Esteemed sports broadcaster and commentator Bruce McAvaney will be the first guest when SBS's long-running genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? returns for its 17th season tonight. The episode traces his family's history in South Australia, uncovering stories of early settlement, land ownership, and personal tragedy. McAvaney says he will watch the episode with his wife, Annie, just the two of them. 'Which is probably for the best, because I don't know what to expect, to be honest,' he admits. 'This will be the first time I'm seeing (the episode) too.'
McAvaney, who has enjoyed a stellar career in television and radio for almost 50 years, says he went into the show with an open mind and without any preconceived notions of how it might affect him. 'I admit — I was very moved,' he says. In the program, his maternal and paternal family lines are explored, unearthing connections that extend right back to the earliest days of South Australian settlement. There are extraordinary stories and a fair smattering of tragedy, which affected him far more than expected.
'I was surprised that it hit me in the way that it did,' McAvaney admits. 'Nearly every day there was something that triggered me. What you learn to understand during the program is how fragile life is, and how precious it is. And circumstance — a lot of the things that happened 100 years ago, if they hadn't taken place, I wouldn't be here! That really is quite a remarkable thing to think about.'
McAvaney, who lives in Adelaide, says he was surprised by some of the information the show's producers and historians uncovered, particularly a connection his three-times great-grandfather had to horse racing — the sport that first brought him to public prominence. 'That blew my mind,' he says. 'I had no idea! My father wouldn't have known about that, and my love of horse racing comes from my parents... I had no idea of that other connection at all! It's happenstance, I guess, but it's lovely for me to realise that it goes back a long way.'
The experience of filming gave McAvaney, 72, pause to think about his own parents, who he says would have loved to learn of the amazing stories the show uncovers. 'It makes me wish that my mother and father were sitting alongside me listening at the same time,' he says. 'I really felt connected to them — that's the gift the program gives you, in so many ways.'
It has been an emotional few weeks for McAvaney, who delivered a tribute at his friend, the late broadcaster Dennis Cometti's state funeral in Perth on May 4. 'When Dennis passed away, it was very hard for me — I felt like I lost a little bit of myself,' he says. 'It's hard to explain this, but his career, it was a mirror image of mine in many ways, and we were so connected through circumstances, and then we became great friends. It's been a very hard couple of weeks.'
But he continues to look forwards. It will be another busy year for McAvaney, who will continue with his regular sporting commentary commitments before heading off to this year's Commonwealth Games in July. 'I am always motivated. I have got a lot of things I am looking forward to doing,' he says. 'If you'd have asked me at 22 what I'd be doing at, say, 65, I'd have said I would retire, enjoy watching the midday movie, playing a bit of golf, catching up with friends. But when I got to 65, I thought to myself, “You have got to wake up every day with a purpose”. So that is what I have been trying to do; to cut back a little bit, but still maintain that momentum.'
What does he think his ancestors might make of his life and incredible decades-long career? 'If they looked at my school report card, they'd have thought I wasn't much chop,' he laughs. 'But then if they had looked 50 years on, they might think “How did that happen? He's one of the luckiest blokes in the world”.'
Bruce's Who Do You Think You Are? episode airs Tuesday May 12, at 7.30pm on SBS.
