TV legend Ray Martin embarks on an exhilarating quest to find a mysterious Outback rock formation he spotted and photographed from an airliner 37,000 feet in the air. He's dubbed what appears to be a Dreamtime figure as The Running Man Rock. Martin is joined on his odyssey by renowned landscape photographer Ken Duncan as they traverse 5000km of stunning landscapes, encountering fascinating characters and exploring the unique mysteries of this ancient and mesmerising land. When they finally reach the fabled Running Man Rock, they are joined by internationally renowned Indigenous musician William Barton, who has performed for Queen Elizabeth II, and with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Midnight Oil. The local Kalkadoon man from Mt Isa composes special music for the documentary and his didgeridoo performance at sunset on Running Man Rock is soulful, symbolic, and inspirational. Martin doesn't shy away from the dark historical side to these vast and uncompromising lands in far western Queensland bordering the Northern Territory. He visits the notorious Hanging Tree where white police slaughtered dozens of First Nations people and Battle Mountain where up to 900 Kalkadoon people were killed in an encounter with settlers in 1884. But as Simpson Desert Park Ranger Don Rowlands tells him, truth-telling is finally happening.
Ray Martin: Mysteries Of The Outback was broadcast on SBS ONE at Sunday 9 April 2023, 09:30.