THE MOMENTS THAT SHAPED AUSTRALIA'S NORTHERN FRONTIER
THE TERRITORY STORY
WAR . DISASTER . LAND . DEMOCRACY . POWER .
A LANDMARK TWO-PART DOCUMENTARY SERIES · COMING 2028
Supported by
Fifty Years. One Story. Now Being Told
A landmass larger than France and Spain combined. A parliament of twenty-five. A population smaller than Canberra.
Yet what has happened here has changed Australia in ways most Australians have never fully understood.
The full story of how the Territory shaped modern Australia has never been brought to the screen.
Until now.
Production is underway, including filming on Country at Wave Hill with Gurindji community members, retracing the path of the historic 1966 walk-off.
50 Years. One Territory. One Unfinished Story.
In Production
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY IS UNDERWAY · COMING 2028
From the team's earlier work
A 30-second spot from The Territory Remembers, an earlier documentary by the same Darwin-based team.
Why this story. Why now.
In 2028, the Northern Territory marks fifty years of self-government, while the people who shaped its first half-century can still tell the story themselves.
On 1 July 2028, the Territory reaches a national milestone. The Territory Story will be ready to meet it.
The founding generation is ageing. Their testimony must be captured now.
Northern Australia now sits at the centre of the nation’s defence strategy. US Marines rotate through Darwin, billions are being invested in northern bases, and AUKUS has heightened the Territory’s strategic importance. The debate over Darwin Port has shown that decisions made in the north now carry consequences far beyond it.
Fifty years after self-government, the Territory remains constitutionally unfinished. It is not a state. Questions of land, authority and control remain contested. Its relationship with Canberra is still being negotiated.
War — The same carrier force that struck Pearl Harbor struck here. Darwin became Australia’s frontline in the Pacific, and the experience changed the Territory forever.
Disaster — In one night, a city was destroyed. Cyclone Tracy reshaped Darwin and changed how Australia prepares for disaster.
Defence — The Territory is Australia's strategic front door. Its defence posture shapes the nation's security for the century ahead.
Self-Government — Came with conditions. Fifty years on, the Territory is still negotiating them and writing its own future.
What was set in motion still defines the Territory today.
Land Rights — At Wave Hill, a handful of soil became a national symbol. The Gurindji struggle helped transform Australian law and the recognition of Aboriginal land rights.
Energy & Resources — From uranium and minerals to gas, the Territory’s resources have driven national ambition, investment and conflict over who controls the land and who benefits from it.
The moments that shaped the Territory, and continue to shape its future.
Understanding the Territory's past helps explain Australia's future.
Those Who Shaped the Territory
This series brings together the people who built, governed and challenged the modern Northern Territory, including political leaders, Indigenous voices, pastoralists, industry figures, federal decision-makers and families whose lives are bound to its defining events.
Interviews are underway, with further voices being added as production continues. Together, they bring contrasting perspectives on how the Territory was built, governed and changed.
Paul Everingham
First Chief Minister, NT
Helped bring self-government into existence.
Marshall Perron
Former Chief Minister, NT
Shane Stone
Former Chief Minister, NT
Introduced the world’s first voluntary euthanasia law, testing the limits of Territory self-government.
Fought to redefine the Territory’s place in the nation.
Lia Finocchiaro
Current Chief Minister, NT
Clare Martin
Former Chief Minister, NT
Donna Odegaard
Larrakia Elder and Indigenous Leader
Offers the perspective of the Territory’s current government as the fiftieth anniversary approaches.
Led the Territory's first Labor government, and its entry into the twenty-first century.
Speaks to a law and connection that existed long before government.
PENDING
Every Territory story is also a story about Canberra. For fifty years, the two have pushed against each other. This series brings both sides into the same frame.
John Howard
Prime Minister of Australia,
1996 to 2007
The Prime Minister whose government overturned the Territory’s voluntary euthanasia law, exposing the limits of self-government.
Anthony Albanese
Prime Minister of Australia,
2022 to present
INVITED
The Prime Minister leading Australia as the Territory approaches fifty years of self-government and assumes growing national importance.
The Filmmakers
Small Screen Productions is a Darwin-based documentary team with a national broadcast track record. For more than two decades, the team has brought landmark Territory stories to national and international audiences.
The team delivered Territory Remembers: The Bombing of Darwin for the 75th anniversary of the largest attack on Australian soil, and Albert Borella VC: An Incredible Journey for the ANZAC Centenary. Both were supported by the Northern Territory Government and broadcast on Channel 9.
Andrew Hyde’s Tracy reached more than one million views on 9Now. The two teams have also collaborated on Twenty to the Mile, an epic retelling of the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line. The Tiwi Warrior and the Samurai from the Sky, produced at the invitation of the Tiwi community and premiered on the Tiwi Islands, received an ACS Gold Award for cinematography.
The team also delivered Some Like It Hot, commissioned by the Northern Territory Government and broadcast on Channel 9 for Territory Day. Created in just sixty days during COVID restrictions, it demonstrated the team’s ability to deliver nationally broadcast work under extreme conditions. International production credits include Light Speed, a YouTube Originals production viewed more than 56 million times worldwide.
The team’s work and production credits span Channel 9, ABC, SBS, NITV, National Geographic, Discovery, Channel 10, BBC and Google.
Director, Ian Richards. Producer, Jennifer Richards. Co-Producer, Andrew Hyde. Series Interviewer, Bethaney Maley.
Some Like It Hot: Celebrating what it means to be Territorian.
Commissioned by the Northern Territory Government and broadcast on Channel 9 for Territory Day. Created from concept to screen in just sixty days during COVID restrictions.
The Territory Remembers: The Bombing of Darwin, through the eyes of those who were there.
Broadcast on Channel 9 to mark the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Darwin, the largest foreign attack ever mounted on Australia. Told through the firsthand accounts of those who experienced it.
Get Involved
Whether you were part of the Territory’s story, hold archival material such as photographs, film, documents or recordings, or want to discuss a formal partnership, we want to hear from you. All enquiries are handled directly by the production team.
Your details will be used only to respond to your enquiry and will not be shared without your permission.
Contact
© 2026 All rights reserved.
Small Screen Productions Pty Ltd.
The Territory has always shaped its own future. Now it is time to tell the story.
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Behind-the-scenes updates, production news and new voices as the story unfolds.