS PROBABLY CLOSE TO $1 MILLION IN TODAY'S CURRENCY, FOR SOMEBODY TO FIND PAYABLE GOLD. >> Wildman: IN 1851, A PROSPECTOR DISCOVERED GOLD NUGGETS HERE AT OPHIR. THE GOLD RUSH HAD BEGUN. WE'RE GOING IN HERE? >> WE'LL GO IN THIS ONE, YEAH. >> Wildman: SO, THIS IS OLD SHORING HERE. >> OLD SHORING HERE, YEAH. >> Wildman: IT'S LIKE SPONGE. >> YEAH. >> Wildman: ARE THESE DANGEROUS MINES AT ALL IN TERMS OF CAVE-INS? >> YES, THEY CAN BE. NOW, THIS MAY HAVE BEEN AN OLD TUNNEL WE'RE ACTUALLY SEEING OFF TO THE LEFT HERE. >> Wildman: THE MINE IS A MAZE OF NEW, ACTIVE TUNNELS AND TREACHEROUS, CRUMBLING, OLDER ONES. OVER HERE, A WHOLE OTHER TUNNEL, AND DOWN BELOW -- OH, THIS IS REALLY WILD. LOOK AT THIS. YOU'RE JUST, LIKE, IN A WHOLE MATRIX OF TUNNELS HERE. THERE'S ONE GOING DOWN, ONE GOING THAT WAY. WE CAME IN THIS WAY. THIS ONE GOES OFF FURTHER. I DON'T KNOW HOW THE MOUNTAIN DOESN'T JUST COLLAPSE IN ON US RIGHT HERE. LOOK AT THIS -- A LOCKED BOX. JUST FALLING APART. SO, VERY GINGERLY, I WENT INTO THIS THING TO SEE WHAT'S UP. OH, YEAH, LOOK AT THAT. DYNAMITE. "DANGER EXPLOSIVE." OKAY, I'M GONNA NOT FOOL AROUND WITH THAT ANYMORE. BUT LOOK -- IT'S IN THIS OLD BOX. I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT'S BEEN DOWN HERE. BUT, VERY CAREFULLY, I WILL PUT THIS ASIDE... AND PRETEND I NEVER FOUND IT. BEFORE THERE WAS DYNAMITE BLASTING AND A PROFESSIONAL MINING OPERATION, THERE WERE MEN WITH PICKS AND SHOVELS, HUNTING FOR THE TELLTALE SIGNS OF BURIED TREASURE. HOW DO YOU KNOW WHERE -- WHERE TO FIND GOLD? >> NOW, IN THOSE DAYS, WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR WAS, BASICALLY, OF COURSE, WHERE THERE'D OBVIOUSLY BEEN VOLCANIC ACTIVITY. THAT'S WHERE YOU GOT A PRETTY GOOD IDEA THAT YOU WERE GOING TO GET GOLD. >> Wildman: OVER 600 MILLION YEARS AGO, AUSTRALIA WAS PART OF A MASSIVE SUPERCONTINENT CALLED GONDWANA. DEEP BENEATH THE EARTH'S CRUST, MOLTEN LAVA WAS SURGING UPWARDS, LIQUEFYING EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH, INCLUDING MILLIONS OF DISCONNECTED GOLD AND QUARTZ PARTICLES. OVER THE YEARS, AS THE LAVA COOLED, THE QUARTZ AND GOLD SEPARATED OUT, FORMING CONCENTRATED CLUSTERS, OR VEINS. I DO SEE MY FLASHLIGHT SHINING ON STUFF OVER HERE. THIS IS ALL GLIMMERING WITH QUARTZ, AM I RIGHT? >> THAT'LL BE QUARTZ, BUT WHO KNOWS? AND UNDER THERE, IF WE'RE BRAVE ENOUGH AND PULLED IT AWAY, YOU COULD EVEN TURN UP GOLD. YOU JUST DON'T KNOW. >> Wildman: RIGHT. SO, WHEN IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT GOLD HAD BEEN DISCOVERED AND THE GOVERNMENT GOT BEHIND THIS, DESCRIBE THE SCENE. >> THE SCENE WAS ONE OF ABSOLUTE TURMOIL. THE PAPERS REPORTED BASICALLY HOW THE WHOLE COLONY HAD GONE MAD. >> Wildman: REALLY? >> SHOPS WERE SHUTTING OVERNIGHT. SCHOOLS WERE CLOSING DOWN. SHIPS WERE LOSING THEIR CREWS IN SYDNEY HARBOUR AS EVERYBODY BOLTED TO THE FIELDS. >> Wildman: INTERESTING. SO THIS WAS VERY EMPOWERING TO PEOPLE WHO WERE FORMERLY PROPERTYLESS, OF COURSE. I MEAN, THIS WHOLE MIDDLE CLASS OF AUSTRALIA SUDDENLY HAS A BIG MISSION IN LIFE, WHICH IS TO GO OUT AND FIND GOLD. >> ABSOLUTELY. WE CAN GET RICH. WE CAN BECOME MASTERS OF OUR OWN DESTINIES. >> Wildman: FROM BRITAIN TO CHINA, IMMIGRANTS FLOODED INTO SYDNEY. AND OVER A DECADE, THE POPULATION QUADRUPLED TO NEARLY 2 MILLION. >> THERE WERE SCOTSMEN IN KILTS, WITH BAGPIPERS LEADING THEM. THERE WERE GENTLEMEN IN TOP HATS AND KID GLOVES... >> Wildman: WOW. >> ...SWELLS WITH EAU DE COLOGNE ON THEIR FACES. AND AS SOMEBODY SAID, PEOPLE WHO HAD DONE NO MORE PHYSICAL WORK THAN CROSS THE ROAD OR WIELD A FINE GRAY-GOOSE QUILL WERE NOW COMING UP TO SORT OF TRY THEIR HAND WITH A PICK AND A SHOVEL. >> Wildman: MOTHER ENGLAND ALSO WANTED IN ON THE ACTION, CHARGING EACH PROSPECTOR A HEAVY LICENSE FEE OF 30 SHILLINGS A MONTH TO WORK TINY PLOTS OF POTENTIALLY GOLD-BEARING LAND. >> THE POLICE WOULD COME DOWN -- "WHERE'S YOUR LICENSE? SHOW US YOUR LICENSE." "OH, IT'S IN THE TENT." "YOU HAVEN'T GOT IT ON YOU?" THEY'D ARREST THEM. THEY'LL FINE £5. "I HAVEN'T GOT £5, BECAUSE I'M NOT MAKING MONEY. I'M LOOKING FOR IT." SO THERE WERE ENORMOUS TENSIONS, PEOPLE LIVING IN PRETTY DISGUSTING CONDITIONS, AND THEY HAD AUTHORITIES -- PETTY AUTHORITY -- ON THEM ALL THE TIME -- "SHOW US YOUR LICENSE. SHOW US YOUR LICENSE." >> Wildman: AN EXPLOSIVE RESISTANCE MOVEMENT BEGAN GROWING IN THE UNDERGROUND. IN 1854, 1,500 MINE WORKERS REVOLTED IN A BLOODY INCIDENT KNOWN AS THE EUREKA STOCKADE. >> FIVE SOLDIERS DIED. ABOUT 50 OF THE MINERS WERE KILLED OR WOUNDED. BUT OUT OF THAT BLOOD, OUT OF ALL THAT TOIL AND TURMOIL, A ROYAL COMMISSION WAS HELD. THE MINERS' LICENSE WAS REVOKED. IT WAS REPLACED BY A MINERS' RIGHT, WHICH WAS £1 A YEAR. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY NOW GOT A VOTE IN PARLIAMENT. THEY FORMED PARTIES. >> Wildman: THIS BECOMES THE VERY FOUNDATION -- >> THE FIRST STIRRINGS OF DEMOCRACY IN AUSTRALIA, THE FIRST TIME THAT WE AS A PEOPLE STOOD UP AS A PEOPLE, VOTING AND CHOOSING OUR OWN DESTINY, NOT SOME OFFICE BACK IN ENGLAND. >> Wildman: WHEW. EVERY DIRECTION -- YOU KNOW, IT'S IRONIC. THE MONEY THAT WAS MADE DOWN HERE -- I MEAN, THESE GREAT FORTUNES -- NOT ONLY WENT INTO MEN'S POCKETS AND BACK HOME TO THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND LONDON, BUT IT STAYED HERE IN -- IN AUSTRALIA, TO BUILD THIS GREAT SOCIETY. AND THE MEN WHO WORKED IN HERE -- THE SPIRIT OF CAMARADERIE, OF RESISTANCE, THAT CAME FROM THESE GUYS, WORKING SO HARD FOR 20, 30 YEARS -- THIS GOES ON TO BUILD WHAT IS AN INDEPENDENT AUSTRALIAN DEMOCRACY. >> Wildman: FOR CENTURIES, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, WAS CONSIDERED THE FARTHEST CORNER OF THE WORLD. BUT BY 1942, THE WORLD WAS UPSIDE-DOWN. THE NAZIS HAD STORMED MOST OF EUROPE, AND JAPAN WAS LAUNCHING A JUGGERNAUT OF ITS OWN, CAPTURING A HUGE SWATH OF TERRITORY FROM HONG KONG TO SINGAPORE. WORLD WAR WAS NOW AT SYDNEY'S DOORSTEP. OVER 3 1/2 YEARS, STARTING IN MAY 1942, AUSTRALIAN AND AMERICAN FORCES IMPORTED NEARLY 1 MILLION MUSTARD-GAS AND PHOSGENE-GAS WEAPONS FROM BRITAIN AND THE U.S. THE HORRIBLE WEAPONS THAT HAD SHOCKED THE WORLD IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR WERE STILL HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL. SO THE AUSTRALIAN AND U.S. ARMIES HID THEM IN 15 STORAGE DEPOTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING AN OLD RAILROAD TUNNEL IN GLENBROOK, LESS THAN 40 MILES FROM SYDNEY. I'M MEETING WITH TWO MEN, ARTHUR LEWIS AND GEOFF BURN, WHO WERE TEENAGERS WHEN THEY SERVED IN THE GLENBROOK TUNNEL. AND THEY HAD TO KEEP THE SECRET FOR OVER 60 YEARS, AND THEY'RE TELLING ME ALL ABOUT IT. GOOD MORNING, GENTLEMEN. >> MORNING, DON. >> Wildman: DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU WERE GETTING INTO WHEN THEY SENT YOU HERE? >> NO, NO, IT WAS A COMPLETE MYSTERY. >> Wildman: WOW. WHERE'S THIS TUNNEL FROM HERE? >> FOLLOW US. >> Wildman: OKAY. WHILE SERVING IN THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE, GEOFF AND ARTHUR SPENT TWO LONG YEARS, FROM 1943 TO 1945, WORKING WITH THE DEADLY ARSENAL HERE. HOW MUCH TRAINING DID YOU GET IN HANDLING TOXIC LIQUIDS? >> [ SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY ] >> Wildman: TWO WEEKS? >> TWO WEEKS, YES. >> Wildman: SO, DID YOU TELL ANYBODY IN YOUR LIVES WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE, WHAT YOU WERE WORKING IN? >> NO, NOT -- NOT ONE SINGLE WORD. >> Wildman: AT THE TIME, USING CHEMICAL WEAPONS TO LAUNCH AN OFFENSIVE WAS CONSIDERED A WAR CRIME BY THE GENEVA PROTOCOL. BUT IT WAS LEGAL TO STORE CHEMICAL WEAPONS FOR DEFENSIVE PURPOSES. AND SINCE THE ALLIES HAD REASON TO BELIEVE THE JAPANESE WEREN'T PLAYING BY THE RULES, THEY HAD TO BE PREPARED FOR THE WORST. BECAUSE THE PROJECT WAS SO CONTROVERSIAL, IT WAS KEPT UNDER WRAPS FOR 60 YEARS. BUT IN 2007, A DILIGENT AUTHOR NAMED GEOFF PLUNKETT BROKE THE STORY. HE CONTACTED GEOFF AND ARTHUR, TWO OF THE FEW SURVIVING SERVICEMEN WHO WORKED HERE. THE MEN FINALLY BROKE THEIR SILENCE AND EXPOSED AUSTRALIA'S DEADLY SECRET. SO, THIS TUNNEL WAS USED IN WHAT WAY? OKAY. THIS WHOLE TUNNEL SPACE IS FILLED WITH LETHAL MUSTARD GAS -- IN DRUMS? OKAY, SO ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF CANISTERS. >> YES, CANISTERS. >> Wildman: TODAY, THE COOL, DARK TUNNELS ARE USED AS A MUSHROOM FARM. BUT 65 YEARS AGO, THE COOL, DARK CONDITIONS WERE PERFECT FOR STORING ONE OF THE WORLD'S DEADLIEST ARSENALS. HOW MANY CONTAINERS OF GAS WERE IN HERE? SO, AN HOUR OUTSIDE OF SYDNEY IS ENOUGH TOXIC AGENT TO TAKE OUT THE WHOLE POPULATION. >> YES. >> Wildman: THAT'S INCREDIBLE. THE LOW, CONSTANT TEMPERATURE INSIDE THE TUNNEL KEPT THE VOLATILE LIQUID FROM EXPLODING. BUT IF THE OIL INSIDE HIT THE AIR, IT TURNED INTO A NOXIOUS, INVISIBLE VAPOR WHICH ATTACKED THE LUNGS AND SKIN, RESULTING IN AGONIZING BLISTERS. WHEN LEAKING DRUMS NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED, THEY WERE TAKEN ON TRACKS OUTSIDE THE CLIMATE-CONTROLLED TUNNELS, WHERE TEMPERATURES REGULARLY TOPPED A SCORCHING 100 DEGREES, MAKING SOLDIERS' HEAVY WOOLEN PROTECTIVE GEAR TORTUROUS TO WEAR. GEOFF AND ARTHUR WERE ASSIGNED TO SECRET TESTS AT NEARBY NORTH BROOK ISLAND, WHERE THE AIR FORCE RELEASED 9,000 POUNDS OF MUSTARD GAS, USING LIVE GOATS TO TEST THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TOXIN. THE GOATS WENT BLIND AND WERE EUTHANIZED SOON AFTER. BUT THE WORKERS HERE WERE ALSO AT RISK. AND WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? HOW LONG WERE YOU BLINDED? OH, MAN. IN ADDITION TO TESTING FOR WEAPON POTENCY, THE AIR FORCE ALSO NEEDED TO KNOW HOW TO TREAT CHEMICAL-WEAPONS BURNS. LIKE U.S. SOLDIERS USED AS GUINEA PIGS IN A-BOMB TESTS, OVER 700 AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS WERE PAID A FEW EXTRA SHILLINGS A DAY TO BE GASSED. AND THEY'D EXPOSE THEM TO THE GAS? NO KIDDING. OH, MY GOD. YEAH, RIGHT. THE WEAPONS TESTING WAS HORRIBLE, AS WAS THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING TO USE THEM. BUT THE AUSTRALIANS WERE FACING A RUTHLESS ENEMY. AS LATE AS 1938, JAPANESE TROOPS UNLEASHED CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN PARTS OF CHINA. THE ALLIES COLLECTED SOIL SAMPLES PROVING THAT THE JAPANESE HAD ALSO LAUNCHED CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA, ONLY 100 MILES FROM AUSTRALIA'S SHORES. THIS WAS A SECRET THAT YOU GUYS DIDN'T EVEN TALK ABOUT. OKAY. DID IT AFFECT YOUR PENSIONS AND SO FORTH? I MEAN -- 'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO ADMIT YOU WERE IN THE ARMY. DID YOU EVER COMPLAIN TO ANYBODY AND SAY, "EXCUSE ME, BUT I DON'T WANT TO WORK WITH A TOXIC AGENT EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE? I'M A YOUNG MAN." MM-HMM. SURE. AUSTRALIA'S DEFENSE DEPARTMENT MAINTAINED TOTAL SECRECY FOR OVER 60 YEARS. THEN, AFTER DECADES OF SILENCE, THE MEN DECIDED TO CONTACT DEFENSE FORCES ABOUT THE CACHE OF WEAPONS GEOFF HAD BURIED DURING THE WAR. TODAY, THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT IS STILL DIGGING UP ITS TOXIC SECRETS. IF NOT FOR GEOFF BURN AND AUTHOR GEOFF PLUNKETT, THIS DARK PART OF AUSTRALIA'S PAST WOULD STILL BE HIDDEN UNDERGROUND. >> Wildman: IN WORLD WAR II, SYDNEY HARBOUR WAS AN ALLIED SAFE HAVEN AND A PRIME TARGET FOR THE JAPANESE. BUT LONG BEFORE THAT, THESE SHARK-INFESTED WATERS FORMED THE ULTIMATE PRISON WALL. WE'RE JUST OFF THE COAST OF SYDNEY, IN THE LARGEST NATURAL HARBOR IN THE WORLD, AND RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL, THE ALCATRAZ DOWN UNDER -- COCKATOO ISLAND. NOW, 150 YEARS AGO, IT WAS A HELLHOLE, HOME TO HUNDREDS OF BRUTAL CONVICTS AND THEIR TYRANNICAL PRISON WARDS. NOW, THEY MAY HAVE BEEN A WILD AND BLOODTHIRSTY BUNCH, BUT THEY WERE ALSO HUMAN GUINEA PIGS IN A RUTHLESS SOCIAL EXPERIMENT RUN BY THE BRITISH EMPIRE, LOOKING TO EXPAND HER GLOBAL DOMINATION FROM 10,000 MILES AWAY. I'M MEETING WITH BOB CLARK. HE'S WITH THE SYDNEY HARBOUR TRUST. HE KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT COCKATOO ISLAND. HOW YOU DOING? >> HEY, DON, WELCOME TO COCKATOO ISLAND. >> Wildman: BETWEEN 1788 AND 1868, 160,000 MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN WERE FORCIBLY DEPORTED 13,000 MILES ACROSS THE OCEAN FROM EUROPE. AUSTRALIA BECAME THE WORLD'S MOST INFAMOUS PENAL COLONY, WITH A CAREFULLY CHOSEN POPULATION. >> THE ORIGINAL CONVICTS WERE PEOPLE THAT HAD FORGED THINGS, STOLEN MEAT, BITS OF MATERIAL, THINGS LIKE THAT. >> Wildman: NOT SO BAD. >> NOT SO BAD -- IN FACT, THERE'S EVIDENCE COMING TO LIGHT THAT THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A BIT OF A POLICY OF CHOOSING PEOPLE THAT HAD SOME SKILLS THAT WOULD HELP START UP A NEW COLONY. >> Wildman: OFTEN WEARING HEAVY SHACKLES, THE CONVICTS WERE PUT TO WORK. ONE OF THEIR FIRST ASSIGNMENTS WAS CHISELING OUT THE 20 SUBTERRANEAN GRAIN SILOS FOR THE COLONY FROM THE SANDSTONE BENEATH THEIR FEET. >> THE CONVICTS WOULD CUT THIS HOLE OUT OF THE TOP, AND GRADUALLY THEY'D BE GOING DOWN. AND IT'S LIKE A BOTTLE SHAPE. THEY WOULD BE DOWN THERE, GETTING DEEPER AND DEEPER AND DEEPER AS THEY CUT THIS THING OUT. >> Wildman: RETRIEVING GRAIN FROM THESE DARK HOLES WAS ACTUALLY A DEADLY BUSINESS. WHEAT ABSORBS OXYGEN, TURNING THE SILOS INTO POTENTIAL DEATH CHAMBERS. THIS IS ABOUT 25 FEET DEEP OR SO, FILLED WITH WATER, SO THERE'S NO WAY I CAN GET THE CAMERA DOWN THERE. CAN YOU GIVE ME THE LITTLE CAMERA? SO I'LL GO DOWN THERE AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING DOWN BELOW. GOOD? OKAY, HERE I GO. BOY, YOU GUYS THOUGHT OF EVERYTHING HERE, HUH? OKAY, SLOWLY, SLOWLY, SLOWLY. OKAY, GOOD. OKAY, A LITTLE FURTHER, A LITTLE FURTHER...AND STOP. CHECK THIS PLACE OUT. OKAY, SO THERE'S LIKE 6, 10 FEET OF WATER, GROUNDWATER, BENEATH ME. IF I WAS A PRISONER HERE, WORKING IN THESE SILOS, I WOULD BE DROPPED DOWN HERE AS WELL -- NOT LIKE THIS, NOT WITH THESE FANCY ROPES AND EVERYTHING, BUT RATHER WITH A HEMP ROPE AROUND MY WAIST. THERE WERE SEVERAL MEN WHO DIED DOWN HERE, BASICALLY DOING WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW. GRAIN JUST SOAKS UP THE OXYGEN, AND IN NO TIME FLAT, YOU CAN SUFFOCATE. BUT DEADLY JOBS AND HARSH TREATMENT WERE TYPICAL FOR PRISONERS HERE. TO MAKE SURE THESE DANGEROUS FELONS NEVER MADE IT BACK TO THE MAINLAND, THE GUARDS PITCHED RAW MEAT INTO THE WATER TO ATTRACT SHARKS. IN ADDITION TO DIGGING OUT AND MAINTAINING THE SILOS, THE PRISONERS WERE PUT TO WORK QUARRYING SANDSTONE. THOSE BLOCKS WERE USED FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS AROUND SYDNEY AND FOR CONSTRUCTING THEIR OWN PRISON, A 21,600-SQUARE-FOOT HUMAN WAREHOUSE. THIS IS WHAT'S DONE ON A GRAND AND EPIC SCALE THROUGHOUT ALL OF AUSTRALIA -- USE THE PRISONERS AS THE COLONISTS, USE THE PRISONERS TO CREATE A WHOLE SOCIETY, TO CREATE AUSTRALIA. FOR THE BRITISH, AUSTRALIA WAS MORE THAN A CONTINENT-SIZED PRISON. IT WAS A CHANCE TO BUILD A SUPERCOLONY. BY USING FREE PRISON LABOR, THE BRITISH COULD ESTABLISH A STRONGHOLD IN THE PACIFIC. EXPANDING THEIR EMPIRE HERE WOULD GIVE THEM UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE RESOURCES AND TRADE IN THE FAR EAST. >> THIS WAS TOUGH. IT WAS DESIGNED TO BE TOUGH -- HARD LABOR, SECONDARY OFFENDERS. IF YOU WERE STUPID ENOUGH TO MUCK IT UP, YOU GOT PUT HERE. OKAY, COME ON IN, DON, AND WE'LL HAVE A LOOK INSIDE. >> Wildman: ALL RIGHT. SO, THIS IS THE ACTUAL JAIL. >> THAT'S RIGHT. >> Wildman: AND ON BOTH SIDES OF US ARE THE CELLS OF THIS -- >> NO, THEY WEREN'T CELLS. IT WAS ONE BIG WARD THAT WAS LOCKED UP. >> Wildman: AH, I SEE. >> AND WHAT THEY HAD HERE WERE TWO LEVELS OF SLOPING TIMBER BOARDS, AND YOU SLEPT ON THEM. >> Wildman: WHAT? THEY HAD SLOPING TIMBER BOARDS, AND THAT WAS THE BEDDING? >> THAT'S IT. THAT'S WHAT THEY SLEPT ON. AND THEY WERE SLOPING SO THE WARDERS WALKING UP AND DOWN COULD SEE EXACTLY WHAT WAS GOING ON. >> Wildman: NO KIDDING. AND HOW MANY PRISONERS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WERE IN HERE? >> THREE WARDS, AND IT WAS DESIGNED FOR 300 CONVICTS. >> Wildman: THIS IS NOT A BIG BUILDING. >> NO. >> Wildman: AND 300 PEOPLE WERE STUFFED IN HERE. SINCE THERE WERE ROUGHLY 220 CRIMES YOU COULD BE HANGED FOR IN ENGLAND IN THE 1800s, FROM STEALING A RABBIT TO MURDER, THRONGS OF CRIMINALS PROVIDED A HUGE LABOR POOL FOR BUILDING THAT NEW COLONY. AT FIRST, PICKPOCKETS AND VIOLENT CRIMINALS WERE ALL THROWN IN TOGETHER. BUT BY 1839, OVERCROWDED PRISONS FORCED THE COLONY TO MOVE THE MOST HARDENED CRIMINALS, SENDING THEM HERE TO COCKATOO ISLAND. SO THIS IS ONE BIG CELL, ESSENTIALLY. >> THAT'S RIGHT, WITH SLOP BUCKETS. >> Wildman: REALLY? NICE. SMELLED GREAT IN HERE, I IMAGINE. >> HOT WEATHER -- GOT REALLY WARM, AND THERE ARE STORIES OF PEOPLE ACTUALLY HANGING ONTO THOSE BARS, GASPING FOR BREATH, TRYING TO GET SOME FRESH AIR. >> Wildman: IN 1847, THE PRISONERS OF COCKATOO RECEIVED THEIR BIGGEST JOB YET -- CREATING A DOCKYARD. IT TOOK 10 YEARS TO CUT A DRY-DOCK REPAIR SLIP INTO THE ROCKY COAST OF THE ISLAND. NEARLY 12 YEARS AFTER THEY COMPLETED THE DRY DOCK, THE PRISON WAS SHUT DOWN. IN 1890, FREE LABORERS, NOT CONVICTS, BUILT A SECOND ONE. BY 1913, THE TWO DOCKS WOULD EVENTUALLY TURN THIS DESOLATE PRISON ISLAND INTO THE NERVE CENTER OF THE GROWING AUSTRALIAN NAVAL FLEET. THE FORMER PENAL COLONY WOULD SOON BECOME A VITAL ALLY IN THE GREATEST CONFLICT OF THE 20th CENTURY. SO, THIS WAS A CENTERPIECE OF THE AUSTRALIAN NAVY, AS FAR AS REPAIR AND SERVICE OF THEIR SHIPS... >> INDEED IT WAS. >> Wildman: ...AND IN WORLD WAR II, I IMAGINE, VERY IMPORTANT. >> WELL, IN 1942, PEOPLE WERE VERY, VERY WORRIED HERE, BECAUSE DARWIN, AT THE NORTH OF AUSTRALIA, HAD BEEN BOMBED. THE JAPANESE WERE COMING DOWN THROUGH NEW GUINEA. SO AUSTRALIA FELT VERY, VERY VULNERABLE. >> Wildman: DURING THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC, A CONSTANT FLOW OF ALLIED VESSELS, INCLUDING MANY U.S. NAVAL SHIPS, HEAVILY DAMAGED BY THE JAPANESE AND IN DESPERATE NEED OF REPAIRS, MADE A BEELINE FOR COCKATOO ISLAND, THE ONLY MAJOR NAVAL-REPAIR DOCK FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES. JUST IMAGINE WHAT THIS PLACE WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE 70 YEARS AGO AT THE HEIGHT OF WORLD WAR II, 1942. YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN AN AMERICAN SHIP IN HERE BEING REPAIRED. MAYBE IT WAS HIT BY A JAPANESE SUBMARINE. THERE ARE WELDERS, ELECTRICIANS, RIVETERS, EVERYBODY -- A BUZZ OF ACTIVITY. CRITICAL TO THE DAILY OPERATION OF THE DOCKYARD DURING THE WAR WAS A SUBTERRANEAN PUMPING ROOM, 30 FEET BELOWGROUND, THAT KEPT THE REPAIR SLIPS DRY AND THE WAR EFFORT CRUISING FULL SPEED AHEAD. >> RIGHT IN HERE. IT WAS ACTUALLY LEFT JUST AS IT WAS WHEN THE DOCKYARD CLOSED DOWN. SO, HERE WE ARE DOWN AT THE PUMP LEVEL. >> Wildman: LOOK AT THIS. SO, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING, THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG... >> THAT'S RIGHT. >> Wildman: ...OF THE PUMP THAT GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN ABOUT 15, 20 FEET. >> YOU CAN SEE THAT HOLE, THAT CYLINDRICAL -- >> Wildman: YEP. SO, ESSENTIALLY, I MEAN, WHEN YOU HAVE A DESTROYER OR SOMETHING, A SHIP COMING IN FOR REPAIR, IT PULLS INTO THE DOCK. THEY BLOCK IT OFF. THAT WATER HAS TO BE PUMPED OUT OF THAT DRY DOCK. >> ALL THAT WATER HAS TO GO OUT. >> Wildman: THIS THING DOES THAT. >> SUCKED OUT, THROUGH A TUNNEL, BACK INTO THE HARBOR. >> Wildman: SHIPS IN DESPERATE NEED OF REPAIR WERE TOWED INTO A SLIP, AND A WATERTIGHT CAISSON SLID INTO PLACE BEHIND IT, SEALING OFF THE AREA. TO CREATE A DRY-DOCK WORK AREA, THE PUMPS WOULD DRAIN 10,000 TONS OF WATER PER HOUR, DRYING OUT THE SLIP AND EMPTYING THE WATER BACK OUT INTO THE HARBOR. LOOK HOW THE ROCK IS RIGHT HERE. >> YEAH. >> Wildman: THIS WHOLE THING HAS BEEN CHISELED OUT. THE FOUNDATION FOR THIS BUILDING IS THE ROCK ITSELF. >> THAT'S RIGHT. >> Wildman: RIGHT. THAT'S COOL. LOOK AT THIS. IT READS "GENERAL ELECTRIC, SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK." SO YOU CAN SEE, I MEAN, THIS WAS NOT JUST IMPORTANT TO THE AUSTRALIANS -- THE AMERICANS, TOO. I MEAN, THE WHOLE ALLIED WAR EFFORT DEPENDED ON THIS DOCKYARD, TO REPAIR THE SHIPS, AND AUSTRALIA IN GENERAL. WITHOUT THIS PLACE, THE ALLIED WAR EFFORT IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC WOULD HAVE BEEN DESPERATE. >> Wildman: IN THE 19th CENTURY, AUSTRALIA WAS THE MOST FAR-FLUNG OUTPOST OF AN ENORMOUS BRITISH EMPIRE. TODAY, SYDNEY IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF WASHINGTON, D.C., AND I'M HEADED TO AN UNDERGROUND FORTRESS THAT'S HELPED WARD OFF TWO CENTURIES OF ENEMIES, FROM NAPOLEON'S SPIES TO JAPANESE SUBMARINES. IN 1870, AFTER YEARS OF MILITARY OCCUPATION, THE BRITISH WITHDREW THEIR TROOPS FROM AUSTRALIA. AND WHILE AUSTRALIA WAS STILL OFFICIALLY UNDER THEIR DOMINION, THEY WERE LEFT WITHOUT THE MILITARY PROTECTION OF THE GREAT EMPIRE. THE YOUNG COLONY HAD TO BUILD A DEFENSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE FROM THE GROUND UP. BOB CLARK, WITH THE SYDNEY HARBOUR TRUST, TOOK ME TO A DEFENSIVE FORTIFICATION CALLED MIDDLE HEAD. IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT IN THE 1870s, THEN WAS BEEFED UP WHEN WORLD WAR II CAME TO SYDNEY'S DOORSTEP. SO, WE'RE RIGHT AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE HARBOR HERE. >> WE ARE. THAT'S THE HARBOR UP THERE PROPER. >> Wildman: AND THESE ARE THE FORTIFICATIONS ALL AROUND US. >> THAT'S RIGHT. WE'RE SURROUNDED BY THE FORT, SO WE'RE PROTECTING THE HARBOR. >> Wildman: THE CONVICTS ON COCKATOO ISLAND HAD ALREADY DUG OUT A DRY DOCK EVENTUALLY USED BY THE ROYAL NAVY. BUT THAT ELITE NAVY YARD NOW MADE SYDNEY A TARGET FOR JAPANESE NAVAL AND AIR-FORCE ATTACKS. SO, TO PROTECT THEIR NAVAL FLEET AND THE CITY, THREE ARTILLERY POSITIONS AT NORTH, SOUTH, AND MIDDLE HEAD CREATED A TRIANGULATED DEFENSE SYSTEM THAT WOULD PROVE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR A JAPANESE SHIP TO BREAK THROUGH. >> SO, YOU CAN SEE THE SIZE OF THE PEDESTAL THAT ACTUALLY HELD... >> Wildman: IT'S ENORMOUS. >> ...SIX-INCH GUN, YES -- THERE FOR THE PURPOSE OF BEING A CLOSE -- THE LARGE GUNS -- THERE WERE TWO 9.2-INCH GUNS MOUNTED RIGHT UP ON NORTH HEAD. >> Wildman: THE MASSIVE GUNS NEEDED A HUGE AMOUNT OF AMMUNITION. AND THE 900 FEET OF TUNNELS ORIGINALLY BUILT IN 1871 WERE PERFECT FOR STORING AND MOVING AMMO, SAFELY OUT OF SIGHT IN THE UNDERGROUND. GO DOWN THIS WAY? >> IN THERE -- THIS LEADS STRAIGHT DOWN. >> Wildman: ALL RIGHT. SO WE'RE HEADING UNDER THE GUNS HERE. >> THAT'S RIGHT. THIS IS THE SUPPORT SYSTEM. >> Wildman: OKAY. >> COME RIGHT IN HERE. >> Wildman: OFF WE GO. ALL RIGHT. SO, WHAT -- OH, THIS IS LIKE A CATACOMB. WHAT AGE ARE WE IN HERE? WHAT ERA IS THIS FORT? >> WELL, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT THE 1880s HERE, AND GRADUALLY IT BECAME MORE COMPLICATED AS THE GUNS GOT BIGGER. >> Wildman: AND THE WARS GOT WORSE. >> [ LAUGHS ] YES. >> Wildman: THIS 130-YEAR-OLD WARREN OF TUNNELS AND ROOMS WAS RETROFITTED TO SURVIVE 20th-CENTURY COMBAT. LOOK AT THIS. SO, THIS IS ROCK. SO THESE ARE CARVED TUNNELS... >> THAT'S RIGHT. >> Wildman: ...NOT CONCRETE -- POURED CONCRETE, LIKE WE'RE USED TO. >> NO. THEY HAD THE ROCK, SO THEREFORE THEY COULD CHISEL INTO IT AND CUT IT OUT, AND THAT SORT OF CREATED THE CORRIDORS. AND WHAT THEY'VE DONE HERE -- THEY'VE ACTUALLY USED CONCRETE TO ACTUALLY BRIDGE OVER THAT AND CREATE SAFETY FROM SHELLS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN FALLING FROM ABOVE. >> Wildman: AS THE JAPANESE BOMBED DARWIN IN NORTH AUSTRALIA, THE CITIZENS OF SYDNEY PREPARED FOR AN INVASION THEY BELIEVED WAS INEVITABLE. WHEN THE JAPANESE ENTERED WORLD WAR II, IN 1941, SYDNEY BECAME AN ARMED CAMP. OVER 100 ANTIAIRCRAFT AND SEARCHLIGHT POSITIONS WERE BUILT. BARBED WIRE LINED THE BEACHES. AND ANTISUBMARINE NETS WERE STRETCHED ACROSS THE MOUTH OF SYDNEY HARBOUR. THE 19th-CENTURY FORTIFICATIONS AT MIDDLE HEAD PREPPED THEIR LONG-RANGE ARTILLERY GUNS, INCLUDING THE SIX-INCH GUNS, WHICH COULD LAUNCH 7 TO 8 ROUNDS PER MINUTE UP TO 1,400 YARDS AWAY. THESE TUNNELS RUNNING BENEATH THE GUN EMPLACEMENTS WERE USED TO STORE AMMO AND RUN IT BETWEEN THE BATTERIES. THE SOLDIERS HERE WERE WELL PREPARED FOR BATTLE. BUT AS THE JAPANESE APPROACHED, PANIC GRIPPED THE CITY. >> THEY WERE REALLY WORRIED. PLACES AROUND HERE WERE JUST BEING DESERTED. PEOPLE WERE GOING UP INLAND TO VISIT RELATIVES, TO GET AWAY FROM IT. THE OTHER PEOPLE AROUND HERE WERE ACTUALLY DIGGING AIR-RAID SHELTERS IN THEIR BACKYARD. >> Wildman: OH, REALLY? IT'S LIKE THE UNITED STATES IN THE COLD WAR. I MEAN, PEOPLE THOUGHT, "THE END IS NEAR." >> EXACTLY. >> Wildman: YEAH, "LET'S DIG IN." >> YEAH. >> Wildman: BUT WHEN THE JAPANESE BOMBED PEARL HARBOR AND THE U.S. JOINED FORCES WITH THE ALLIES, SYDNEY WENT FROM DEFENSIVE HOLDOUT TO CRITICAL RESOURCE IN THE ALLIED VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC. HAD THESE DETERRENTS NOT BEEN HERE, HAD THE JAPANESE BEEN INVITED TO COME DOWN AND TAKE AUSTRALIA, THE ENTIRE WAR WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT. WHAT WE USED FOR A BASE OF OPERATIONS, FOR REPAIR OF SHIPS, FOR SHIPPING TROOPS IN -- ALL OF THAT GONE, WORLD WAR II A WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY. THE STORY OF MIDDLE HEAD DOESN'T END WITH ITS WORLD WAR II GLORY DAYS. AN ENGINE ROOM ORIGINALLY BUILT IN THE 1880s BECAME A TWISTED TRAINING CENTER DURING THE VIETNAM WAR. 60,000 AUSTRALIANS SERVED IN THAT HELLISH CONFLICT. AND HERE, A SELECT GROUP OF SOLDIERS WERE PLUNGED INTO THE UNDERGROUND TO UNDERGO WHAT CAN ONLY BE CALLED VOLUNTARY TORTURE. WHOA, WHAT IS THAT? >> THESE ARE CALLED THE TIGER CAGES. >> Wildman: TIGER CAGES? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? >> OH, WELL, THEY'RE CAGES WHERE PEOPLE WERE THROWN IN AND LEFT. >> Wildman: THROWN AND LEFT? THEY KEPT PRISONERS DOWN HERE? >> THEY WEREN'T PRISONERS. NOW, THIS IS CALLED CODE-OF-CONDUCT COURSE. AND IT WAS DESIGNED FOR TROOPS THAT WERE GOING TO THE -- AUSTRALIAN TROOPS GOING TO THE VIETNAM WAR. >> Wildman: REALLY? >> SO IT WAS FOR THOSE THAT WERE PROBABLY LIKELY TO GET CAPTURED, BECAUSE THEY WERE DOING THINGS WHICH ARE LIKE SCOUTING AND INTELLIGENCE. >> Wildman: WAIT A MINUTE. SO THIS IS A -- THIS IS A LITTLE SCHOOL HERE FOR TORTURE. >> IT IS, YES. >> Wildman: LOOK AT THIS. I MEAN, THESE ARE NOT RESTORED. I MEAN, THIS IS AS THEY WERE IN THE '60s. I MEAN, EACH CELL...IS... EXACTLY WHAT SOMEONE WOULD ENCOUNTER IF THEY HAD BEEN CAPTURED BY THE VIETCONG. AND LOOK AT WHAT THEIR CONDITIONS ARE -- THIS TINY, LITTLE CELL, YOU KNOW, RIGHT OUT OF "RAMBO." YOU GOT TO SIT IN HERE IN THE DARK, DEPRIVED OF SLEEP, DEPRIVED OF FOOD, WATER BEING DUMPED DOWN ON TOP OF YOU TO KEEP YOU COLD AND WET AND MISERABLE. AND LOOK. THIS IS YOUR SEWAGE CHANNEL RIGHT HERE. SO IMAGINE THE SMELL DOWN HERE. I MEAN, THIS IS JUST BEING FOR TRAINING PURPOSES. IMAGINE THE REAL THING. FROM THE 1800s TO THE VIETNAM WAR, THE TUNNELS OF MIDDLE HEAD HAVE BEEN ADAPTED, REBUILT, AND REUSED OVER 100 YEARS. WHEN IT COMES TO PROTECTING ITS HARBOR, SYDNEY HAS ALWAYS RELIED ON ITS UNDERGROUND. >> Wildman: WHEN MOST PEOPLE THINK OF THE WILD WEST, THEY THINK OF JESSE JAMES OR BILLY THE KID, LEGENDARY AMERICAN OUTLAWS WHO TOOK ADVANTAGE OF A LAWLESS TIME IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE AMERICAN EXPANSION. BUT IMAGINE A CONTINENT OF MAKESHIFT SETTLEMENTS, POPULATED IN LARGE PART BY CONVICTS. LONG BEFORE THERE WAS BUTCH OR SUNDANCE, AUSTRALIA WAS HOME TO THE MOST RUTHLESS OUTLAW AROUND, THE BUSHRANGER. AND THE ONLY PLACE FOR THESE DESPERATE FUGITIVES TO HIDE OUT -- THE COUNTLESS CAVES DOWN UNDER. 180 MILES FROM SYDNEY ARE THE ABERCROMBIE CAVES, A MASSIVE LIMESTONE SYSTEM THAT ONCE HARBORED A LEGENDARY GANG OF BUSHRANGERS DURING ONE OF THE LARGEST CONVICT UPRISINGS IN AUSTRALIAN HISTORY. LOCAL GUIDE BARRY CUBITT LED US TO THE REMOTE HIDEOUT OF THE VICIOUS RIBBON GANG. IT TOOK US FOREVER TO GET HERE. >> WELL, IT TOOK THE BUSHRANGERS FOREVER TO FIND THE PLACE, I THINK. IT'S A VERY ISOLATED SPOT, AS YOU FOUND OUT YOURSELF. >> Wildman: AND THE CAVES ARE DOWN THIS WAY. >> YEAH, DOWN THIS WAY. >> Wildman: SO, THE WORD "BUSHRANGER" REFERS TO WHAT? >> WELL, THE TERM WAS FIRST USED AROUND 1806, WE THINK, BUT PREVIOUS TO THAT, THEY WERE ALWAYS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES AS BANDITTI OR HIGHWAYMEN OR OUTLAWS. >> Wildman: OKAY, THE EQUIVALENT OF OUR AMERICAN WEST OUTLAWS. >> DEFINITELY, YES. >> Wildman: AND OBVIOUSLY THE BUSH REFERS TO THAT BACKCOUNTRY OF AUSTRALIA. >> IT CERTAINLY DOES, WHICH WE'RE RIGHT IN AT THE MOMENT. >> Wildman: TODAY, 97% OF AUSTRALIA IS STILL VIRTUALLY UNINHABITED. WHILE ABORIGINES HAVE BEEN NAVIGATING THE UNFORGIVING TERRAIN FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, ONLY THE TOUGHEST 19th-CENTURY COLONIST COULD SURVIVE IT. THE NEAREST SETTLEMENT IS HOW FAR AWAY FROM HERE? >> WELL, AT THAT TIME, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE BARRACKS AT BATHURST, WHICH IS 80 KILOMETERS -- ABOUT 50 MILES. >> Wildman: OH, QUITE A WAYS. OKAY. WHAT YEAR ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? >> WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 1830. >> Wildman: THERE'S NOTHING OUT HERE. I MEAN, AUSTRALIA BARELY EXISTS IN 1830. THAT YEAR, AN ESCAPED CONVICT NAMED RALPH ENTWISTLE BECAME THE SPARTACUS OF THE OUTBACK, FREEING A MOB OF CONVICT LABORERS, TERRORIZING LANDOWNERS, AND HIDING OUT HERE IN THE CAVE-RIDDLED HILLS OF THE RUGGED ABERCROMBIE BUSH. THERE'S EVIDENCE THAT THESE GUYS WERE INSIDE THIS CAVE HERE. >> YES. I'M GONNA TAKE YOU IN. YEAH, THIS IS BUSHRANGERS CAVE... >> Wildman: BUSHRANGERS CAVE, OKAY. >> ...WHERE WE THINK THE RIBBON GANG HID OUT FOR ABOUT A WEEK OR SO IN OCTOBER 1830. AND WE FOUND SOME LEG IRONS IN HERE MANY YEARS AGO. >> Wildman: YEAH? >> THAT IS PRETTY GOOD EVIDENCE THAT SOMEONE WAS IN HERE A LONG TIME AGO. >> Wildman: THESE HERE? >> THEY'RE THE ONES. >> Wildman: ALL RIGHT. THOSE ARE THE REAL McCOY. >> THEY CERTAINLY ARE. THERE'S NO WAY IN THE WORLD I WOULD'VE WANTED TO WEAR THOSE. >> Wildman: THESE ARE ANKLE IRONS. >> ANKLE IRONS, YEAH. I MEAN, YOU TRY TO RUN IN THOSE, AND YOU'D SOON FALL OVER. >> Wildman: EXACTLY. >> AND AT NIGHTTIME, WHEN THEY WERE ON THEIR PROPERTIES, THE LANDOWNER WOULD THEN RUN A CHAIN THROUGH THE CENTER LINK HERE AND CHAIN THEM ALL TO THE BED SO THAT THEY STILL HAD TO WEAR THOSE AT NIGHTTIME -- NOT ONLY THAT, BUT YOU CAN IMAGINE THE RUBBING ON YOUR ANKLES. >> Wildman: EXACTLY, AND NO WONDER THESE GUYS WERE ON THE RUN. THE SAGA OF THE RIBBON GANG BEGAN WHEN A YOUNG CONVICT NAMED RALPH ENTWISTLE, WORKING AS A VIRTUAL SLAVE FOR A LOCAL LANDOWNER, WAS FLOGGED FOR SKINNY-DIPPING ON A HOT DAY. OUTRAGED, THE FORMER MODEL PRISONER BROKE FREE AND TOOK A NUMBER OF MEN WITH HIM. SO, EVENTUALLY, THE RIBBON GANG, ENTWISTLE'S GANG, ROSE IN NUMBER, YES? >> IT DOES, 'CAUSE EVERY PROPERTY THEY WENT TO, THEY NOT ONLY STOLE ALL THIS STUFF, BUT THEY TRIED TO PERSUADE OTHER CONVICTS INTO JOINING THE GANG. >> Wildman: THE RIBBON GANG RODE TO THE MAGISTRATE'S HOME AND DEMANDED THE RELEASE OF THE 80 CONVICT LABORERS THERE. >> THE OVERSEER BECAME SO ANGRY THAT HE RIPPED OPEN HIS SHIRT, BARED HIS CHEST, AND DARED THEM TO SHOOT. THREE SHOTS RANG OUT. ENTWISTLE FIRED THE FIRST SHOT. THE OVERSEER STUMBLED BACK INTO HIS HUT, FELL OVER DEAD. ONE OF THE OTHER CONVICTS IN THE BACKGROUND POINTED HIS GUN AROUND AND SAID, "OKAY, WHO'S NEXT?" AND SO, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THEY ALL JOINED. A GANG OF 130 MARAUDING AROUND THE COUNTRYSIDE. >> Wildman: THAT'S A SMALL ARMY. >> IT BECAME THE BIGGEST CONVICT REBELLION IN THE COLONY. >> Wildman: THIS MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE FRIGHTENING TO AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY AT THE TIME. >> I THINK IT WAS VERY THREATENING, YES. >> Wildman: YOU BASICALLY HAD SYDNEY, AND THEN YOU HAD A LOT OF OPEN COUNTRY AROUND IT. >> AND ONE OF THE BIG PROBLEMS WAS THAT ALL THE LITTLE FARMERS AND THINGS WERE FEELING IN FEAR FOR THEIR LIFE. >> Wildman: THIS COULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. NOW WANTED FOR MURDER AND THEFT, THE GANG OF 130 UNRULY CONVICTS SOON PROVED AN UNWORKABLE NUMBER. ENTWISTLE FLED WITH A HANDFUL OF HARD-CORE FOLLOWERS. AND THEY FOUND A CAVE BY FOLLOWING THE CREEK. >> YEAH, WELL, WE THINK ABOUT 10 MILES UP THE CREEK IS WHERE THEY ACTUALLY STUMBLED ON THE CREEK. >> Wildman: THE CAVE IS DIVIDED INTO THREE SEPARATE CHAMBERS BURIED 100 FEET UNDER THE MOUNTAIN. THE SMALLER CAVE NEARBY WAS USED AS A STABLE FOR HORSES. WITH A STEADY SUPPLY OF WATER FOR THE GANG AND THEIR ANIMALS TO DRINK, NOT TO MENTION THE COOL TEMPERATURES INSIDE, THE ABERCROMBIE CAVE SYSTEM WAS AN IDEAL HIDEOUT. SO, WHERE WOULD THESE GUYS HAVE BEEN LIVING? >> WELL, WE'RE ACTUALLY IN THE AREA THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN, ALL THROUGH HERE. >> Wildman: SO THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A FIRE PIT HERE. >> WELL, WE THINK THAT JUST AROUND THIS AREA HERE WAS WHERE THE FIRE PIT WAS. WE DID FIND EVIDENCE OF SMOKE IN THERE MANY YEARS AGO. >> Wildman: SO, I'M PICTURING, BASICALLY, A CAMPSITE THAT THESE GUYS ARE ALL LAYING OUT HERE, AS IF THEY WOULD BE IN THE OPEN GROUND, BUT THEY GOT THE CAVE. HOW CRAZY. MAN. IT'S JUST LIKE -- WE COME INTO LIKE FOUR DIFFERENT ROOMS IN THIS ONE CAVE. NO WONDER THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD GET AWAY WITH THIS. I MEAN, NO WONDER. IF YOU WERE BURIED BACK HERE, IN THE BUSH, YOU KNOW, 50 MILES FROM THE NEAREST SETTLEMENT, WHY WOULD THEY COME AND LOOK FOR YOU? SOLDIERS DID EVENTUALLY TRACK THE GANG HERE. THEY ESCAPED THE CAVE BUT WERE CAPTURED NEARBY AND EVENTUALLY HANGED. BUT 30 YEARS LATER, DURING THE GOLD RUSH, THE BUSH REMAINED A HANDY HIDEOUT FOR THOUSANDS OF OUTLAWS, READY TO POUNCE ON MINERS HAULING PRECIOUS LOADS TO THE BIG CITY. THE HISTORY OF BUSHRANGING HAS ITS OWN EVOLUTION, YES? >> IT APPEARS TO HAVE, BECAUSE ALTHOUGH THESE GUYS, THE RIBBON GANG, WERE VIRTUALLY ESCAPED CONVICTS REBELLING AGAINST THE WAY THEY WERE BEING TREATED, MUCH LATER, DURING THE GOLD-RUSH DAYS, REALLY IT BECAME MORE GREED, I THINK, AND THEY WERE HOLDING UP MAIL COACHES AND STEALING GOLD ESCORTS. >> Wildman: YOU SPEAK WITH ADMIRATION FOR THESE GUYS, I'M ASSUMING. >> FOR THESE GUYS, YES. I MEAN, THERE WERE BUSHRANGERS, PERHAPS LATER IN THE PERIOD, WHICH WERE OUT-AND-OUT ROGUES. AND I THINK WE OFTEN TEND TO ROMANTICIZE THOSE A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH. >> Wildman: WELL, WE DO THE SAME THING IN THE UNITED STATES, I MEAN, WITH THE BILLY THE KIDS. >> OH, I'VE HEARD OF ALL OF THOSE. >> Wildman: ALTHOUGH BUSHRANGERS EVENTUALLY BECAME SYMBOLS OF THE AUSTRALIAN SPIRIT OF FREEDOM, IN THEIR DAY, THEY WERE PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE. AND THEY KNOW THERE'S NOT GONNA BE ANY COURT FOR THEM. THERE'S NOT GONNA BE ANY COURT OF APPEALS. THERE'S NO AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL. THERE'S NOTHING HERE TO TURN TO EXCEPT HIDING OUT IN THE UNDERWORLD. FROM OUTBACK HIDEOUTS TO THE PRISON CAMPS OF A GREAT EMPIRE, THE FOUNDATION OF THIS ISOLATED ISLAND NATION WAS FORGED BY CONVICTS, OUTLAWS, AND REBELS. THE BUSTLING STREETS OF SYDNEY AND AWESOME LANDSCAPE BEYOND CONCEAL THE DARKER SIDE OF AUSTRALIA, UNDERGROUND.
