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Woman’s Day diet: Day 25

Want to know how much you can safely lose to look great? Slim yourself down at the click of a button and then follow our healthy meal plan!

When it comes to losing weight, just like everything in life we need to a little bit of inspiration to achieve our goals. If you’re serious about budging the unbudgeable, providing yourself with visual reference for you diet plans is a good start; so we’re proud to bring you the Woman’s Day virtual diet makeover.

The rules:

  • On top of the meal plan, you can treat yourself to two snacks from our list (see below) every day;

  • For more weight loss choose lower kj snacks;

  • Two or three cups of instant tea and coffee with a dash of skim milk also permitted on top of this;

  • All beakfasts on the four week diet are interchangeable with other breakfasts, lunches with lunches and dinners with dinners;

  • Have four alcohol free days a week.Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.Breakfast1 slice wholegrain toast with 130g (½ cup baked beans) with 1 small (200ml) glass of vegetable juice and 1 small mango.Lunch2 California sushi rolls with bowl of miso soup. 150g (3/4 cup) low fat vanilla yoghurt with ½ cup berries.Dinner100g lean pork fillet stir fried with 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, broccoli, carrots, red capsicum and with ½ cup cooked brown rice..SnacksEach day choose from any two of the following:1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.

  • 1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

  • 1 serve of rice or pasta = a fist

  • 1 piece of meat, fish or chicken = the size and width of a deck of cards

  • 1 serve of cheese = one slice, or 4 small cubes that could fit in a matchbox

  • 1 serve of butter = your fingertip

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Woman’s Day diet: Day 26

Want to know how much you can safely lose to look great? Slim yourself down at the click of a button and then follow our healthy meal plan!

When it comes to losing weight, just like everything in life we need to a little bit of inspiration to achieve our goals. If you’re serious about budging the unbudgeable, providing yourself with visual reference for you diet plans is a good start; so we’re proud to bring you the Woman’s Day virtual diet makeover.

The rules:

  • On top of the meal plan, you can treat yourself to two snacks from our list (see below) every day;

  • For more weight loss choose lower kj snacks;

  • Two or three cups of instant tea and coffee with a dash of skim milk also permitted on top of this;

  • All beakfasts on the four week diet are interchangeable with other breakfasts, lunches with lunches and dinners with dinners;

  • Have four alcohol free days a week.Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.Breakfast2 multigrain Weetbix with 1 cup low fat milk and 1 small mango.Lunch¾ cup brown rice or pasta with 100g chicken breast with tomato pasta sauce and ¼ cup reduced fat grated cheese with mixed green salad.Dinner2 Beef burritos on 2 wholegrain wraps with a mixed salad. See recipehere.SnacksEach day choose from any two of the following:1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.

  • 1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

  • 1 serve of rice or pasta = a fist

  • 1 piece of meat, fish or chicken = the size and width of a deck of cards

  • 1 serve of cheese = one slice, or 4 small cubes that could fit in a matchbox

  • 1 serve of butter = your fingertip

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Woman’s Day diet: Day 27

Want to know how much you can safely lose to look great? Slim yourself down at the click of a button and then follow our healthy meal plan!

When it comes to losing weight, just like everything in life we need to a little bit of inspiration to achieve our goals. If you’re serious about budging the unbudgeable, providing yourself with visual reference for you diet plans is a good start; so we’re proud to bring you the Woman’s Day virtual diet makeover.

The rules:

  • On top of the meal plan, you can treat yourself to two snacks from our list (see below) every day;

  • For more weight loss choose lower kj snacks;

  • Two or three cups of instant tea and coffee with a dash of skim milk also permitted on top of this;

  • All beakfasts on the four week diet are interchangeable with other breakfasts, lunches with lunches and dinners with dinners;

  • Have four alcohol free days a week.Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.BreakfastWoman’s Day shake. See recipehere.Lunch100g chicken breast with mixed salad greens and 100g sweet potato with 2 tablespoons FREE Caesar or Ranch dressing.Dinner¾ cup cooked pasta with 10 green prawns, 4 sliced mushrooms, ½ zucchini, ½ cup tomato pasta sauce sprinkled with 30g reduced fat feta.SnacksEach day choose from any two of the following:1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.

  • 1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

  • 1 serve of rice or pasta = a fist

  • 1 piece of meat, fish or chicken = the size and width of a deck of cards

  • 1 serve of cheese = one slice, or 4 small cubes that could fit in a matchbox

  • 1 serve of butter = your fingertip

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Home Page 5066

Woman’s Day diet: Day 28

Want to know how much you can safely lose to look great? Slim yourself down at the click of a button and then follow our healthy meal plan!

When it comes to losing weight, just like everything in life we need to a little bit of inspiration to achieve our goals. If you’re serious about budging the unbudgeable, providing yourself with visual reference for you diet plans is a good start; so we’re proud to bring you the Woman’s Day virtual diet makeover.

The rules:

  • On top of the meal plan, you can treat yourself to two snacks from our list (see below) every day;

  • For more weight loss choose lower kj snacks;

  • Two or three cups of instant tea and coffee with a dash of skim milk also permitted on top of this;

  • All beakfasts on the four week diet are interchangeable with other breakfasts, lunches with lunches and dinners with dinners;

  • Have four alcohol free days a week.Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.Breakfast1 egg omelette with 50g 97% fat free ham, chopped tomato and mushroom and 2 tablespoons reduced fat cheese with small skim milk coffee.LunchThai Beef salad. See recipehere.Dinner100g lean mince patty with ½ wholegrain hamburger bun with 1 tablespoon tomato sauce, beetroot, tomato, onions and lettuce.SnacksEach day choose from any two of the following:1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.

  • 1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

  • 1 serve of rice or pasta = a fist

  • 1 piece of meat, fish or chicken = the size and width of a deck of cards

  • 1 serve of cheese = one slice, or 4 small cubes that could fit in a matchbox

  • 1 serve of butter = your fingertip

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Home Page 5066

Woman’s Day Diet: Day 29

Want to know how much you can safely lose to look great? Slim yourself down at the click of a button and then follow our healthy meal plan!

When it comes to losing weight, just like everything in life we need to a little bit of inspiration to achieve our goals. If you’re serious about budging the unbudgeable, providing yourself with visual reference for you diet plans is a good start; so we’re proud to bring you the Woman’s Day virtual diet makeover.

The rules:

  • On top of the meal plan, you can treat yourself to two snacks from our list (see below) every day;

  • For more weight loss choose lower kj snacks;

  • Two or three cups of instant tea and coffee with a dash of skim milk also permitted on top of this;

  • All beakfasts on the four week diet are interchangeable with other breakfasts, lunches with lunches and dinners with dinners;

  • Have four alcohol free days a week.Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.BreakfastWake up to our delicious Bircher Muesli, seerecipe.Lunch100g pink or red tinned salmon with large mixed green salad, ¼ avocado. One small banana as a snack.Dinner150g grilled white fish served with vegetables dry roasted together (eggplant, zucchini, pumpkin and red capsicum). Spoon 1 tablespoon low fat hommus over the vegetables.SnacksEach day choose from any two of the following:1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.

  • 1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

  • 1 serve of rice or pasta = a fist

  • 1 piece of meat, fish or chicken = the size and width of a deck of cards

  • 1 serve of cheese = one slice, or 4 small cubes that could fit in a matchbox

  • 1 serve of butter = your fingertip

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Home Page 5066

Woman’s Day diet: Day 30

Want to know how much you can safely lose to look great? Slim yourself down at the click of a button and then follow our healthy meal plan!

When it comes to losing weight, just like everything in life we need to a little bit of inspiration to achieve our goals. If you’re serious about budging the unbudgeable, providing yourself with visual reference for you diet plans is a good start; so we’re proud to bring you the Woman’s Day virtual diet makeover.

The rules:

  • On top of the meal plan, you can treat yourself to two snacks from our list (see below) every day;

  • For more weight loss choose lower kj snacks;

  • Two or three cups of instant tea and coffee with a dash of skim milk also permitted on top of this;

  • All beakfasts on the four week diet are interchangeable with other breakfasts, lunches with lunches and dinners with dinners;

  • Have four alcohol free days a week.Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.BreakfastWoman’s Day power shake. Mix together 1 teaspoon protein powder with 200mls low fat milk, 1 teaspoon LSA (linseed, soy and almond mix) and ¾ cup mixed berries with a few drops of vanilla essence.LunchSmall grain or wholemeal wrap with 100g turkey breast, 1 slice Jarlsberg cheese, tomato and rocket. 2 apricots.Dinner100g chicken breast with teaspoon sweet chilli sauce served with 100g roasted sweet potato and green beans.SnacksEach day choose from any two of the following:1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

Top tip: Please note foods in bold are free kj and you can eat as much as you like.

  • 1 apple + 1 Baby Bel cheese (700kJ);

  • 10 wholegrain rice crackers + ¼ cup low fat dip (600kj);

  • Vegetable sticks + ¼ cup low fat hommus (600kJ);

  • 4 Vita Weats + 2 slices reduced fat cheese (600kJ);

  • 1 piece of fruit (400kJ);

  • 100g low fat yoghurt (400kJ);

  • Small skim Latte (400kJ);

  • 2 corn thins + 1 tablespoon no added sugar peanut butter (400kJ);

  • One row dark chocolate (420kJ);

  • 1 Chocolate Paddle Pop (450kJ);

  • Mango Weis Bar (400kJ);

  • 1 slice raisin toast (400kJ);

  • Small glass wine (150mls) (400kJ);

  • 2 Redskin Chews (170kj);

  • One Chuppa Chup (220kj);

  • 5 pieces of chewing gum (125kg).

  • 1 serve of rice or pasta = a fist

  • 1 piece of meat, fish or chicken = the size and width of a deck of cards

  • 1 serve of cheese = one slice, or 4 small cubes that could fit in a matchbox

  • 1 serve of butter = your fingertip

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Farmer Wants a Wife wedding bells for Scott and Clare!

Farmer Wants a Wife wedding bells for Scott and Clare!

They met on The Farmer Wants A Wife and now they’re planning the rest of their lives together.

It took only nine months for Scott Warby to decide he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Clare Spark, the girl who stole his heart on season four of The Farmer Wants A Wife.

But it took the 30-year-old sheep and crop farmer another nine months to finally get down on bended knee at his property near Mungindi in far north NSW, produce the ring and ask the beautiful 27-year-old Brisbane girl to be his wife.

“I had the ring for nine months,” Scott says. “I found it online at a Melbourne jeweller and had it sent to Brisbane, where I picked it up on the February weekend we went to see AC/DC!”

Despite Scott asking Clare’s father Doug for permission to marry his daughter – in front of her at a family dinner – six months ago, Clare insists the recent proposal took her by surprise.

“We all thought he was joking when he asked for permission!” she laughs. “I was impressed he’d say that in front of me.” “[The proposal] was very romantic. Scott wanted to go for a walk to the bridge on our property to look at how high the river was after the rain. I was immediately suspicious because he doesn’t like to walk anywhere!”

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Bali Bomb survivor: My Miracle wedding

Bali Bomb survivor: My Miracle wedding

Nicole McLean’s near-death experience has made her more grateful for love.

As Nicole McLean stood in the doorway of the Toorak church in her beautiful wedding gown, she was shrouded by a halo of sunlight. On an otherwise rainy Melbourne day, Nicole was glowing.

Seeing Nicole marry was something her family feared would never happen. After the 31-year-old was severely injured in the Bali bombings of 2002, losing her right arm in the process, she didn’t know if she’d ever recover.

“It’s a dead-set miracle for her to be here,” says her dad Jim. “We’re so lucky to have her.”

Just two days before Nicole almost died in the horrific bombings, her friend of seven years, Luke, professed his love for her. “I still don’t know why I chose that night to tell her I’d fallen in love with her,” he says. “It’s almost as if instinctively I knew something was going to happen.”

Forty-eight hours later, Nicole was fighting for her life on the floor of a Bali club. “I just remember a loud noise and a big flash of light… something hot and heavy hitting me to the ground,” she says. “I have no idea what, but that’s probably what chopped my arm off.”

Related video: Another miracle wedding following the Queensland flood disaster.

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Home and Away’s Pippa and Michael: Our real life love

Home and Away's Pippa and Michale: Our real life love story

Life imitated art for Debra Lawrance and Dennis Coard, who are still together after nearly 20 years.

Home And Away favourites Debra Lawrance and Dennis Coard might have left the show years ago, but in real life their love story is still going strong. They’re about to celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary!

Now living in Melbourne with their two children Grace, 18, and William, 11, the couple say they owe their happy ending to the show that brought them together all those years ago.

“Home And Away gave me my life,” says Debra, 54, who met Dennis, 59, when he first screen-tested for the role of Summer Bay foster-dad, Michael Ross. “If I didn’t have a steady job, I don’t think I would have had children. I met Dennis, we have two great children and he’s a brilliant father.”

As foster-parents Pippa Fletcher and Michael Ross, Debra and Dennis helped raise a generation of Aussie kids who looked up to the community’s most famous residents as role models. But sitting at their dining table, the couple share a knowing glance and explain that while their love story blossomed before the TV cameras in the early 90s, it almost never happened in real life.

“I met Dennis at exactly the time my ovaries were yelling, ‘Hello!’” says Debra, laughing at the memory. “I must have smelled his testosterone. I flirted with him and there was chemistry, then I spent the next six weeks being rude to him. I guess I was testing him.”

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The shadowy early life of Julian Assange, the controversial figure behind Wikileaks

Julian Assange at a press conference in London

Getty Images

He is arguably the most infamous man in the world, but little is known about Australian Julian Assange. David Leser looks at the subversive’s youth and tells the story of a boy who has only ever known life on the run.

Nearly two decades ago in the hills outside Melbourne Julian Assange would go to sleep in the early hours of the morning exhausted and paranoid, mainly because he’d been up all night hacking his way into Australian and overseas computers.

His lack of sleep only compounded his paranoia. He believed the police were watching him, tapping his phone and about to come knocking. He was dead right about that.

In late October 1991, this 20-year-old computer wizard was a key member of an elite underground movement in Melbourne known as International Subversives, arguably the most sophisticated hacking group on the planet.

Comprising three brilliant, obsessive young men from dysfunctional family backgrounds, the group had managed to break into some of the most secure networks in the world, including NASA, the Naval Surface Warfare Centre in Virginia and the Pentagon itself.

We know this because Julian Assange was to tell us himself six years later in a book called Underground: Tales Of Hacking, Madness And Obsession On The Electronic Frontier, published to considerable acclaim in 1997. Written by Australian post-graduate student Suelette Dreyfus, with Assange’s close cooperation, Underground lifted the lid on the exploits of this rogue sub-culture operating out of Australia’s second largest city.

The book, in part a ghost-written autobiography of Assange’s early life, never actually revealed the names of the Melbourne hackers, but rather online nicknames such as Phoenix, Electron, Prime Suspect, Trax and Mendax.

Court documents and biographical details on the WikiLeaks website would later show that Mendax was none other than Julian Assange. He’d chosen his moniker from Horace’s splendide mendax, meaning “nobly untruthful.”

By October 1991, International Subversives had come under Australian Federal Police surveillance. Two years earlier the US Space agency, NASA, had been attacked by a computer worm just as the Atlantis space shuttle was about to be launched towards Jupiter.

Although the culprits were never found, Underground revealed that the worm had emerged from the shadowlands of this Melbourne hacking community and was, in part, a typically Australian act of defiance against large institutions.

On October 29, 1991, there was a loud knock at Julian Assange’s door.

“Go away,” he yelled, thinking it was a friend.

“Police. Open the door. NOW.”

Assange did as he was told and there at the door was his nightmare made manifest: a dozen plain-clothed policemen. “I don’t believe this,” he told them. “My wife just left me. Can’t you come back later?”

Assange’s 18-year-old wife had, indeed, just left him a few days earlier, taking with her their infant son, Daniel, as well as clothes, furniture and the CD player she’d given him a few months earlier for his 20th birthday.

Julian Assange was heartbroken and had barely slept or eaten for days. He was quite clearly a nervous wreck.

“I think you’ve been expecting me,” Ken Day, the head of the Australian Federal Police’s investigation task force, told him at the door.

Normally Assange kept his floppy disks (as they were in those days) in a place no one would dream of looking — inside a beehive. An enthusiastic apiarist, he enjoyed observing the highly intricate ways in which bees socially interacted. He also thought that if he was ever in the possession of stolen computer account passwords no one would find them there.

Your say: where do you stand on the Wikileaks debate? Do you think that the public should know everything that goes on in the world? Share your thoughts below.

Subscribe to Australian Women’s Weekly to receive 15 percent off the newsstand price and a free Botani skincare pack, valued at $44.90.

Related video: Kevin Rudd defends Julian Assange.

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