Who Do You Think You Are’s latest star Matt Moran on what he learnt from the experience

When Matt Moran was a child, he remembers being told of a family member who found himself in trouble with the law.

While his grandmother had fond recollections of a man called James Moran, he had been involved in a life of crime that had seen him jailed for a decade for several robberies.

“I remember that she used to talk about him and would say that he lived on the family farm later in his life and that he was a beautiful character and very considerate and a real gentleman,” Moran recalls.

“All I was ever told by family was that he might have spent some time in jail for stealing a horse, but that he didn’t steal it.”

So when taking part in the latest season of genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? the chef and restaurateur was understandably shocked to find out his ancestor was actually a bushranger known as Black Jim.

But, this was far from the only family secret that was uncovered during filming.

Raised on a dairy farm in Badgerys Creek, west of Sydney, Moran’s family moved to the city when he was a teenager, and later went on to establish his first restaurant, The Paddington Inn Bistro, in 1991, and has since opened ten more including the iconic two-hat Aria, whilst also appearing on shows like MasterChef Australia and The Great Australian Bake Off.

But, for the past 20 years, the fourth-generation farmer has also been balancing his culinary career with his own farm in the NSW town of Rockley. A long family connection with this region also saw him buy the town’s local pub last year.

Wanting to find out more about his family’s long connection to the land was the impetus for saying yes to the show, but along the way, Moran uncovered tales of illegitimacy, violence, and even murder.

Despite these dark secrets coming to light, he was moved to find out about his great-grandfather Charles, who was the brother of the aforementioned outlaw, but began the family’s legacy of farming.

“He had a pretty rough upbringing with his father who was bit of an alcoholic and his sister dying,” Moran says.

“To see he had such a hard life — and didn’t take the same route as his brother who became a bushranger — he made something of his life and became a sort of a pillar in his community. He was obviously a great man and became a folk hero for me in the process.”

After finding out more about where he came from, Moran says he can’t help but be in awe of those who paved the way.

“I think it’s very humbling,” he says.

“You can’t help it or think about what they went through, the hardships trying to survive and make ends meet and know how tough they did it.”

Getting to pass on what he found out to his family, particularly his children Harry and Amelia, Moran says he is incredibly grateful for the experience.

“That’s the beauty of it, isn’t it? The generations after mine can see this,” he says.

“Although I did do it for myself, it is also great to be able to pass this all down through the family.”

Who Do You Think You Are airs today at 7.30pm on SBS.