Shows
Forgotten AustraliaDeath-Defying Destiny Deciders – Part Three: Diving & Dicing With DeathIn July 1898, my great-grandfather Peter Murtough competes for the title of best diver in the world. But seeking more than the thrills of the life aquatic, he ratchets up the risks to himself – and future me – by enlisting to fight the Boer in South Africa.*All episodes will be available early & ad-free to Patreon and Apple supporters*It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access. Follow these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian history? Check o...
2026-03-1550 min
Forgotten AustraliaDeath-Defying Destiny Deciders – Part Two: From Waterloo to the Waters of LifeHaving fought the French and beaten the odds, Bernard Murtough’s family goes on to prominence in peacetime, establishing themselves and their mineral water business in Portsea. While raised a child of privilege, restless youngster Peter Murtough strikes out for London, set on high adventure as a high diver.*All episodes will be available early & ad-free to Patreon and Apple supporters*It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access. Use these links to get started:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia
2026-03-1244 min
Forgotten AustraliaNew miniseries: Death-Defying Destiny Deciders – Part One: War, Peace & PlagueI recently discovered that my great-grandfather was a champion diver who was active in the very same London scene as the doomed stuntmen who featured in my recent miniseries Death-Defying Death Divers!With this as my, um, jumping off point, I’m taking a plunge into my family history, tracing the men and women of the Murtough family, from the Battle of Waterloo, the Boer War and the Western Front, to the wilds of Western Australia and the remote paradise of Lord Howe Island. We’ll also take a look at the birth of tabloid sensationalism and...
2026-03-0947 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – Maestro! (feat. Goering + Hitchcock)From a run-in with the future Nazi villain, to working with the master of movie suspense, Aussie musical genius Arthur Benjamin lived a big life, even if he’s these days overshadowed in our cultural history by the scandalous Percy Grainger and Eugene Goosens.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian history? Check out my books!They’ll Nev...
2026-02-2613 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – Australia's First TypewriterA century and a half ago, the age of the typewriter dawned in Australia.Who was the first to import these new American gizmos? Would they cause the extinction of handwriting? Would typewriters increase efficiency or simply empower people to churn out rubbish?How many parallels are there to the modern push for AI?To read Robert Messenger’s typewriter histories, check out:https://oztypewriter.blogspot.com/ It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episod...
2026-02-2327 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – The Strange Story of the Australian FlagThis year marks the 125th anniversary of the Australian flag being raised for the first time – the winning design selected from a competition that attracted over 32,000 entries. Who sponsored the contest and why? How many winning designers were there?How did one chap so successfully claim sole credit over the next half century that two Australian prime ministers felt it necessary to officially try to set the record straight?It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of th...
2026-02-2020 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1966 – Part Three: Mr Stinky, a Rogue Cop and the Beaumont ChildrenHaving just retired from the NSW police, infamously bent Sydney detective Ray Kelly injects himself into the Beaumont case in what is one of Australia’s most cynical newspaper stunts. At the same time, the disappearance of two teens in Victoria marks the sad start to another haunting murder mystery. Plus: Aussie dollars and cents finally drop, Gough Whitlam vs Arthur Calwell, and the Rolling Stones roll into town… with Keith Richards getting into an odd bit of bother with the border cops.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad...
2026-02-1534 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1966 – Part Two: H-Bomb Horror & All the Way With LBJIn Spain, a B-52 accident has left a nuke lost at sea – while on land a fallout cover-up is in full swing. In Australia, even as more Diggers than ever are dying on the battlefield, and our Americans allies are freezing us out of planning, new Prime Minister Harold Hold doubles down on our commitment to the war in Vietnam. Plus: the BBC bans an unsparing atomic war documentary because it’s too realistic, Australia’s Nazi leader raises his ugly voice to silence a war hero turned peace activist, and the world worries about an impending overpopulation apocalypse.B...
2026-02-1239 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1966 – Part One: The Dawn of the DecimalsIn the second week of February 1966, Australians are preparing for ‘Changeover Day’, when we’ll say 'G’bye' to pounds, shillings and pence and say 'G’day' to dollars and cents. But would we have been better off with a currency called the ‘Roo’, the ‘Dinkum’ or the… ‘Nostril’? Plus: Sir Robert Menzies retires in the dark, Harold Holt is immortalised in wax, and the Russians land on the moon.*Hear Part 2 and Part 3 now ad-free as a supporter*It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes...
2026-02-1042 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1986 – Part Three: The Murders of Anita Cobby, Sallie-Anne Huckstepp and Megan KalajzichAustralia is shocked by three Sydney murders – even as a spate of brutal attacks on sex workers goes ignored by the police and tabloid media. Plus: Lindy Chamberlain freed as the newspapers dodge accountability, and David Brett’s strange tale gets lost; DNA set to revolutionise crime fighting, while science explains how you don’t get AIDS; Paul Hogan's peak year gathers pace; and cult leaders L. Ron Hubbard and Charles Manson return the the headlines.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of...
2026-02-0243 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1986: Part Two – A Billionaire Tyrant Terrorises His PeopleIn the Philippines, authoritarian ‘strongman’ President Ferdinand Marcos – having once survived a sex tape scandal that should've sunk him, and having siphoned billions from the people he's impoverished, oppressed, tortured and murdered – unleashes his police and military goons to assassinate and terrorise the opposition during ‘free’ elections.Plus: Rupert Murdoch smashes the print unions; Maggie Thatcher hit by two scandals; and Australians fear they'll be living in George Orwell's 1984 under the proposed Australia Card.Hear This Week in 1986 – Part 3 now early and ad-free as a supporter.It’s easy to get a free trial that w...
2026-01-2929 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1986 – Part One: The Strange Death That Freed Lindy ChamberlainAfter an Englishman fell to his death at Uluru on Australia Day 1986, a search of the area would find the crucial evidence that proved Lindy Chamberlain was innocent of the murder of her baby daughter Azaria. But who was the tortured soul whose fate set her free?Also: the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster; Star Wars can't live up to the hype; President Reagan guns for Colonel Gadaffi; and Donald Trump explains his Russia-friendly plan for world peace as he talks up his awesome dome project and shows off his new mega-mansion Mar-A-Lago!*Parts 2 & 3 are...
2026-01-2654 min
Forgotten AustraliaSpotlight – History Daily – The Rum Rebellion – 26 January 1808Welcome to the first episode of Forgotten Australia Spotlight, which is to showcase the work of other history storytellers. First up, History Daily, with their episode about the Rum Rebellion, which took place on the 20th anniversary of what would later be called Australia Day. It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian history? Check out my books!They’ll Ne...
2026-01-2419 min
Forgotten AustraliaDeath-Defying Death Divers – Part FourHaving left his mark on Australia, Professor Charles Peart’s legend is to fade with the years, even as others step up to even greater heights for even more dangerous plunges – intentional and accidental.To support Forgotten Australia:www.patreon.com/forgottenaustraliawww.apple.co/forgottenaustraliaLifeline13 11 14 0477 13 11 14 https://www.lifeline.org.au/ Want more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html
2026-01-1927 min
Forgotten AustraliaDeath-Defying Death Divers – Part ThreeArriving in Australia, Professor Charles Peart lives up the hype and wows crowds in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, before showing New Zealand audiences what he can do. But the daredevil has even wilder stunts planned for his return season in 1896.Hear the final instalment now early and ad-free by becoming a Forgotten Australia supporter.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaLifeline13 11 14 0477 13 11 14 https://www.lifeline.org.au/ Want more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my boo...
2026-01-1458 min
Forgotten AustraliaDeath-Defying Death Divers – Part TwoAfter a diving tragedy shocks London, Professor Charles Peart rises to fame with his daring and dizzying head-first pool stunts. When Australian circus owners come looking for acts to take Down Under, they believe they’ve found a star performer.Hear Death-Defying Death Divers parts 3 and 4 now early and ad-free as a Forgotten Australia supporter. You can use a free trial that's easy to cancel. If you decide to continue supporting, it'll cost the same as a cup of coffee per month. Supporters help me to keep making Forgotten Australia as...
2026-01-1147 min
Forgotten AustraliaNew Season Miniseries: Death-Defying Death Divers – Part OneWelcome to Season 10! There are a lot of wild stranger-than-fiction episodes and miniseries coming your way in 2026. To start the New Year, let's splashback 130 years...In 1895, Australians were astounded by Charles Peart, whose claim to fame was diving head-first from 100 feet into water just six feet deep. How did he do it? How long could he do it?In this four-part miniseries, we plunge into the strange world of striving divers, conniving showmen and sensationalist reporters who brought dizzying and often deadly thrills to audiences in England, the United States, Australia and New Zealand...
2026-01-0453 min
Forgotten AustraliaThe Marvellous Mary StoddardIn 1881, plucky Mary Stoddard won the Great Australian Christmas Card Competition and launched her long and brilliant career in the Sydney art scene. While colonial gentlemen usually didn’t take ‘lady artists’ terribly seriously, Mary’s mastery of the pen and brush, particularly when doing portraits of powerful men, commanded respect, praise and plenty more prizes. She was a true pioneer.To hear the bonus episode 'The Day Australian Art Changed Forever', and get access to other exclusive shows, and get all episodes early and ad-free, become an Patreon or Apple supporter. Click here for a free tria...
2025-12-301h 05
Forgotten AustraliaThe Garden Palace Mystery RevisitedHope you all had a great Christmas. New episodes will be out next week. In the meantime...Australia's first Christmas cards were displayed at The Garden Place. In this episode, originally released in 2023, we look at the raising – and blazing – of colonial Sydney's most spectacular building. Nearly 150 years after its conception, questions linger about its destruction.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia...
2025-12-261h 04
Forgotten AustraliaAustralia’s Great Christmas Card CompetitionIn 1881, after years of a Christmas card market dominated by wintry imports, the John Sands company launched a competition for Australian-themed designs, with the best and most popular artworks to be reproduced for sale to the public. Who would win? What did this contest and ongoing card mania mean for Australian cultural identity, women's employment, art and culture, education and industry – and for the authenticity of our creativity and communication?Bessie Rouse's scrap album, featuring early Christmas card designs:https://mhnsw.au/stories/general/bessie-rouses-scrap-album/It’s easy to get a free...
2025-12-211h 03
Forgotten AustraliaWhen Santa Broke Into PentridgeA new Christmas episode is on the way. In the meantime, let’s revisit the cheekiest Santa Claus in Australian true crime history: Dusty Sheehan – the young Melbourne larrikin, hapless crook and serial prison escape artist – who made news everywhere in 1951 when he broke into Pentridge to bring joy to jailbirds.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime an...
2025-12-1532 min
Forgotten AustraliaShirley Butler: The Christmas Murder – Part TwoIn the weeks after Shirley Butler's murder, newspaper reports hinted that police weren't divulging everything they knew. Then, in June 1953, nearly six months after her death, detectives announced a stunning breakthrough. But the arrest of their ‘Hitler’ suspect would pale in comparisons with the revelations to come.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my...
2025-12-0841 min
Forgotten AustraliaShirley Butler: The Christmas Murder – Part OneIn this re-release episode, we revisit one of Australia’s most haunting murder cases. On Christmas Day 1952, the body of Shirley Butler was found not far from her Sydney home. The vivacious 21-year-old had last been seen on Christmas Eve, in a festive mood, boarding a packed city. What had happened next? Who had killed her and why? In their search for answers, an army of detectives would scour the city for clues – and authorise a world-first radio re-enactment of her last fateful journey. The man they were looking for? A Russian magician with a Hitler moustache.
2025-12-0738 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – Stunt Pilot Percy SnellIn September 1920, Captain Percy Snell thrilled Brisbane by performing aviation stunts in a biplane right over the centre of the city. Forgotten today, this fearless flier was a man of many adventures, including heroics and possible crimes in the Great War. Back home, when not entertaining the future King of England, Percy was piloting a state premier on an aerial election campaign tour that ended in what may have been Australia’s first political assassination attempt.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit eith...
2025-11-2820 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – The “Man-Woman” Murder Case That Shocked AustraliaIn 1920, Sydney police arrested a man named Harry Crawford for murder — giving Australian newspapers the story of the year when it was revealed this male suspect was biologically female. The Eugene Falleni "man-woman" case — as it became known — culminated in a sensational trial, though doubts that justice was done persist to this day.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australi...
2025-11-2616 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – Sydney’s Horror ShipwreckIn 1857, Sydneysiders awoke to the nightmare vision of their harbour bobbing with bodies. The great ship Dunbar been dashed against The Gap and there seemed to be no survivors. But one lucky chap had lived – and he’d live not only to pay it forward but to see his tale told on stage and screen. It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia
2025-11-2316 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – Australia’s First Night at the FlicksIn August 1896, Aussies went to the movies for the first time – and it happened at Melbourne’s Opera House just nine months after the French Lumiere brothers got le punters to pay to see the moving pictures in Paris.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me...
2025-11-2011 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – Escaping HellIn 1824, two desperate convicts escaped the penal outpost of Macquarie Harbour, risking murder and cannibalism for a fleeting chance at freedom.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:ht...
2025-11-1712 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – The Canberra Air Disaster MysteryIn August 1940, an RAAF Hudson bomber crashed in Canberra, killing four of Australia's top wartime leaders — along with six other men. It was a tragedy that'd lead to the downfall of one Prime Minister and set two politicians on their paths to that top job. But what — or who — caused the crash?It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true cri...
2025-11-1318 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1957: Part Two – Keep Watching the SkiesSpace dog Laika and Sputnik II were the green light for the Cold War missile and space races to accelerate at warp speed. With the Russians out in front, the Americans were hellbent on catching up, using Nazi war-criminal know-how as they kicked around making the moon into a military base to launch nukes at the Commies. Meanwhile, as people everywhere were seeing UFOs and worrying about subliminal brainwashing, Sydney and Melbourne had some very specific problems – surviving freak weather and enduring the loved-up antics of Liz Taylor and Mike Todd.It’s easy to get a fr...
2025-11-0640 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1957: Part One – Dogs In SpaceThe world would never be the same after the Russians launched Sputnik II into space and its cosmonaut canine Laika became the first animal to orbit the Earth. Aussies would have to keep their eyes on the skies during an extraordinary week of heavenly happenings, from freak weather and flying saucers to planes in peril and swooping Hollywood stars. One big question: would the Commies really nuke the moon during a total lunar eclipse to mark the 40th anniversary of the Russian Revolution?It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to...
2025-11-0240 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1932: 32 Rabbit Holes – Part ThreeIn 1932, horror movies are on the rise, reflecting fears of an uncertain age – and fair enough, too, because, in addition to the woes of the Great Depression, the rise of fascism and Nazism, and the slide towards another world war, machines are taking jobs, mad scientists are transplanting monkey balls into millionaires, a self-aware robot is trying to kill its master, and an elite cabal of technocrats are hellbent on taking over the world.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit eith...
2025-10-311h 06
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1932: 32 Rabbit Holes – Part TwoWhile Hitler’s rise to power In Germany seems unstoppable and Mussolini celebrates ten years of fascism in Italy, Australia's homegrown New Guard numbskulls have already become irrelevant – and escaped investigation for their planned insurrection. Plus: Ripley’s Believe it Or Not; an extraordinary outback survival story with a Nazi aftertaste; a 'fun' bigamy story turns very dark; and everything that was ‘wrong’ with modern women.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaus...
2025-10-2938 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1932: 32 Rabbit Holes – Part OneFrom robots and rockets, to mad scientists, anti-democratic techbros and narcissistic fascist strongmen, a lot of what was making news this week in the Great Depression sounds, well, familiar. But at least we’re not declaring war on emus... just yet. Join me as we jump in and out of 32 strange stories from 1932 – and see which chime – a least a little – with this week in 2025. Part one includes: Brave New World banned, the plucky young poetess whose pen was a sword against poverty and the plan to turn the South Pole into a garbage dump.
2025-10-2746 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1907: All Quacked UpDoan’s Backache Kidney Pills, Freeman’s Chlorodyne, Hearn’s Bronchitis Cure, Dr Morse’s Indian Root Pills – what was in these and other patent medicines and how much good and harm did they do? These questions were being asked this week in 1907, in the wake of a Royal Commission report that showed Australians were risking their health and wealth on costly quack concoctions that were often placebos and/or contained poisons. In this episode, we look at the first attempts to control a hugely profitable unregulated industry that had been built with pioneering techniques in mass marketing and misinforma...
2025-10-201h 02
Forgotten AustraliaShort – The Coastwatcher’s Lonely WarIn July 1942, as Australia’s armed forces were about to begin what would become the legendary battle for the Kokoda Track, in another occupied part of New Guinea, the brave Aussie coastwatcher Con Page was desperately trying to evade a huge force of Japanese soldiers that was systematically hunting him down.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crim...
2025-10-1418 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – The Ballad of Australia’s Forgotten Boxing ChampionIn July 1919, tiny-statured but huge-hearted youngster George Mendies won the Australian Flyweight Title. This was a crown he'd defend successfully again and again – until fate dealt him a cruel blow when he did a favour for a fellow boxer.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:
2025-10-0814 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – One Man, Two Mining DisastersAustralia suffered what is still our worst industrial disaster when an explosion ripped through the Mount Kembla mine on 31 July 1902. Strikingly, lead rescuer Henry MacCabe had 15 years earlier been acclaimed a hero of the 1887 Mount Keira explosion, which was our previous worst industrial catastrophe. Yet Henry's legacy isn't quite black and white.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian tr...
2025-10-0613 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort: An Aussie Movie Star’s Acid HorrorAt the height of the silent movie era, young Australian star Lotus Thompson set her sights on Hollywood. But she soon faced a problem: her legs were so beautiful that producers couldn’t see past her perfect pins to recognise her as a true acting talent. So Lotus found a horrifying solution – literally, in a bottle of corrosive acid. Had she been driven to this self-destructive act by a cruel industry? Or was Lotus simply a shrewd operator trying to hoax her way to Hollywood fame and fortune?It’s easy to get a free trial that w...
2025-09-2927 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort: SS Waratah – Australia's Own 'Titanic' MysteryIn July 1909, the world wondered what had become of the SS Waratah, last seen off coast of South Africa with more than 200 souls aboard. This grim mystery was even more sensational for featuring a one-armed double murderer, a passenger plagued by prophetic visions and a veteran sea captain with a charmed reputation. But once all hope was lost, a likely explanation for the disaster was to come from a former Waratah passenger: Australian professor William Bragg, who a few years later would win the Nobel Prize.It’s easy to get a free trial that will gi...
2025-09-2622 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort: Australia's Free Speech MartyrWilliam Chidley was an early 20th Century Australian eccentric with his own philosophies, which he preached and published - and for which he was relentlessly persecuted. Eventually, Chidley would be charged with being a lunatic – setting the scene for his final battles as a free speech champion.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out...
2025-09-2318 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1981: Don't Believe the HypeThe death of stuntman Dale Buggins, the arrival of Adam Ant in Australia and new ‘evidence’ in the Azaria Chamberlain case – it was a big week for sensational tabloid stories. Plus: the birth of the Macquarie Dictionary, the Sale of the Century phenomenon, computers for consumers and the opening of Sydney Tower. And, on a personal note: when your protectors are predators, and remembering Australian journalist John Martinkus.If you need help, call Lifeline Australia on 131 114 or text 0477 13 11 14. Support Forgotten Australia with a free trial that will give you access to ad-free...
2025-09-2151 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1956: TV debuts, rock ’n’ roll riots and a dancing senior citizen takes on the worldIn the third week of September 1956, a small number of Australians finally saw what all the fuss was about when regular TV broadcasts began. It was a quiet start - unlike the arrival of the raucous, riot-inspiring youth movie Rock Around The Clock. But the new craze didn’t impress Janese Dooley, the 65-year-old widow who’d just danced not around the clock but around the world!Hear the exclusive short about how TV came to Australia now as an Apple or Patreon supporter.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give y...
2025-09-1530 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort: The Death of Damien ParerThis week in 1944, Australia's most famous war cameraman — whose film Kokoda Front Line! had won us our first Oscar the previous year — was killed while filming American Marines trying to retake a tiny Pacific island held by the Japanese.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me...
2025-09-1113 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort: Mark Twain Down UnderOne hundred and thirty years ago this month, Mark Twain, creator of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, and hailed as the world’s funniest man, arrived in Australia for the start of a months-long speaking tour. Aussies loved the famous visitor – and those attending his shows were treated to a very modern form of entertainment: American stand-up comedy.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia...
2025-09-0810 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort: When War Came on Father's DayAs winter became spring in Australia in 1939, the world stood on the edge of the abyss.Then, on Father's Day, 3 September, everyone's worst fears were confirmed: Australia would once again go to war with Germany. In the hours that followed this terrible news, shots were fired off Melbourne, foreigners were rounded up in Sydney, Australians got a crash course in air raid measures and enemy ships were unaccounted for in our waters. European battle updates dominated radios and newspaper headlines. This was the beginning of the beginning.It’s easy to get a f...
2025-08-3111 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort: Australia's Worst Shipwreck180 years ago this month, Australia suffered what is still our worst civil maritime disaster when the emigrant ship Cataraqui struck a reef off King Island and sank in Bass Strait. Of the 409 aboard, just nine were to survive - but fate held a cruel trick in store for two of these men.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true cr...
2025-08-2913 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort: From Dead Heart to Inland SeaWith Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre now flooded, we look back on the first time this happened in white history. Seventy-five years ago, Australia’s driest and most inhospitable region became a huge inland sea — and was explored by Elliot Price, a salt-lake-of-the-earth sorta bloke tooling around in a home-made boat. Wanna support Forgotten Australia?It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more ori...
2025-08-2713 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1931: The Man Who Fell To Earth – Part ThreeHaving enjoyed a trifecta of splashy Sydney skydiving successes, Stanley makes a new start in Melbourne only to learn that disasters come in threes.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murd...
2025-08-2453 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1931: The Man Who Fell To Earth – Part TwoAfter Stanley Thomas’s rapid rise to parachuting success in Sydney, his career starts to stall with a series of jumps that are erratic and dangerous.*Part Three is available now early and ad-free for supporters. You'll also get access to other ad-free, early and bonus episodes.*Use a free trial to get started:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they...
2025-08-2129 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1931: The Man Who Fell To Earth – Part OneStanley Thomas was a young parachutist who made himself into a star in Sydney in the early years of the Great Depression. In public, he thrilled with his daredevil stunts. In private, he wrestled the darkest of demons. In the first instalment of this miniseries, we delve into the reality and the fantasy of Stanley’s story and explore just how he summoned the courage to step into space at 10,000 feet.*Part Two and Part Three are available now ad-free for Patreon and Apple supporters*It’s easy to get a free trial and get...
2025-08-1749 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1906: The Golden Rule Axe MurderWhen John Hassett was murdered in his Adelaide hotel room, Australia wasn’t faced with a whodunnit but a whydunnit.Why had his wife Ada committed this cold-blooded crime?Is she was insane, what had broken her mind?For the first time, Ada’s tragic history is laid bare - and it speaks directly to issues still making world headlines in 2025.If you need help, call Lifeline Australia on 131114 or text 0477 13 11 14. If you’re an Ancestry member, you can see Ada Hassett’s Supreme Court files here...
2025-08-071h 06
Forgotten AustraliaThe Curious Case of the Two-Headed Baby – Part TwoReuben Doodeward faces court, but he’s not backing down, and neither is the NSW government, with the fight over the fate of the two-headed baby headed for the High Court… and beyond.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopi...
2025-07-2755 min
Forgotten AustraliaThe Curious Case of the Two-Headed Baby – Part OneIn 1906, Australia was scandalised that Sydney showman Reuben Doodeward (pictured) had exhibited a two-headed baby preserved in a bottle of spirits. Yet he was only doing what his dear old dad had done in Dunedin nearly 30 years earlier. The court case that followed would make for more than just horror headlines – it’d make legal history that continues to shape our world in the age of biotech. Supporters can hear part one and part two of this episode early and ad-free.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access t...
2025-07-2141 min
Forgotten AustraliaBefore the Mushroom Trial – The Poisoned Footy Player: Part ThreeWhile the evidence against Veronica Monty was damning, she was also damned by the hypocritical morality of Australia in the 1950s. Tried for attempted murder, she was convicted of far worse — and would pay the price.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https...
2025-07-1347 min
Forgotten AustraliaBefore the Mushroom Trial – The Poisoned Footy Player: Part TwoWhen Sydney detectives confirm star Balmain rugby league player Bob Lulham has been poisoned with Thall-Rat, they begin an investigation that at first turns up few leads. A series of mysterious phone calls to the CIB keeps the police wondering until they finally make a shocking arrest. While the identification of the suspect is sensational, what emerges at the accused's committal hearing has jaws on the floor in 1950s Australia — as it would be today. Wanna hear the rest of the story now, ad-free?It’s easy to get a free trial that will give...
2025-07-0637 min
Forgotten AustraliaBefore the Mushroom Trial – The Poisoned Footy Player: Part OneOn the 20th of July 1953, Sydney detectives discovered that someone had used rat poison to try to murder star Balmain rugby league player Bob Lulham. More than 70 years later, this remains one of Australian sport’s most sensational, strangest and saddest scandals — and among the least remembered. In part one of this deep dive, we explore Bob’s proud family legacy – his father fought at Gallipoli on 25 August 1915 — and Bob’s meteoric rise in rugby league, which included his record-breaking 1947 debut season and him donning the Kangaroo jersey to represent Australia against England in 1948-49.Wanna hear the res...
2025-07-0135 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1980 – The Family Court Murders, Miracle Babies and Birds, Our Richest Real Estate and the Village People Conquer AustraliaA judge is gunned down, we welcome our first test tube baby and we try to save the world’s rarest bird. Meanwhile, Sydney sets a record house price and the Village People score bigly Down Under. Plus: Why does President Trump love the YMCA? How did Aussies feel about a Moscow Olympics boycott? Which Hollywood actor’s history with Australia intersected with George Orwell, Oscar Wilde, Sidney Nolan and Port Arthur Gaol? And: the strange story of Sydney Opera House’s strangest solo act!It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you acce...
2025-06-261h 03
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1955 – Part Two: A Ban on Aboriginal People, Putting An End to Polio, the Murder Manhunt and the ‘Murderphobia’ CaseWhile Sydney welcomes African-American entertainers, Moree bans Aboriginal Australians from exercising their human rights on the land that’s always been their home. But this regressive act will have progressive consequences… eventually. Plus, while Australia plans to vaccinate against polio and the government commits ground forces to a war in Asia, the manhunt for escaped murderer Patrick Platts reaches a climax. But the Platts story will have its sequel nearly 20 years later – in the ‘Murderphobia’ murder case.To read more about the 1965 Freedom Ride:https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/1965-freedom-rideTo get hip to...
2025-06-1632 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1955 – Part One: A Murderer Escapes, Our Politicians Jail Pressmen and an Aussie Witnesses Horror at Le MansUp in the Queensland, a murderer and a robber break out of prison, while down in Canberra our Federal Parliament puts a couple of newspaper blokes behind bars for breaching privilege. Meanwhile, a veteran Aussie journo at Le Mans witnesses history’s worst motor racing disaster. Plus: Hollywood celebrities come Down Under - and turn one Sydney beauty’s life upside down.To read Andrew Moore’s presentation on the Fitzpatrick-Browne affair:https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Publications_and_resources/Papers_and_research/Papers_on_Parliament_and_other_resources/Papers_on_Parlia...
2025-06-1240 min
Forgotten AustraliaBefore the Mushroom Case: Australia’s Infamous Poisoning Murder Trial – Part FiveFollowing the verdict, Ronald Griggs has one last trick up his sleeve to amaze Australia. It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-m...
2025-06-1156 min
Forgotten AustraliaBefore the Mushroom Case: Australia’s Infamous Poisoning Murder Trial – Part FourHaving already been convicted by the newspapers, Ronald Griggs stands trial for the murder of his wife. If he’s found guilty, he’ll be sentenced to death.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html...
2025-06-0848 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1930 - America's Tariff Apocalypse, Aviatrix Amy Johnson Awes Aussies... and Ferris Bueller?In the first week of June 1930, America was on the brink of economic apocalypse with its Smoot-Hawley tariffs – and their effects would be felt terribly Down Under and around the world. In this very same week, Aussies set in motion a process that'd further guarantee we suffered horribly in the Great Depression. At least in good news, Sydney welcomed heroic aviatrix Amy Johnson in what was the first example of modern celebrity hysteria in Australia. For a bit of fun, we also look at the Smoot-Hawley tariff scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, learning how actor-economist Ben Stein later re...
2025-06-0549 min
Forgotten AustraliaBefore the Mushroom Case: Australia’s Infamous Poisoning Murder Trial – Part ThreeAfter Lottie Condon’s shock confession, Ronald Griggs becomes infamous overnight when Truth newspaper publishes every sordid detail of his scandalous love life. But with his wife’s body exhumed and the true cause of her death established, public shame is soon the least of the embattled Methodist minister’s problems.Parts four and five are available ad-free now for Apple and Patreon supporters.As a supporter, you get all episodes ad-free, plus exclusive bonus episodes and a show shout-out!It’s easy to start a free trial in just a few seco...
2025-05-3141 min
Forgotten AustraliaBefore the Mushroom Case: Australia’s Infamous Poisoning Murder Trial – Part TwoFollowing the mysterious death of his wife in the mountain town of Omeo, rumours about Methodist preacher Ronald Griggs reach a fever pitch — and a veteran detective is sent from Melbourne CIB to investigate.Parts three, four and five are available ad-free now for Apple and Patreon supporters. As a supporter, you get all episodes ad-free, plus exclusive bonus episodes and a show shout-out! It’s easy to start a free trial in just a few seconds.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaIt’s easy to can...
2025-05-2942 min
Forgotten AustraliaBefore the Mushroom Case: Australia’s Infamous Poisoning Murder Trial – Part OneNearly a century before Erin Patterson was put on trial in the mushroom murder case, Australia was scandalised by allegations that a young preacher from country Victoria had poisoned his wife, Ethel, the mother of his baby girl, so he could be with his mistress, Lottie, the daughter of one of his most faithful churchgoers.In this five-part mini-series, we delve deep into the life of holier-than-thou hypocrite Ronald Griggs, who shattered the commandments he supposedly held so sacred.Everything he said and did cast him as a sinner.But had this man...
2025-05-2953 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1905: Aussie Feminist Highs & Lows, the First Empire Day, an American President Ends a Russian War, and a Ratcatcher Echoes in EternityIn London this week, the Aussie suffragist Nellie Martel explains to English women how they can win the vote, while back at home pioneering feminist Louisa Lawson’s publication The Dawn teeters on the brink of closure. Plus: the first Empire Day; the final battles of the Russo-Japanese War mean a Nobel Peace Prize for Teddy Roosevelt; and in Sydney a ratcatching hero survives Bubonic Plague – again.Kathy Bowrey: "The threat posed by a woman inventor: law, labour and the subjugation of Louisa Lawson"https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14490854.2024.2331591For a fr...
2025-05-2339 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1979: Aussie Movies Go Global, Ye Olde TV Listings & Our Forgotten Comedy GeniusThis week at the Cannes Film Festival, My Brilliant Career made Australian film history, while back home Rupert Murdoch became a Sydney TV mogul, setting the stage for his world-changing Fox News empire. Meanwhile, Aussies lived with limited television choices even as they remained unaware that one of their own was reshaping American screen entertainment with his cutting edge comedies and pioneering reality formats.For free trial access to early ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus episodes:Apple.co/ForgottenAustralia or https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/forgotten-australia/id1442763878Patreon...
2025-05-1642 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1954 - Sydney Anarchy, Killer Trains, a Climate Warming Warning, Record Setters & the Roo Roo HopPirates, sailors, mountaineers and the Abominable Snowman run riot through Sydney – a Sydney were you risk life and limb every time you catch a train. Also this week: scientists prove that the world is warming – and cite civilisation as the cause. Elsewhere, a young bloke tries to set a piano playing record, a Pommy athlete breaks through an ‘impossible’ barrier, Australian television is finally given a green light and American youngsters bounce around like kangaroos.Roo Roo Kangaroo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq8lImdakvAFor a free trial that will giv...
2025-05-0828 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort – Nazi Aftertaste85 years before American President Donald Trump gave unelected social media mogul Elon Musk unprecedented power with DOGE, Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies gave unelected newspaper mogul Keith Murdoch unprecedented power as DGI - that is: Director-General of Information. But Rupert’s dad would overstep almost immediately and be widely criticised as an aspiring fascist dictator along the lines of Adolf Hitler – the very enemy he was supposed to be fighting.For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/f...
2025-05-0516 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1929: The Blind Digger – Part TwoJust as Frank’s radio career is taking off, his private life is laid bare in a racy tabloid expose. But the sequel to this scandal is to be far more shocking and sinister. Nearly a century later, questions remain…For free trial access to early ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus episodes:Apple.co/ForgottenAustralia or https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/forgotten-australia/id1442763878Patreon.com/ForgottenAustraliaCheck out my books:They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe...
2025-04-2744 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1929: The Blind Digger – Part OneTerribly wounded on 25 April 1915 at Gallipoli, AIF Private Frank Downes would be celebrated as The Blind Digger. After returning home on the first hospital ship from Egypt, he was an Anzac hero, a patriotic public speaker, a radio personality and a good husband and father. But Frank’s image was to be tainted by scandal and then shattered by a mysterious death that left Aussies wondering whether this war hero was a cold-blooded murderer.For free trial access to early ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus episodes:Apple.co/ForgottenAustralia or https://podcasts.apple.com/au...
2025-04-2349 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1904: Rampaging Percy Ramage – Part TwoDid you have to be crazy to take on 10 cops at once? Was Percy Ramage 'perfectly insane'? The question was key but Melbourne’s best and brightest just couldn’t agree. Percy cashed in on his notoriety with a memoir and tried to go straight. But trouble was never far away – and a surprising tragedy loomed in a stormy future.For free trial access to early ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus episodes:Apple.co/ForgottenAustralia or https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/forgotten-australia/id1442763878Patreon.com/ForgottenAustraliaCheck out my boo...
2025-04-2046 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1904: Rampaging Percy Ramage – Part OneIn Melbourne and Geelong from the 1890s, Percy Ramage saw red whenever he saw the cops. Known as 'The Policeman Puncher', he was such a 'human tiger' that no-one knew where his badness ended and his madness began. But in trying to contain him, authorities would throw Percy into a gaol where prisoners were dropping like flies – with the ‘Prince of Rioters’ looking like he’d be the next to die.For free trial access to early ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus episodes:Apple.co/ForgottenAustralia or https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/forgotten-australia/id144276...
2025-04-1750 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort: Cocaine KurtzThis German-born thug's misadventures included shooting his dad in the butt, taking to the bush as an escapee, doing time in a POW camp, selling cocaine in Sydney and dicing with the Razor Gangs. But his life would have an unexpected final act.Check out my books:They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAu...
2025-04-1114 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1978: Dead End – The Bloody Last Stand of a Brazen Bank BanditA Brisbane armed robber had hit three banks in twelve months. In the second week of April 1978, the cops had laid a trap he couldn’t escape. Until he did. What followed was an extraordinary car chase and gun battle, all caught by news cameras. But after the smoke cleared, big questions remained.For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaCheck out my books:They’ll Never Hold Me:
2025-04-0745 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1953: One Murderous Cop, Two Serial Killers & Roy Cohn Runs Riot Against the 'Reds'It was a big week for true crime and the Red Scare. In Sydney, Roger Rogerson’s future hero, Detective-Sergeant Ray ‘the Gunner’ Kelly, was in court and explaining how and why he’d shot another criminal dead. In London, the cops caught serial killer John Christie, which meant they’d sent an innocent man to the gallows for two murders. In a weird coincidence, a similar failure of justice was about to play out in Adelaide, where serial monster John Balaban had already been set free by the courts to kill again. Meanwhile, the Red Scare was at fever pitc...
2025-03-3156 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1928: Cocaine Raids, Razor Gangs, Racist Orgy Conspiracies and Girl Bosses vs Man Worms!In a bumper episode brought to you by the newfangled "Electric Newspaper" of 1928, Sydney and Melbourne cops carry out spectacular public raids to save white women from the evils of cocaine and African-American jazz men – and, more broadly, to amp up the war on drugs and expand the White Australia Policy. Plus: a Sydney girl makes good in the British movie Moulin Rouge; English women get the vote for a "Flapper Election"; and the "Sex War" is predicted to leave girl bosses in total control of a world of man-worms.To book Manly Writers' Festival: https://ww...
2025-03-2455 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort: Murder at the Melbourne RacesIn 1906, when a young bookie tried to cheat his customers, he died as the very public victim of a bloodthirsty mob of Melburnians. His murder left the city searching for his killers – and for answers about a state government that continued to allow dangerous unregulated gambling.This episode updates a previous Australia On This Day episode.Check out the Manly Writers’ Festival: https://www.manlywritersfestival.org.au/program/true-crime%3A-tales-of-betrayal%2C-escape%2C-and-justiceFor a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:Patreon: patr...
2025-03-2320 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1903: Gaslight in Perth – Bella Heckler, the Reverend and the Rape ScandalIn the third week of 1903, Perth was transfixed by one of the most sensational libel cases in Australian history. The legal action had been brought by a popular clergyman, who claimed a newspaper had falsely accused him of being a vile predator, who'd serially raped his young maid, gotten her pregnant, forced her into an abortion, and then conspired to commit her to a lunatic asylum to keep her from spilling her secrets.Check out the Manly Writers’ Festival:https://www.manlywritersfestival.org.au/program/true-crime%3A-tales-of-betrayal%2C-escape%2C-and-justiceCheck ou...
2025-03-1753 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1977: Just Like JawsThis week was a busy one – a royal visit from the Queen, the Centenary Test and mad bulls running through the streets of Melbourne. But no story was more dramatic than the horrific shark attack off Brisbane, which seemed straight out of that recent horror blockbuster: Jaws. In this episode, we look at the men who died that day on Moreton Bay – and the self-styled warrior who set out to avenge them, propelling himself onto the world stage, where he’d remain for decades, killing sharks ruthlessly and playing a role in creating one of the 20th century’s most con...
2025-03-1055 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1952: Miss Kangaroo & the Great Koala HeistLong before Crocodile Dundee put Australia on the map for American moviegoers, Miss Kangaroo was sent to the USA on a similar mission. But this young polio survivor wouldn’t be alone on her whirlwind 30-city tour – Miss Kangaroo was to chaperone a couple of baby kangaroos. What could possibly go wrong? At the very same time, a separate film stunt saw four koalas shipped to Hollywood – the first such export in decades. Soon all of these poor Australian creatures – including Miss Kangaroo – would be embroiled in a controversy over animal cruelty and the shady exploitation of our beloved fauna by t...
2025-03-0343 min
Forgotten AustraliaShort: The Brutal Birth of Mardi GrasIn 1978, the first Mardi Gras was met with police intimidation, violence and mass arrests that were followed by custodial abuse, bashings and malicious prosecutions. Though the cops, courts, Labor premier Neville Wran and even the Sydney Morning Herald were against the LGBTQ+ community, they wouldn’t back down in their fight for their right to party – and enjoy the same rights as every Australian.This episode updates an archived episode of Australia on this Day.My books: They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html
2025-02-2815 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week In… 1927: The First Miss Australia & the Newspaper Stunt that Launched a Media Empire In the last week of February 1927, Sydneysiders could go to the Crystal Palace Theatre to see Australia’s very own ‘Queen’ – the winner of the first Miss Australia pageant. Not only would she appear in her costumes, she’d tell of her adventures going to Atlantic City to ‘challenge’ Miss America. Soon she'd take her show all across Australia. In the background, newspaper mogul-in-the-making R.C. Packer was pulling the strings and pocketing the profits that’d establish a mighty media empire. But Miss Australia was more than a pretty face – and she’d use her smarts like a modern-day influence...
2025-02-2446 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in 1902: Bubonic Plague, the Crutchy Push, Breaker Morant, Boer War barbarities & the first choice for an Aussie capitalIn the third week of February 1902: the first Australian senators select a sweet site for our national capital and the first Australian commonwealth soldiers embark for overseas service... right as Australia's first prime minister and first opposition leader act as bipartisan boosters for Britain’s conduct in the Boer War... unaware the Poms are about to execute Australian legend Breaker Morant. Plus: stupidity steers Sydney into a Bubonic Plague sequel right as Melbourne's larrikin criminal leader of 'The Crutchy Push' faces court in a follow-on from a notorious Crutchy murder case.For a free trial and ac...
2025-02-1750 min
Forgotten AustraliaYour Stories: ‘My Father was Count Copernicus!'As an adoptee, Pam Korreng always wondered about her biological parents. In 2021, hoping for some answers, she used Ancestry DNA. What Pam discovered was that her dad, Dave Clark, was an immensely talented singer, musician, actor, comedian, karate expert, stripper and cosmic seeker, who, after pioneering Australian rock ’n’ roll in the 1950s with Barry Crocker, became glam-rock shocker Count Copernicus in the 1970s. But her father’s story runs deeper than that, beginning in the horrors of war during The Blitz and ending in the bliss of a peaceful NYC spiritual community in the 21st century.Patr...
2025-02-1347 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in… 1976: Ned Kelly lives, Apocalypse Now dies, sex sells cinema tix but Australia’s star stripper quitsIn this special movie episode: the same week that we rediscover the first filmic Ned Kelly, we lose the chance to have Apocalypse Now made in Australia – and while sexy times sell ‘sinema’ tickets, singer-stripper-philosopher-turned-soft core star Count Copernicus hangs up his G-string. Plus, the new trend to sci-fi flicks that includes ‘The Star Wars’, Colonel Sanders pops in for a meat pie and a British fashion commando gives our blokes the big thumbs up.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaShowgirls, Teen Wolves and Astro Zombies - the link is act...
2025-02-1040 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week In… 1951: Melbourne’s Retro “Teacher’s Pet” CaseThis week in 1951, Melbourne’s detectives and a police diver were searching the waters off Frankston for the body of Caroline Scully, a wife and mother who’d been missing for eight months. The chief suspect in her suspected murder? Her husband Edward, hailed as an Australian military Masterchef.For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaTo buy They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html
2025-02-0342 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in... 1926: Ugly Men, Tesla's Predictions, a Fascist ‘Footloose’ and a Mysterious Masked DancerAs a sensuous Catwoman seduces Sydney society and Perth’s Ugly Men stage their annual carnival at Uglieland, ugly meanie Mussolini uses his new executive powers to protect fascist Italy from having fun while Elon Musk's original man crush Nikola Tesla predicts a wireless world where you can watch an American presidential inauguration on your pocket-sized screen device.This week's bonus episode for subscribers delves into the identity of the Masked Dancer, who was a household name in mid 20th century Australia for a career that extended from vaudeville to videotape.For a fr...
2025-01-2639 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in... 1901: the first election, a federal erection and the dying queenAustralia talks about the first federal election campaign, weeps about the death of beloved Queen Victoria and laughs at a visionary’s plan for a giant statue that’ll rise over Sydney Harbour. Plus: our most famous astronomer mocks Nikola Tesla's "messages from Mars", our most famous meteorologist makes like Elon Musk by firing rockets into the heavens, and our most famous hangman is news for setting a record with his noose. This episode features a short interview with Rachel Franks, historian and author of An Uncommon Hangman: The Life and Deaths of Robert 'Nosey Bob' Howard. (There's also a fu...
2025-01-1954 min
Forgotten AustraliaThis Week in… 1975: Sex, Speed, Strippers & Skyhooks!In the third week of January 1975, the ‘The Sensual Seventies’ live up to the label when 2JJ plays a banned song about bonking as its first-ever broadcast while sex documentary The Love Epidemic erupts in cinemas and causes a 'porn' controversy. Plus: a shocking road toll, weird Darwin fundraisers, power blackouts threaten Number 96, Gough brings home some art and a nudist cop faces his court comeuppance.For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaTo...
2025-01-1336 min
Forgotten AustraliaSummer Shorts - The Murdochs and the Child MurdersOn New Year’s Eve 1921, Australia was shocked by a Melbourne child murder. Desperate to boost the Herald’s stagnant circulation, newly appointed editor Keith Murdoch ran sensational coverage that helped to send an innocent man to the gallows. Forty years later, when Australia was shocked by a Sydney child murder, Rupert Murdoch, new editor and owner of the lagging Daily Mirror, followed in his father’s footsteps and laid the foundations for the media empire that’d reshape the world. For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:
2025-01-0923 min
Forgotten AustraliaForgotten Australia This Week… In 1950Will the Chinese invade Taiwan? Is nuclear war with Russia inevitable? While it sounds like these questions are ripped from today's headlines, these were actually the biggest issues in the world in the second week of 1950. Plus, closer to home: the RSL’s purges Commies but embraces Pokies; a female playwright tackles white Australian attitudes to Aboriginal people, and a giant eagle attacks a woman and her daughter… right in the heart of Kings Cross!For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:Patreon: patreon.com/forg...
2025-01-0639 min
Forgotten AustraliaSummer Shorts: TAA Flight 408 – Australia’s First SkyjackingIn July 1960, Australia was shocked by a new breed of criminal desperado – a gun-wielding and bomb-toting skyjacker.For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaTo buy They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html...
2025-01-0317 min
Forgotten AustraliaForgotten Australia This Week … in 1925Happy New Year! We kick off 2025 by adding a new format in which we look at a different week from each year in the 20th Century. And what better place to start than 100 years ago? In the first week of January 1925, Australia was wowed not only by a world record test cricket attendance at the MCG but also by a giant leap forwards in live radio coverage. Also this week: a Melbourne ghost mystery, dark accusations made against a future prime minister, and the sensational disappearance of national celebrity Jack DeGaris (pictured). For a...
2024-12-3133 min
Forgotten AustraliaSummer Shorts: Archibald McCafferty – Australia's Charles MansonIn 1973 in Sydney, a delusional young criminal and his band of disciples set out to ‘Kill Seven’ as a way to resurrect a dead child.For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaTo buy They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:http...
2024-12-3025 min
Forgotten AustraliaMichael Adams talks They’ll Never Hold Me with Australian True Crime – Part TwoThey’ll Never Hold Me is in bookstores now. Michael sat down with Meshel Laurie of the Australian True Crime podcast to talk all things Kevin John Simmonds. Part Two covers Simmo’s 1959 crime spree and the first few weeks of what was the largest manhunt in Australian history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-11-2232 min
Forgotten AustraliaMichael Adams talks They’ll Never Hold Me with Australian True Crime – Part OneThey’ll Never Hold Me is in bookstores now. Michael sat down with Meshel Laurie of the Australian True Crime podcast to talk all things Kevin John Simmonds. Part One covers Simmo from his birth during the Great Depression to his 1959 decision to become an armed robber. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-11-2228 min
Forgotten AustraliaThey’ll Never Hold Me – The Next Few Audiobook ChaptersPlease enjoy a second audiobook extract that continues the story of young Kevin John Simmonds, as he grows up in Griffith, grapples with the lure of criminality and gets a preview of his life in the saga of legendary Sydney characters Darcy Dugan and Ray ‘the Gunner’ Kelly.Buy the full audiobook here:https://rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/9781004181971/Buy the paperback:Dymockshttps://www.dymocks.com.auBig Whttps://www.bigw.com.au/product/they-ll-never-hold-me-by-michael-adams/p/6000238?srsltid=AfmBOoqf5VwhCrlNow0Drn0-IcoViT5ttqXdXsyX1iacELJzuYvEW8Mv
2024-11-1438 min
Forgotten AustraliaBook Preview – The Murder SquadExclusive to Forgotten Australia listeners, this episode comprises the first 20 pages of The Murder Squad, my new book about homicide investigation in Sydney and NSW during the worst years of the Great Depression. We start with Detective-Sergeant Tom McRae in Albury in September 1934 as he investigates the Pyjama Girl, before flashing back to the triple tragedies he endured in his early life and as he started his rise through the ranks.Check out The Murder Squad's awesome cover:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781922863836.htmlHere's what...
2023-07-0337 min