From watching numerous historical documentaries on the expanding USA I was keen to see something on Australia that featured similar production values. Constructing Australia did not disappoint, although I watched the episodes in chronological order, I see no reason why they weren't in that order in the first place.
Coming from Adelaide it was great to see how important a national role it played in its early days, before it hit the ceiling of economic and geographic limitations (no goldrushes, not much farmland) that led to its present relative unimportance.
What I liked about the three documentaries were that they told a human story. Rather than dry facts about the achievements, the psychology of the people who brought them about is given some attention. The actors that portray the historical figures were well chosen and perform convincingly. Wendy Hughes' narration is good but a little too forceful in the last two episodes (Pipeline and Sydney Harbour Bridge).
Australia may not have the masses of the Americas and tides of history but it shows that a small population with few resources can accomplish great engineering works that push the limit of what is possible.
