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  • Australian Story The Last Tentman/A Secret Life (Season 2, Episode 19)
  • TV Episode | 28 min | Documentary, Biography

Australian Story

The Last Tentman/A Secret Life (Season 2, Episode 19)
TV Episode | 28 min | Documentary, Biography
The Last Tentman The moving and powerful story of fourth generation showman Fred Brophy and his family. Fred runs a tent boxing troupe that tours Queensland and the Northern Territory. He's the last exponent of a colourful tradition which ...See moreThe Last Tentman The moving and powerful story of fourth generation showman Fred Brophy and his family. Fred runs a tent boxing troupe that tours Queensland and the Northern Territory. He's the last exponent of a colourful tradition which was once commonplace all over Australia. Fred, the son of a sideshow operator and a trapeze artist, is steeped in show tradition. But his family's itinerant lifestyle meant he missed out on any kind of formal education. Young Fred wanted to go to school and when his family was passing through a town, he would often turn up at the local school and ask to be placed in a class. He was usually dumped at the back of the room and left to cope as best he could for the week or so before the family moved on again. Fred himself is now the father of three children, and although life has been tough for all of them, the family is making big sacrifices to see that the children do get an education and the chance to pursue their own dreams. But that means that Fred is often on the road, on his own, away from the children and his beloved wife Sandi who he met seventeen years ago at the Brisbane Exhibition. Despite all the hardships and the separations, the couple have raised three bright, well adjusted and achieving children, who are making the most of the opportunities their parents have struggled to give them. PLUS: A Secret Life Sid Roby is 70 years old. When his wife Hilly died 12 years ago, her death exposed a secret that the two had shared for decades. Sid was unable to read or write. So at the age of 60, Sid went off to TAFE to learn to read and write, and discovered a talent for writing. He has now become a published poet Written by Australian Story See less
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Status
Edit Released
Updated Jun 21, 1997
Release date
Jun 21, 1997 (Australia)
Awards
Series awards
11 wins & 13 nominations

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Cast

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3 cast members
Name Known for
Fred Brophy primary photo
Fred Brophy
Self - Fred Brophy's Boxing Troupe Self - Fred Brophy's Boxing Troupe   See fewer
The Goddess of 1967 (2000)
Sandi Brophy primary photo
Sandi Brophy
Self - Fred Brophy's Boxing Troupe Self - Fred Brophy's Boxing Troupe   See fewer
Australian Story (1996)
Sid Roby primary photo
Sid Roby
Self Self   See fewer
Australian Story (1996)
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