Heather Ewart’s amiable “Back Roads” ambles back onto ABC for its eleventh season, kicking things off with a trip to South Australia’s outback. This time, it’s a tale of two towns: Roxby Downs and Andamooka, separated by a mere 30 kilometers yet worlds apart in character. Andamooka, a “Wild West” opal mining town, is where Ewart encounters “Cal the Stoner,” a local artist whose stone sculpture, “The Andamooka Tiger,” is just one example of the town’s eccentric creativity. Think tumbleweeds and psychedelic bars, not exactly high-end art galleries, and you’ll get the picture.
Then there’s Roxby Downs, a planned community sprung up in the 1980s to service BHP’s Olympic Dam mine. Modern? Sure. But boring? Not when you’ve got folks like Monte Clements, a mine worker and artist who crafts elaborate costumes. Ewart, ever the good sport, even gets roped into a photoshoot. If this is what passes for company-sponsored PR, BHP might be onto something.
The episode hinges on how these two disparate communities, one seemingly ripped from a Sergio Leone film, the other a product of corporate urban planning, both manage to “make their own fun.” In Andamooka, that might involve a singalong in Cal’s colorfully decorated bar. In Roxby Downs, it’s apparently elaborate costumed photoshoots in the desert. Either way, Ewart’s there to document it all, providing a glimpse into the unique rhythms of outback life.
Back Roads airs Thursday, January 9, 2025, at 8 p.m. on ABC.
