On his ninth day as a teacher, in a quiet rural classroom in South Gippsland, everything changed.

In this first part of our two-episode conversation, we head to Wooreen, Victoria, a place defined by community, routine, and trust, and to a morning that would leave a permanent imprint on everyone who lived through it.

In February 1977, Rob Hunter, just 20 years old and new to the profession, found himself responsible for the lives of nine children when a masked gunman entered his classroom.

The gunman was Edwin John Eastwood, an escaped criminal who had escaped from Geelong Prison just weeks earlier. This was not his first crime. It was the second kidnapping he had committed, and over the course of two days the situation escalated far beyond the school grounds.

What followed was a long and terrifying ordeal marked by fear, responsibility, instinct, and impossible decisions.

Content note: This episode discusses kidnapping and the presence of a firearm in a school setting.