Shows
Tales of History and ImaginationThe Tichborne Claimant - TwoThis week, on a much waylaid episode of Tales we return to the Tichbornes,’ as Tom Castro makes his play for the land, money and titles. Does it turn out he was, in fact Roger Charles Tichborne - long thought lost at sea - or was he some larrikin on the lookout for an easy life?
This is part two of a two parter. Apologies all, I lost a good month and a half to a bout of pneumonia just after Christmas.
Content warnings: I said nothing on the tape: but on reflection: childhood bull...
2026-02-2351 min
Tales of History and ImaginationThe Tichborne Claimant - OneQuick note all: This episode is approx 29 minutes long… I’ve accidentally left some background music or something muted at the end + will delete that and re-upload once home again…
Sorry all, there is no secret Easter egg at the end of this episode, it’s ok to hit stop when the end credits roll…
This week On Tales we return to the Australian outback - this is the last time we visit my neighbours to the west of Aotearoa/New Zealand for a while, I promise. The year is 1866, the location Wagga Wagga.
Tom Castro...
2025-12-1337 min
Published...Or NotRobyn Annear and Christian White‘Shutter City’ has photographs of early Melbourne. They come alive as Robyn Annear guides our eye into the detail and describes it with her insightful humour. Christian White takes us on a journey of kidnapping, revenge and violence over one concentrated evening in, ‘The Long Night’.
2025-10-2300 min
ABC RewindGreat Aussie Cons | The Tichborne ClaimantIs he a baronet or a butcher from Wagga Wagga? Can he claim the estate of an English aristocrat thought to be lost at sea?Throughout the 1870s, this question attracted global attention, and was the subject of one of the longest, most sensational court cases Britain had ever seen. Guests: Robyn Annear (author) The Man Who Lost Himself: The Unbelievable Story of the Tichborne ClaimantZadie Smith (author) The FraudClaire Campbell (former) Wagga Wagga head librarian and Tichborne aficionadoCredits: Narrator - Richard RoxburghProducer - L...
2025-08-2329 min
100 Best Selling Books of 2022"Adrift in Melbourne" by Robyn Annear"Adrift in Melbourne" by Robyn Annear
2024-08-1503 min
100 Best Selling Books of 2022"Adrift in Melbourne" by Robyn Annear"Adrift in Melbourne" by Robyn Annear
2024-08-1505 min
The Readings PodcastRobyn Annear in conversationIn this episode, a conversation with Melbourne's favourite historian, Robyn Annear. In Corners of Melbourne, Annear takes us on an unorthodox tour of the city's streets and corners, telling stories about the events and people that have made these the most interesting places to be.
In this (appropriately corner-shaped) book she will introduce you to - street-corner 'galvanisers' who offered the thrill of electric shock at threepence a time, the rude boys of the Fitzroy back streets who became the original 'larrikins' infants named for the corners on which they'd been abandoned, a rogues' gallery of unruly women, incorrigible men...
2024-01-0425 min
Published...Or NotTara Calaby and Robyn AnnearTara Calaby has set her historical fiction novel ‘House of Longing’ in the Kew mental asylum. A street corner gives a location point and can become a meeting place. In Robyn Annear’s book we read about some of the remarkable happenings and people in Melbourne’s early history linked to ‘Corners of Melbourne’.
2023-11-2300 min
BreakfastersZippers, Ubers & Finding your PassionDr. Jen explains the weird science behind finding your passion; Nat recaps an entertaining Uber ride; historian and author Robyn Annear chats about her new book Corners of Melbourne; the team share some thoughts on zippers; content writer and book enthusiast Laura Pietrobon reviews Jessica Zhan Mei Yu’s book But the Girl; and award-winning composer and entertainer Tim Minchin talks about his upcoming project Groundhog Day: The Musical. With presenters Monique Sebire, Daniel Burt & Nat Harris.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/breakfasters/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Breakfasters3RRRFM/Twitter: ...
2023-10-271h 17
7amThe Weekend Read: Robyn Annear on the untold history in our public toiletsToday on the show, writer and historian Robyn Annear, with her piece from the September edition of The Monthly. While researching the opening of the Yan Yean reservoir in the 1800s, Robyn followed a thread, unravelling the history of sewage and sewerage in Victoria.From cast-iron pissoirs and open-air urinals, to robo-dunnies and the National Public Toilet Map app, our local history of public toilets is rich with squalid detail. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and InstagramGuest: writer and historian, Robyn AnnearSe...
2023-10-0713 min
The Weekend ReadRobyn Annear on the untold history in our public toiletsToday on the show, writer and historian Robyn Annear, with her piece from the September edition of The Monthly. While researching the opening of the Yan Yean reservoir in the 1800s, Robyn followed a thread, unravelling the history of sewage and sewerage in Victoria.From cast-iron pissoirs and open-air urinals, to robo-dunnies and the National Public Toilet Map app, our local history of public toilets is rich with squalid detail. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and InstagramGuest: writer and historian, Robyn AnnearSe...
2023-10-0613 min
SaltgrassS5 E03 The Good Op ShopTiffany Inglis started an op shop (AKA opportunity shop - known as a thrift store in the USA) and all she wants to do is save the world one pair of very cheap second hand jeans at a time.
Not only is the Good Op shop keeping A LOT of stuff out of landfill, but money raised there is then given to worthy environmental causes. If that is not enough to convince you it is a 'good' op shop - then wait til you hear about the educational programs and recycling initiatives they have started.
...
2023-02-2655 min
ABC RewindPlay your way to happinessIt was the Great Depression in Australia. People dreamt of a paradise, an escape from Nowheresville. And they found it, gathering on the beaches of coastal cities and crowding halls in country towns - to play Hawaiian steel guitar. Historian Robyn Annear discovers what drove thousands of Australians to learn this unlikely instrument?
2023-01-1030 min
ABC RewindPlay your way to happinessIt was the Great Depression in Australia. People dreamt of a paradise, an escape from Nowheresville. And they found it, gathering on the beaches of coastal cities and crowding halls in country towns - to play Hawaiian steel guitar. Historian Robyn Annear discovers what drove thousands of Australians to learn this unlikely instrument?
2022-09-2000 minSaltgrassZoe Scoglio and the Castlemaine Commons Collective: Episode 2
Back in March 2022 Zoe Scoglio joined Allie live on MAINfm and shared some interviews she had collected for a Castlemaine Commons Collective project. Beautiful conversations about community, connectedness and resilience.
Episode Two includes interviews Zoe did with two locals; author Robyn Annear and ecologist Karl Just.
Song referenced: Sunset Village by Beverly Glenn-Copeland
(Sound quality starts out with some interference, but improves through the episode)
2022-09-1346 min
Dark HistoriesThe Tichborne Claimant: A Tale of Two ButchersWhen Sir Roger Tichborne was shipwrecked and lost at sea in 1854, his mother fell into a deep state of mourning, both devastated by the loss of her son and insistent that he was still alive. As much as the rest of her family tried their best to convince her that Roger was not ever coming back, she just refused to stop searching. It was a stance that paid off handsomely then, when her long lost son made his triumphant return to England 12 years later with a plan to reclaim the family estate. It would be a claim that would...
2022-07-261h 22BreakfastersLast Hurrahs, Bicycle Faces and Cabbage LoveBreakfasters alumni Geraldine Hickey drops by to recap the return of the annual Reclink Community Cup; Comedian and actor Nazeem Hussain chats about reprising Hussain That? at Chapel off Chapel; Daniel ponders artists and their last hurrah concerts; author Chloe Hooper talks about her new book Bedtime Story; Cabbage enthusiast Michael Harden states his case for that much-maligned lettuce-substituting vegetable; Mon and Daniel discuss secret sacrifices they make for the people in their life; Historian Robyn Annear explains the meaning behind the 1895 term ‘bicycle face’; and comedian Felicity Ward talks about preparing for her show She's Back, Baby! With prese...
2022-06-241h 28BreakfastersThe Daniel Tax, Sacrilegious Phone Calls, Vegemite DayThe team discuss what is a "reasonable ask" from friends who have a pool; Adam Christou raves about new adventure game Card Shark; Bobby declares where she would draw the line to recover her phone; Michael Harden explores the wonders of vegemite ahead of National Vegemite Day; Writer Robyn Annear talks about the historical controversy surrounding telephoning on a Sunday; the team discover The Daniel Tax; and Jonny Hawkins, creator and star of RISING show Maureen: Harbinger of Death, has a chat about taking on a new personality. With presenters Mon Sebire, Daniel Burt and Bobby Macumber. ...
2022-06-101h 13BreakfastersMatching Clothes Couples, Compulsory Voting History & Yay MicrowaveThe team discuss the concept of wearing the same clothes as their partners; Historian Robyn Annear explains how compulsory voting was introduced in Australia and excuses made for not voting; Bobby’s local footy team kicks off their season; Comedian Alex Ward chats about her MICF show You’re Welcome; Bobby makes a strong case for the microwave, & food fan Michael Harden shares the exciting new things he’s been able to taste around Melbourne town. With presenters Mon Sebire, Daniel Burt and Bobby Macumber. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/breakfasters/Facebo...
2022-04-1457 minBreakfastersPotato Milk, Rat Pits & a Day in the Life of ChooksThe team discuss dishwasher stacking techniques; Food fan Michael Harden chats about potato milk and other food trends; historian and author Robyn Annear talk us through the last ever match at the Melbourne Rat Pit; Bobby explores her fears; Author and academic Ben Eltham sums up Russia's attack on Ukraine; Fiona Scott Norman reveals the secret lives of chickens; and the team reminisce about school report cards. With presenters Mon Sebire, Daniel Burt and Bobby Macumber. Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/breakfasters/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Breakfasters3RRRFM/Twitter...
2022-03-031h 10BreakfastersWalking in Melbourne, Phone Spam & HummusBobby and Sarah have had opposite weekend experiences; Writer Robyn Annear encourages people to explore Melbourne in her new book Adrift in Melbourne: 7 Walks; the team explores the limits of how much chocolate you can eat on a Sunday; Brian Ritchie talks about the 2022 Mona Foma lineup; Tech expert Vanessa Toholka explains why phone spam has gotten so bad; Michael Harden tackles the Great Hummus War; the team discuss the trials of making new friends, and screen reviewer Hayley Inch appeals to Tom Hardy fans by reviewing Venom: Let There Be Carnage. With presenters Sarah Smith, Daniel Burt and...
2021-12-021h 10
TravelZoomMelbourne, AustraliaIn this episode, we're going to Melbourne, Australia and talk about:The early days of Melbourne, gold rush boom and the rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney with Robyn Annear. Robyn is author of six books of history, including Bearbrass, A City Lost & Found: Whelan the Wrecker’s Melbourne, and Nothing New: A history of second-hand. Architecture and hidden gems with Julie Willis, the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at University of Melbourne. Food and Torres Strait flavours and ingredients with Nornie Bero, the Executive Chef and owner at Mabu Mabu and Big Esso...
2021-11-1945 min
The Dawn of Crime by Roy MaloyThe Dawn of Crime - Robyn Annear & The Early Crimes of Melbourne.Robyn Annear is the author of five books of history, including Bearbrass- Imagining Early Melbourne and Nothing but Gold- The Diggers of 1852 . Her podcast 'Nothing on TV' presents stories from Trove historical newspapers.
2020-11-1330 min
Radical PhilosophyRobyn Annear - Op shops and CapitalismOp shops and Capitalism - Robyn Annear discusses the history of second-hand, mending vs ending and if second-hand can overturn Global capitalism.
2020-10-3100 min
Nothing on TVMr Denning’s UmbrageWherein we consider what counts as an amusement…
Argus (Melbourne), 22 September 1855, p. 8 (‘Amusements’ column)
A dance manual by one of Mr Denning’s teachers, Eugene Coulon. Find the full text of
the second edition (c. 1852) here.
Hm…
2020-04-2323 min
Published...Or NotRobyn Annear and Christos Tsiolkas'Nothing New' by Robyn Annear traces all things second hand: the history, the stigmas attached to it and the business that it continues to be.Christos Tsiolkas provides the reader with a unique sense of enlightenmet regarding the formative years of the Christian Church in his latest novel, 'Damascus'.
2019-11-2800 minNothing on TVA Pig in a PokeWherein we plunder suitcases full of mystery…
Herald (Melbourne), 18 December 1893, p. 4, col. 5
Here’s a sample of the headlines that would follow railway lost property sales –
And why not read on – here and here
Moreover, there was this –
and this –
That last item, in The Catholic Press (Sydney) in 1898, noted:
‘That the Lost Property Office has many times been used for the purpose of hiding things in there can
be no doubt. Butler hid Lee Weller’s sea chest and some of his belongings there...
2019-10-0832 minNothing on TVWhat is Really Real?Wherein we shed some light in the phonebox…
Space travel in the Sun (Melbourne), July 1969.
(Blame the tilt on a lack of gravity)
‘The Pals’ Corner’ with ‘Grandad’, Advertiser, 23 June 1933, p. 5
Leaf through the whole issue at Trove Newspapers – including the two missing pages!
The yawn-inducing headline. Read the paper in its entirety at Trove.
Thanks again to Anwyn and Barb for supplying the ‘really real’ newspapers for this episode.
2019-09-0320 minNothing on TVA Bit of a VentriloquistWherein voices are thrown and pigs educated.
Age (Melbourne), 27 September 1884, p. 10, col. 6
Read it with the rest of the day’s news here.
from Ventriloquism: Ancient and Modern – Containing A Complete Explanation
of the Secrets of Ventriloquistic Deception by Richard Hughes, Exchange Press,
264½ Post Office Place, Melbourne, 1902. Anyone wishing to perfect the guttural groan
could do worse than browse the State Library Victoria’s digitised collection,
which includes several manuals of ventriloquism.
Ballarat Star, 16 April 1888, p. 2, col. 6.
Read it on Trove here.
Frank a...
2019-08-0935 minNothing on TVClean HandsWherein we consider propinquity of liberty, literacy and soap.
Age (Melbourne), Monday, 17 August 1874, p. 2, col. 6
– read it on the newspaper page here
Joseph Juliff took a penknife to a copy of the Argus in the newspaper
reading room at the Melbourne Public Library – and was caught in the act.
He had thought to expunge the public record of his earlier crime; but it
survives on Trove –
Argus, 8 May 1860, supplement p. 1, col. 5
Not a hat in sight: Queen’s Reading Room, Melbourne Public Library, 1859.
Barnett Johnston...
2019-07-0343 minNothing on TVTin-kettlingWherein tins and nerves are rattled.
Geelong Advertiser, 12 January 1885, p. 3, cols. 4-5
See the rest of that day’s news here
A bawdy depiction of charivari by the French caricaturist J.J. Grandville.
It appeared in the journal La Caricature in 1831.
Here’s a rare image of colonial tin-kettling, roughly contemporary with the events at
Germantown –
It comes from page 8 of the Sydney Mail & New South Wales Advertiser of 18 December 1886,
where it was one of a series that purported to illustrate ‘A Country We...
2019-06-0939 minNothing on TVBuried TreasureWherein we entertain tales of treasure and avarice.
Men Dig in Richmond Yard And Carry Away – What?
(the question-mark, perhaps)
Sun News-Pictorial, 27 March 1936, p. 4 (copied from microfilm at State Library Victoria)
Children Spy on Mysterious Digging Operations (News (Adelaide), 30 March 1936, p. 3)
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/11034096
One of the Spanish Prisoner letters found by historian Robert Whitaker in the
British National Archives. Purportedly written by one Luis Ramos, it was received
in 1905 to Paul Webb, a London shopkeeper.
Take a closer look an...
2019-05-0135 minNothing on TVAgnes & Geraldine – Season 2: ep. 1Wherein we drill down on a fin-de-siècle folly.
Welcome to Season Two of Nothing on TV. Here’s how it begins…
Herald (Melbourne), 19 February 1887, p. 2, col. 7
Read the article in situ here
Argus (Melbourne), 3 February 1882, p. 8, col. 5
Could the ‘Miss Symonds’ teaching swimming at Captain Kenney’s
ladies’ baths have been our Miss Simmons, lately transplanted from Blueskin Bay, NZ?
Dive into the aquatic adverts here
Whither Miss Simmons? Might she be among this circa-1880s deputation
of Victorian suffragists?
Photo courtesy Vict...
2019-04-0130 min
Deep TroubleThat Was Then, This Is Now'That Was Then, This Is Now' involved young adults and award winning writers (and a publisher!) coming together on stage to discuss much loved modern classics that have made an impact on them. Produced in partnership with the Castlemaine Children's Literature Festival and Castlemaine Library, this event featured Robyn Annear and Cohen Saunders (The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton), Ellie Marney and Rosa Carrington (A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle), Cate Kennedy and Abigail Meadows (To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee), Gryffin Winsor and Kristin Gill (The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien)
The event took place on 7...
2018-11-2154 minNothing on TVThe Suburban Ghost – ep. 7 (season finale)Wherein we encounter a ‘phosphorescent charmer’ in fin de siècle Melbourne .
Herald (Melbourne), 8 August 1892, p. 2, col. 8
See it on the page, here.
Did you know that The day the ghost walks is slang for pay-day? Originally theatrical slang,
it supposedly originated among the cast of an early production of Hamlet. Much later, it would
come into more general use, though mainly in the US.
And speaking of the theatre, Melbourne’s suburban ghost went on to share a bill with a
lady contortionist in a ‘screamingly funny farce’ –
2018-08-0530 minNothing on TVThe Hatpin Menace – ep. 6Wherein we consider the point of hatpins.
Argus (Melbourne), 9 August 1911, p. 14, col. 4
Or read the whole page here
A comic postcard from 1907.
I found it at http://whatsinthetrench.weebly.com/blog/archives/09-2016
Here’s some hats, at the opening of the new nurses’ quarter, Queen Victoria
Hospital, Melbourne – from the Weekly Times, 15 April 1911, p. 27
Take a look here at other photos from this terrific illustrated newspaper.
The World’s News (Sydney), 11 May 1907, p. 1
Read the story here.
‘Here’s something for...
2018-07-0634 minNothing on TVDeadwood Dick & the Picture Show Panic – ep. 5Wherein we learn who to blame for the perennial naughtiness of boys.
Argus (Melbourne), 10 November 1914, p. 8, col. 2
Read it in full here
Titles in the Deadwood Dick Library – ‘Issued Every Wednesday. Price 5 cents’
From the ‘Nickels and Dimes’ collection of Northern Illinois University Libraries
– click here to access the whole collection.
Here we see Deadwood Dick’s distinctive ‘vail’, ‘through the eye-holes of which
there gleamed a pair of orbs of piercing intensity’.
This cover features in Haverford College (Pennsylvania) Library’s online exhibition,
The Second Generation: B...
2018-06-0628 min
City of Melbourne LibrariesRobyn Annear's Desert Island Books May 2018Robyn Annear, writer and historian, reveals her Desert Island Books in conversation with librarian and host, Natalie Mason.
2018-05-1835 minNothing on TVChampagne & Anarchy – ep. 4Wherein we have our cockles warmed by Lord Hopetoun’s liquid largesse, as dispensed by an anarchist on the mean streets of Melbourne in 1902.
Argus (Melbourne), 26 June 1902, p. 5, column 3
Read the whole of the report, plus all that day’s news (including the king’s illness) here.
Critic (Adelaide), 5 January 1901, p. 3 Australasian, 12 January 1901, p. 29
(Left) An official 1901 portrait of the G-G. Note the stamp, defective original, at the foot of the page. This
seems to refer to the newspaper, not Lord Hopetoun – notwithstanding views expressed in the Barrier Miner.
(Right) His Excellency’s safari pants and yoga pose strik...
2018-05-0528 minNothing on TVHave you seen my poncho cloak? – ep. 3Wherein we plunder drapers’ shops, cloakrooms, and the Lost & Found column in search of the poncho cloak and its shoddy brethren.
Argus (Melbourne), 23 June 1855, p. 1, column 6
Or take a look here at what else was lost and found that day
The full poncho range of Benjamin Lazarus & Co., Sydney drapers
– Sydney Morning Herald, 12 June 1855, p. 8, column 6
Click here to compare Lazarus’s stock with that of his competitors,
or here to read what his persuasive rival, Mr Marks, had to offer
Argus (Melbourne), 16 July 1855, p. 6, columns 6 & 7
...
2018-04-0628 minNothing on TVThe Marble Man – ep. 2 (part 1)Wherein we trace the curious career and prehistory of a ‘petrified man’ dug out of a New South Wales marble quarry.
See post for The Marble Man part 2 for further reading and links for this two-part episode.
2018-03-0921 minNothing on TVThe Marble Man – ep. 2 (part 2)Wherein we continue to trace the curious career and prehistory of a ‘petrified man’ dug out of a New South Wales marble quarry.
Further reading and links for this episode:
Bathurst Free Press & Mining Journal, 21 May 1889, p. 2, columns 4-5
Read the full article in situ and see what else was happening in district news that week.
from The Legend of the Petrified or Marble Man by Harry Stockdale, F. Cunninghame & Co., Sydney, 1889
Read the book online
The Cardiff Giant, on display at the Bastable in Syracuse, NY...
2018-03-0917 minNothing on TVEnter the Elephant – ep. 1Wherein we chart the declining fortunes of a performing elephant in goldrush-era Victoria.
Further reading and links for this episode:
Age (Melbourne), 7 November 1854, p. 5 – or read it in situ (look at the top of column 5),
to see what else was happening in the news that day.
Argus (Melbourne), 16 October 1854, p. 8 – or read it in situ (column 5),
to discover what else was on in Melbourne that week.
Click here to read an article looking back at the Cremorne Gardens of the 1850s & ’60s,
from the Melbourne Argus, 8 April...
2018-02-0715 min
Scamapalooza with Nicholas J. JohnsonThe Man Who Lost Himself with Robyn AnnearThe Tichborne Claimant was either a 19th century lord, long thought missing at sea or a butcher from Wagga spinning an elaborate lie to get his hands on the Tichborne fortune. In this episode author and historian Robyn Annear explores one of the most notorious court cases in Australian history and Nicholas gets distracted by the phrase ‘Retractable Penis.’
http://www.mammothaudio.com.au/scamapalooza/
2015-10-0546 min
Futility ClosetThe Tichborne Claimant
In 1854, English aristocrat Roger Tichborne disappeared at sea. Twelve years later, a butcher from Wagga Wagga, Australia, claimed he was the long-lost heir. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll tell the sensational story of the Tichborne claimant, which Mark Twain called "the most intricate and fascinating and marvelous real-life romance that has ever been played upon the world's stage."
We'll also puzzle over why family businesses are often more successful in Japan than in other countries.
Sources for our feature on the Tichborne claimant:
Rohan McWilliam, The...
2015-09-1434 min