Saroo Brierley Travels from Hobart, TAS

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Saroo Brierley was born in a small Indian town. In 1986, aged only 5, he lost all contact with his family when he was at a train station waiting for his brother. He never saw his brother again.

After living on the streets of Calcutta for 3 weeks by himself, Saroo was placed in a local orphanage and went on to be adopted by an Australian family. He grew up with his new parents in Hobart, Tasmania where he spent the next 25 years. But he was unable, and unwilling, to forget the land of his childhood.

Determined to rediscover his past he embarked on a virtual odyssey of his homeland and, after many hours poring over Google Earth, armed only the images that were etched into his brain as a 5 year old, he managed to recognise his home town - and track down his mother.

Their reunion in 2012 made headlines across the world, and his full story is recounted in his #1 international bestselling autobiography, A Long Way Home.

The film Lion, based on his autobiography was released in November 2016 to great acclaim. It has been nominated for four Golden Globe and six Academy Awards and stars Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel.

Saroo’s is a remarkable story of survival and sheer determination culminating in an intensely moving reuniting with his mother.