(THEME MUSIC)
Hello.
People in Arnold Dix's community
thought he was just an eccentric flower farmer,
until one day they switched on the TV
and there he was, being hailed around the world as a hero.
They were pretty surprised, to say the least,
to learn that Arnold had played a key part
to learn that Arnold in saving the lives of 41 people
trapped after a tunnel collapse in India.
That's not the only surprising thing about Arnold.
MAN: November 12, 2023.
I get a call from India from the chief engineer,
and there's been a tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand, up in the Himalayas,
up in the northern... northern part of India.
REPORTER: 41 workers have been trapped underground
REPORTER: 41 workers in northern India
after a landslide while they were working on a road tunnel.
Everything's going badly.
The tunnel is continuing to collapse.
There's a helicopter waiting for me,
and they ask me if I can come.
Of course I say yes.
What's your name, sir?
Uh, my name is Arnold Dix. Yes.
And I'm the president of Uh, my name is Arnold Dix. Yes.
And I'm the president of
the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association.
I knew how this story normally ends.
I knew that without something truly extraordinary happening,
I knew that without something 41 men wouldn't be coming home,
and, probably, we'd be getting hurt.
Are you confident about rescue, sir? Absolutely. and, probably, we'd be getting hurt.
Are you confident about rescue, sir? Absolutely.
Yeah, we're going to rescue these men.
And there's no-one else going to be hurt.
And there's no-one else And that's the mission.
REPORTER: Rescue crews managed to feed
a specialist medical camera down a pipe.
ARNOLD: Live rescues aren't my thing.
I've always been involved in either recovering bodies,
I've always been involved in lessons learnt,
trying to understand how we ended up with the dead ones.
trying to understand But normally they're not alive.
REPORTER: They have to dig 103m But normally they're not alive.
REPORTER: They have to dig 103m to reach them.
REPORTER: They have to dig 103m And this time I've got 41 live ones.
So the epic begins
with the stage set
with everything to lose.
No-one really knows what I do,
and I'd never minded that.
It kind of suited me.
And certainly in Monbulk,
no-one would have a clue what I do
because what does it matter? no-one would have a clue what I do
because what does it matter?
I just want people to know me as Arnold.
I am, without doubt, the worst farmer in Monbulk.
I mean, I wasn't home for 40 weeks last year,
so it's not surprising.
MAN: Arnold lived in town a long time,
but he sort of kept a fairly low profile.
I didn't really realise till he was on the...on the TV. but he sort of kept a fairly low profile.
I didn't really realise till he was on the...on the TV.
And then I thought, "Hang on a minute. I know that bloke."
Oh, the birds have got a few.
And I think the town was a little bit shocked of what he did.
Depending who you want me to be,
I'm Arnold Dix the barrister.
I'm Arnold Dix, scientist,
professor of engineering.
Truck driver.
Oh, and I'm a flower farmer.
Who do you want me to be?
WOMAN: The specific site, Uttarkashi, Silkyara,
where they were constructing this highway,
holds special meaning for the...not just the local people living there, where they were constructing this highway,
holds special meaning for the...not just the local people living there,
but for the entire nation,
because they believe that land
is the land where gods and goddesses used to reside.
ARNOLD: The people believe this mountain has its own god,
and their view was
we have an unhappy, awakening god of the mountain.
So I must kneel before this... this temple, we have an unhappy, awakening god of the mountain.
So I must kneel before this... this temple,
because this is the right thing to do.
And, yes, he did become the face of the operation.
He was the one who everyone was going to for answers.
He was the one who everyone How long will it take
for the rescuers
to safely rescue the...
Before I rescue you?
I've got your arm.
Um, it's going to take...
Yeah, I've got you.
I've got your hand.
Are you right?
Yeah? OK. This is good.
This is... Yeah. So how long?
How long to rescue them? Yeah.
When I went in, what I saw immediately
was evidence of 21 prior collapses
in the zone between the entrance to the tunnel
in the zone between and the place of the collapse.
These tunnels are prone to collapse.
(MAN SHOUTS)
And I've seen video footage (MAN SHOUTS)
And I've seen video footage of it collapsing near here.
And it's even worse where there's water.
So we've got the risk
that we're going to cause a catastrophic collapse
and either bury the men or drown the men.
The works are being done
for the augering for the evacuation tunnel.
From the time I was a very small child,
I have been taught to listen to the rock.
So I went into the tunnel and I listened to that mountain.
So I went into the tunnel And I stick my hand in the rock,
and I push my back up against the wall,
and I sit quietly and just see...see, hear, feel
and I sit quietly what I can see, hear, feel.
And I felt an unstable mountain,
but I also felt...
..it wasn't time for it to collapse yet.
WOMAN: Arnold was definitely the right man
WOMAN: Arnold was definitely for the tunnel rescue in India
because he brings all his skills and his toolkit
that he's amassed over the last 30 years,
and his ability to process things quickly that he's amassed over the last 30 years,
and his ability to process things quickly
and find a way through
where others just see despair.
Oh.
One of you with your dad.
He's looking pretty interested in me. (LAUGHS)
He's probably going, "What's that?"
Goodness.
Here's one. Here's one. Ready?
Nice. (CHUCKLES)
Young Arnold. How much time have we got?
Well, yes, um... Young Arnold. How much time have we got?
Well, yes, um...
Free spirit.
Good kid.
I used to wonder where it would all end.
And here we are.
Arnold, from an early age,
he was fascinated with rocks.
I'd be driving along, he was fascinated with rocks.
I'd be driving along, I'd have to stop.
"Stop, Mum, stop!"
He'd run and he'd get a rock, which to me was a rock.
And he'd say, "This rock is so old."
Really different sort of a kid.
Mm.
NEWSREEL: Work continues around the clock.
One tunnel shift follows another.
Men and machines against the granite of the mountains.
So my interest in geology starts as a young child in Jindabyne.
A number of the old-timers off the Snowy Scheme were still there, So my interest in geology starts as a young child in Jindabyne.
A number of the old-timers off the Snowy Scheme were still there,
A number of the old-timers off they'd never left.
NEWSREEL: This is indeed the place where men and mountains meet.
I'm a hotel keeper's kid.
And so as a little kid who liked rocks,
And so as a little kid who's also getting their beer, like,
and then you'd talk to them and they say, "Hey, do you want to come?
and then you'd talk to them and they "We'll show you."
I'm like, "Yeah, cool."
So they would take me I'm like, "Yeah, cool."
So they would take me to see some of the tunnels
So they would take me and then that sort of infected me.
My first degree was science.
And I loved doing my science,
geology and the geomorphology.
My post-grad research has me up at the Ranger Uranium Mine.
The trouble was, I was a bit too brutally honest
and...I had a go at the mining company.
I then had a go at the office of the supervising scientist,
and I had a go at the environmentalists. I then had a go at the office of the supervising scientist,
and I had a go at the environmentalists.
So in one fell swoop, I'd made enemies with everybody.
And they pulled me to one side,
and they explained to me that
if I continued to be publicly critical in the way that I was,
I would not have a job as a scientist in Australia.
I would not have a job I didn't shut up,
but I decided I was going to do law
'cause I thought I might need a lawyer. (LAUGHS)
MAN: Arnold joined the firm in 1988,
and Arnold was a bit of a revelation.
A little bit odd, a little bit weird, a little bit left of centre. and Arnold was a bit of a revelation.
A little bit odd, a little bit weird, a little bit left of centre.
Dresses quite differently,
has quite an interesting attitude.
My office near reception,
I quickly equipped with what would now be called hydroponics.
So I developed my own vegetable garden
So I developed and it was really cool, actually.
ROBERT: And he also hooked up a means whereby
ROBERT: And he also hooked up he could sit at his office chair
and open the door and close the door via a pulley system
so he didn't need to get up.
Being an environmental lawyer back then was new,
and traditional lawyers could never see me coming
because I understood the science and the engineering,
and so I could frame arguments that they'd never even thought of.
GAIL: I first met him in 1992,
when he was briefed as what we call a baby barrister.
They were having difficulty getting him supported when he was briefed as what we call a baby barrister.
They were having difficulty getting him supported
because he basically broke his secretaries and they left,
and he'd had four in 18 months.
Law firms in those days billed in six-minute intervals.
Law firms in those days And Arnold was always so busy
that the thought of actually having to sit down
and write what he did every six minutes
and write what he did was just never going to happen.
So that was part of my role,
to know what he did every six minutes of the day
to know what he did so that we could capture that.
And he went from so that we could capture that.
And he went from their worst billing partner
to their highest billing partner in 12 months.
I've always had this burning feeling
about what's fair and what's not fair.
I've never seen it as a complicated thing.
The frustration for me as a lawyer
is you provide The frustration for me as a lawyer
is you provide disproportionate justice
is you provide for those people who can afford you.
And the turning point for me was when I'd gone to Ground Zero in New York.
When I arrived, there's still smoke coming up.
When I arrived, The whole place is on high alert.
People are walking around in the streets
with pictures of their loved ones, all that sort of stuff.
And I was investigating what had happened in the tunnels underneath.
And I was investigating what had REPORTER: The subterranean search
of the six floors beneath the World Trade Center is haunting.
This team from Miami is tracing subway lines,
looking for people who might have taken refuge
when the Twin Towers were hit.
And suddenly it hits me.
"Wouldn't it be better to have a life where I helped many people a little,
"Wouldn't it be better to have a life "even if they don't know me,
"than to help a few because they've got the money to pay?"
GAIL: And when he came back, he was quite changed.
GAIL: And when he came back, And that disaster element
then became a focus And that disaster element
then became a focus for the practice moving forward -
being the eyes and ears for others that can't go
being the eyes and ears after there's been a disaster.
REPORTER: Tonight, the Waterfall train disaster -
nine dead after a commuter train jumps the tracks
nine dead after and crashes into a rock face.
In 2003, I was asked to advise on the Waterfall train crash.
Train, going too fast,
doesn't go round a bend,
rolls over, kills people.
I'm actually doing the investigation straightaway.
REPORTER: This is the devastating result
of the massive pile-up this morning.
2007 Burnley Tunnel incident.
My job there is to try and understand,
My job there "Did the tunnel cause the deaths?"
So I established myself
as an expert in the area of So I established myself
as an expert in the area of underground fire and life safety.
as an expert in the area of And because of that,
I become well known in the fire engineering circles
for all complex build structures.
Qatar was in the middle of preparing for the World Cup,
and their airport isn't able to open
because the fire and life safety engineering is failing.
because the fire and life safety So in 2013, I get a call.
"Arnold, can you come to Qatar and can you fix our airport for us?"
And that becomes a journey of more than eight years in Qatar,
because what I find in Qatar is not what I expect.
REPORTER: While arguments rage over the risks
footballers will face playing in Qatar's extreme heat,
migrant workers are dying on the job in record numbers.
GAIL: Arnold stumbled onto thousands of migrant workers
GAIL: Arnold stumbled onto being employed as slave labour,
having had their passports removed,
visas made invalid,
not being paid, and starving.
He helped them with housing, food.
He helped many people actually exit the country.
They needed hope, and he provided some of that.
REPORTER: The 14th of June, 2017.
MAN: Needs help up there! MAN: Yeah, I know. I can see.
MAN: Needs help up there! She needs help!
A fire that starts on the fourth floor of the Grenfell Tower
spreads quickly, fuelled by combustible cladding.
The Grenfell Tower block fire.
I'm heavily involved with that.
And that's on a pro bono basis,
getting justice And that's on a pro bono basis,
getting justice for low socioeconomic people.
getting justice It's a tunnel in the sky
as opposed to a tunnel in the ground,
but the principle's the same.
Arnold would always be overseas, but we never had really any idea of
what he was actually doing while he was over there.
But Puffing Billy is local to where Arnold lives.
So when the unthinkable happened,
he quietly came back to the country to assist us.
REPORTER: One person was injured in a crash
between the Puffing Billy steam train and a minibus
between the Puffing Billy at Menzies Creek today.
He worked with our engineers and over the few years it took,
was able to establish safer seating on our sills.
I came up with a new idea, a new solution,
that allows children of all ages to sit on the side of the train.
And it's probably... probably my best work.
Hang on.
So now when I see all the people on the side of the train,
shrieking, terrified, all those sorts of things,
I get a huge amount of joy.
Arnold reminds me of the Nutty Professor in a very loving way.
You know, the kindest, craziest person I've ever met.
And we...we couldn't have done this without him.
That's my signature dish.
You never saw me come.
You don't know what I did.
And the job's done right.
And I'm gone again.
Because of my work, I travel the whole world.
I visit all countries, all continents.
I'm driven by the desire to help the many with their safety.
He's so driven I'm driven by the desire to help the many with their safety.
He's so driven
he would actually sell his mother
if he thought the cause he would actually sell his mother
if he thought the cause justified it.
And just look out, anyone that's around him,
And just look out, because he will just sacrifice you,
no two ways about it,
if he thinks the cause is bigger than you.
And so I'm not normal husband.
I don't just do the lawns and wash the car.
I've been married twice, married to Karen, firstly,
and that lasted 23 years.
So not a fickle thing.
But then I've worked for nearly 10 years in the Middle East,
and it was there that I met Divina.
WOMAN: When you're in the Middle East,
usually most men, they're really, like, dressed up, WOMAN: When you're in the Middle East,
usually most men, they're really, like, dressed up,
wearing, like, gold and big watch or necklace
and driving very good, posh cars.
But he's just the normal one.
Like, just so simple, down to earth.
We got on so well we married.
So it was that... It was that simple.
2020, COVID hits, and my wings are chopped off.
I'm international man of mystery...
(CHAINSAW BUZZES)
..and suddenly there's 'international' removed.
I'm just man of mystery. And I'm in Monbulk.
And I'm trapped in my little sanctuary.
We had an A-frame sign out for a truck driver,
We had an A-frame sign out and then this bloke comes in
and I'm like, "Oh, yeah, well, we'll see how we go here."
and I'm like, "Oh, yeah, well, (TRUCK BEEPS)
Not a lot of trucking companies want to employ a barrister
Not a lot of trucking companies to be their truck driver.
They're a bit scared of that.
So I had to get my CV,
and I had to chop everything off So I had to get my CV,
and I had to chop everything off after I got high school done.
Arnold would help load the trucks,
and then he would drive around Melbourne
to different nurseries and transport companies
to different nurseries to drop things off.
I started to ask him a few questions
and then by the end of it, I started to ask him a few questions
and then by the end of it, I was just convinced
that there was nothing this bloke couldn't do,
that there was nothing and if he couldn't do it,
he'd work out how to do it and just do it anyway.
WOMAN: It's much smaller than I remember.
Yeah? than I remember.
Yeah?
I'm not sure how to describe my dad to other people.
But I think 'eccentric' would come into it.
But, uh, in a really eccentric version of eccentric.
Ah.
He doesn't fit the normal template for what a dad is,
but he's much more colourful.
It's really important for me to have my back against the wall.
Hand into the rock, under the rock, under the collapse...
..and then just listen.
The influence from my dad has always been very prevalent.
Since I was about 5 or 6, been very prevalent.
Since I was about 5 or 6,
Dad's been bringing me down tunnels, and my brothers as well,
so it's inspired me to sort of pursue something quite similar.
We're like twins.
I'm just really proud of my dad.
I don't know how to describe him, I'm just really proud of my dad.
I don't know how to describe him, but I just love him to bits.
In late August 2023, I decide I'm going to have a world tour
of the state of underground construction technology
in extreme environments,
and just in the minutes before I depart,
I grab a pair of boots at the door,
and the pair of boots that I grab aren't my boots.
I actually take Hannah's boots by mistake,
and Hannah's boots become really significant in the rescue.
REPORTER: Efforts to rescue more than 40 workers
trapped in a collapsed tunnel in India
trapped in a collapsed tunnel has continued for the 10th day.
Hannah's boots don't fit me.
And so Hannah's boots, the boots I walk in,
remind me with each step that I'm there to rescue
41 children from other families.
I have a daughter who is also a miner. OK?
So I treat all of those 41 as if they are my daughter trapped.
So it was day 10 of the rescue operations So I treat all of those 41 as if they are my daughter trapped.
So it was day 10 of the rescue operations
when they finally, you know, had a breakthrough.
They were finally able to see the 41 people inside.
We get to be able to put warm food in for the first time...
..but we also get to see the state of the tunnel on their side,
and it's collapsing.
When I go up on top of the mountain and have a look, the rock's bad.
This is the rock.
Right? That's...
And it's through a zone like this that we've had the collapse. So...
This is the sort of material... Like that.
It's exactly the sort of rock I fear the most.
Someone snaps a picture of me
telling the group that in my view, we have a problem,
that the whole thing is going to come down.
that the whole thing So the risk was
that we would have a subsequent So the risk was
that we would have a subsequent collapse on both us and on them.
As a precaution, I was contacting people near and dear to me
and just having conversations with them.
I wasn't telling them that was the reason,
so I just sent him a text, "Hi, how are you?"
You know, "How's things?" Whatever. And just have an exchange.
It wasn't that I was planning to be killed,
but I just felt that it would be good for them if something bad happened
to have a memory of me not being too stressed.
DIVINA: He video call and then he said,
"Sweetie, don't worry, I'm OK.
"Look... Look at the chair.
"That's... That's my chair. "Look... Look at the chair.
"That's... That's my chair. That's where I sit.
"And then the tunnel is just over there.
"So don't worry, I'm just watching them.
"And then I'm telling them what to do."
The next day, I said, "But in the news,
The next day, I said, "it says that you're inside,
"and then you're telling me you're not...
"and then you're telling me "..you never go inside."
And then I'd say, "Well, maybe I go "..you never go inside."
And then I'd say, "Well, maybe I go in there every now and then."
And so she knows that I'm up to no good
in the sense that I'm putting my life at risk.
I knew, and Divina knew, that it was extremely dangerous,
because you could see that the mountain was unstable.
And I was just hoping that he was going to be OK.
REPORTER: This arduous mission encountered
REPORTER: This arduous mission a fresh challenge on Friday,
as the relentless machines aiding the rescue ground to a halt.
TAVLEEN: These 41 workers, they had been waiting for weeks,
and then news starts coming out that,
no, they've stopped operations because,
you know, something went wrong, something's broken down.
The drilling, the auguring, has stopped.
The drilling, the auguring, REPORTER: Yeah.
It's too much for the auger. OK? REPORTER: Yeah.
It's too much for the auger. OK? OK.
It's too much for the auger. OK? It's like our auger is...
It's not going to do anything more.
And that's when they were like, machines are not working anymore.
What do we do?
My suggestion is that if we have a choice between fast and slow,
My suggestion is that if we have we go slow.
If we have a choice between we go slow.
If we have a choice between hard and soft, we go soft.
That actually we try and trick the mountain
That actually we try and sneak in to get these men.
What Arnold was doing had massive consequences.
He could either end up being the god that they would always remember,
or he was going to end up having - and I'm not exaggerating here -
he was going to end up having statues of himself being burned.
So what we did was we sent people in the pipe
to excavate by hand the rocks, rock by rock,
and put them in a little cart that we made on site, and wheel it out.
We actually went back to the very, very early ways
human beings would burrow through the ground.
And so it's the "softly, softly" approach.
And that's the approach that wins.
(HUBBUB)
There have been jubilant scenes (HUBBUB)
There have been jubilant scenes in India
after a group of construction workers
trapped inside a collapsed tunnel for 17 days
were finally freed alive and well.
TAVLEEN: This was the moment the first of 41 trapped workers
was finally freed
after spending more than two weeks underground.
And you remember in the beginning I said, "41 people home safe.
"No-one gets hurt. By Christmas."
Christmas has come early.
Somehow we made the promise come true
Somehow we made the promise and we showed the world
that good people working together can do the impossible.
REPORTER: For the villagers too, it's a moment of joy
as they finally get the good news,
and they don't have to spend another night in uncertainty.
And so we're seeing these 41 workers being reunited with their families,
you know, the entire nation looking at these happy moments.
But the one thing that was odd was no-one knew where Arnold was.
He was nowhere. He had disappeared.
(BELLS TOLL)
I went to the top of the mountain with some of the rescue workers
to the big temple, and we gave thanks up there.
So we were having the best party, and they were all singing.
So we were having the best party, (MAN SINGS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)
Anyway, they made Arnold Dix songs,
which I thought was really kind of funny,
and the boys decided to put on a bit of a dance show up on the tree. which I thought was really kind of funny,
and the boys decided to put on a bit of a dance show up on the tree.
and the boys decided to put on That video, apparently in India
has like, had more than 100 million hits.
(MEN SING IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)
He was all over everywhere in India.
On the TV, on people's smartphones, on their tabs.
I don't think there are many people in India
I don't think there are many people who wouldn't recognise Arnold.
I rise to acknowledge a truly great Australian,
I rise to acknowledge Professor Arnold Dix,
and for what he has done.
These 41 lives have been saved, families have been reunited,
and our friends in India are quite rightly rejoicing.
MAN: How you are feeling now?
I'm feeling tired. (LAUGHS)
I finally get to the airport.
Quite unexpected.
On my flight, completely by accident...
..are 17 of the men that I've rescued.
MAN: Thank you.
And they're just young men...
..who...who just doing their job,
who just go to work to look after their families.
who just go to work And they're from poor states,
and they got exactly the faces
that the dead ones that and they got exactly the faces
that the dead ones that I've pulled out of other countries.
And we've rescued them.
MAN: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. OK.
And so they get to live the rest of their lives
without dying in the tunnel.
And so...
..it was worth it.
(JAUNTY GUITAR MUSIC)
(BLOWS WHISTLE)
My little town of Monbulk.
It's... It's as unknown as I am, except for its jam.
Monbulk turns on a big welcome.
REECE: All of a sudden there was,
"Welcome home, Professor Dix," all through the town.
And I think the first time I saw him, I just screamed out of the ute,
"Good on you, mate!"
Maybe you bring your shoulder a little inside
so that you do not have to turn so much, yes.
so that you do not have So until this point in my life...
..I was absolutely satisfied to be completely unknown in my own right,
..I was absolutely satisfied to be happy for my own deeds to be unknown.
Right, now the light's perfect.
And next minute I'm here getting painted.
I wanted to show honour in a way that people don't know him.
The true honour.
Arnold, I read in one of these articles about you.
Arnold, I read in one of They called you a nerd.
(CHUCKLES) Right.
And it's repeated again and again.
Just on his T-shirt and the shorts.
But he's ready with his gear to go wherever he needs.
I hope I've done enough justice on this.
He is a superhero in India,
as well as other places He is a superhero in India,
as well as other places all around the world.
as well as other places There you go.
So I kind of depict him as a superhero as well.
So I kind of depict him It's... It's just wonderful.
(INSECTS CHIRP, BIRD SQUAWKS)
GAIL: Things have been a little different in that
GAIL: Things have been we now have Arnold the hero.
He always thought he was a hero we now have Arnold the hero.
He always thought he was a hero anyway.
So for me, it's actually not a whole lot new.
To help save 41 young Indian men...
What does a man do after that?
Like, what do you do?
I don't know what you do after that. That's, like...
I don't know. Let's see.
ALL: # Happy birthday to Arnold... #
So the 60-year celebration birthday ALL: # Happy birthday is a bit interesting. to Arnold... #
So the 60-year celebration birthday is a bit interesting.
I've invited my friends, who don't know each other.
And I like that.
He's certainly mysterious.
Generous.
MAN: Arnold does pest control for me when he's in town.
He's a crack shot with a rifle. for me when he's in town.
He's a crack shot with a rifle.
his wedding
WOMAN: We met Arnold catering his wedding
and he asked us to make him a roast suckling pig cake.
We wish him all the best in future. We wish him all the best.
Captions by Red Bee Media We wish him all the best in future. We wish him all the best.
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation