Forgotten Australia

On Monday 16 August 1926, a large crowd gathered outside Perth's Supreme Court, hoping to get access to what promised to be the most sensational criminal trial Western Australia had ever seen. Had Phillip Treffene and William Coulter murdered Detective-Inspector John Walsh and his partner Detective-Sergeant Alexander Pitman? What the court heard was an incredible new version of events that left many wondering where the truth lay. To support: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After police swoop on their suspects, Evan 'Teddy' Clarke, Phil Treffene and William Coulter are charged with the murder. But one of these men will turn against the others, with brilliant barrister Arthur Haynes using this betrayal as a chisel with which to chip away at the crown case. To support: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 12 May 1926, south of Kalgoorlie, at an abandoned mine known as Miller's Find, Detective-Sergeant Grenville Purdue makes a horrifying discovery. The biggest manhunt in Western Australia is now on for the murderers of Detective-Inspector John Walsh and Detective-Sergeant Alexander Pitman. This episode produced from research material made accessible thanks to Forgotten Australia supporters. For more info on helping out (and for show shout-outs, early ad-free access, exclusive bonus episodes and the Australia's Sweetheart audiobook) go to: www.patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In April 1926 Detective-Inspector John Walsh and Detective-Sergeant Alexander Pitman disappeared while investigating gold thefts around Kalgoorlie. It was nearly two weeks before they were missed. When the alarm was raised, a massive search was started. Parts 2-5 will be released soon. This episode has been made with the use of archival material paid for Forgotten Australia supporters. For more information: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season Five is just around the corner. We're kicking off with an episode called Blue Murder On The Golden Mile. It’s a killer tale set in 1926 and it takes us inside what was then the most intensive manhunt and homicide trial in Western Australian history. One of the main characters in Blue Murder On The Golden Mile is a brilliant barrister named Arthur Haynes. I featured Haynes two years ago in the episode Murder On The Dance Floor, which was set in 1925 in Perth.So, ahead of Season Five, I've dusted off this two-parter in case you haven’t heard the story — and want a bit of an idea of just how formidable Arthur Haynes was a defence lawyer. Here's the gist of Part Two:There was no doubt Audrey Jacob had shot Cyril Gidley dead in front of hundreds of people during a charity dance at Perth’s Government House. But why had she killed him and was she guilty of murder? The final instalment of this episode takes us inside one of Australia’s most extraordinary trials—and beyond to a second murder, the tragic downfall of a business titan and across the world to the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War and Carter White House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season Five is just around the corner. We're kicking off with an episode called Blue Murder On The Golden Mile. It’s a killer tale set in 1926 and it takes us inside what was then the most intensive manhunt and homicide trial in Western Australian history. One of the main characters Blue Murder On The Golden Mile is a brilliant barrister named Arthur Haynes. I featured Haynes two years ago in the episode Murder On The Dance Floor, which was set in 1925 in Perth. So, ahead of Season Five, I've dusted off this two-parter in case you haven’t heard the story — and want a bit of an idea of just how formidable Arthur Haynes was a defence lawyer. Certainly, if you were charged with murder back in the day in WA, he was the man you wanted on your side.Here's the gist of Part One:In 1925 beautiful young Audrey Campbell Jacob shot a young man dead in front of hundreds of revellers during a charity dance in the ballroom of Government House in Perth — and the court case that followed the crime was every bit as shocking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the wake of the massacre, Dr James Patrick Murray makes a series of surprising moves that further his infamy in Australia and across the British Empire.Listener Desiree Pettit-Keating, of Bendigo Regional Archives Centre, was kind enough to send through an article they did about the Bendigo smallpox outbreak that features in this instalment — and in which Dr Murray played a central role. To read their piece — which has plenty of parallels with Covid-19 — go to:https://www.brac.vic.gov.au/disease-deja-vuSeason 5 of Forgotten Australia will start in mid-November. In the meantime, I'll be releasing a new bonus episode for supporters. Supporters also have access to half a dozen bonus episodes I've already produced. For info: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr James Patrick Murray takes the brig Carl to the sunny South Seas and into a heart of darkness beyond the imagination of even Joseph Conrad. In this nightmare of his creation shooting dozens of defenceless men is only the start of the atrocities. To support the production of this podcast: www.patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

150 years ago today — 13 September 1871 — Australian slavers — aka 'blackbirders' — fired their guns into the hold of the brig Carl, where they had imprisoned 160 South Pacific Islanders they had recently attacked and kidnapped. Thirty five men were killed in hours of fusillades — and that many again would soon suffer an unbelievably horrific fate. To understand this massacre, we need to understand the man who ordered it. In part one of "Australia's Slave Ship Massacre", we delve into the life of forgotten mass murderer Dr James Patrick Murray, who played a role in the Burke & Wills, Ludwig Leichhardt and Adam Lindsay Gordon stories — and who had been widely hated across Australia even before he told his men on the Carl to "Shoot them all". To see images of the people from this episode (free, no sign up), go to patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Months before Australia's first heavier-than-air flights, people from Sydney to Hobart, Goulburn to Kalgoorlie, Melbourne to Perth reported seeing strange lights in the night skies. These mystery airships — dubbed "Scareships" — were said to travel at astounding speeds and perform complex aerobatics that suggested they were under intelligent control. What were they? The truth is out there. To become a Forgotten Australia supporter and get exclusive full-length bonus episodes: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George O'Brien's life hangs in the balance as his DIY yacht is smashed by a gale and heavy seas. Gower Wilson's son Roy grows up to become the hero of a Lord Howe Island aviation disaster. Plus: the legacy of George Rikard-Bell — aka movie star Brian Abbot — and how I found my birth family and discovered I hail from Lord Howe. To support Forgotten Australia from as little as $A2.75 per month, go to: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite the recent double tragedies of the Mystery Star and Viking, taxi driver and nautical newbie George O’Brien decides he’s going to build a yacht so he and wife and their two young sons can sail from Sydney to Lord Howe Island. Why does he do it? Perhaps it's to impress his father-in-law: legendary Sydney shark hunter and all-round maritime madman Charlie Messenger. To support Forgotten Australia and get bonus episodes — including those related to this series — go to: www. patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While Brian Abbott and Leslie Hay Simpson are feared lost with Mystery Star, a macabre discovery on the coastline raises new questions, new hopes and new fears. Meanwhile Gower Wilson sets sail for Lord Howe Island aboard Viking — with his crew an eerie echo of the characters from the film Mystery Island. To hear all eight parts of this series now — and access bonus content – become a supporter: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fears mount for the Mystery Island movie stars aboard the little launch Mystery Star. Brian Abbot’s wife Grace and Leslie Hay Simpson’s brother-in-law Arthur Titterton do everything in their power to convince the Federal Government to launch an air-and-sea search of the Tasman Sea. But the weather is turning bad and time is running out. Meanwhile, Gower Wilson offers his theories about the missing men — and plans his own voyage to Lord Howe Island. To hear all eight instalments now — and for bonus episodes and the audiobook of Australia's Sweetheart — become a supporter: www.patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite warnings from Lord Howe Island’s unofficial chief Gower Wilson, Brian Abbot and his co-star Leslie Hay Simpson set sail for Sydney in the tiny motor launch Mystery Star. To hear all eight parts of this series now, become a supporter: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Mystery Island's cast and crew descend on Lord Howe Island, Brian Abbot has a secret plan to return to Sydney in his little motor launch Mystery Star. Why did he feel confident about making this dangerous trip? Likely because the Pup — sister ship to his vessel — had recently survived epic marine treks. But did Brian know the true fate of one of Pup’s skippers? To hear all eight parts of this series — along with bonus episodes — become a supporter at: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After enjoying stage success in Sydney in early 1935, Brian Abbot breaks into the movies and lands a starring role in Ken G. Hall's kangaroo drama Orphan of the Wilderness. Next he's cast as the romantic hero of shipwreck thriller Mystery Island. That it's to be shot on Lord Howe Island gives real-life seafarer Brian an idea for his most daring adventure yet. But it's an adventure that risks replicating Lord Howe's most tragic mystery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2018 I found and reunited with my biological family, discovering that my people go back to 1842 on Lord Howe Island. On my first visit that Christmas, I became fascinated by the mystery surrounding the early talkie Mystery Island, which was shot on Lord Howe in 1936. Why did its leading man Brian Abbot — who had everything to live for — try to sail to Sydney across the treacherous Tasman Sea in a tiny motor launch? Was he mad, like they said, or was there something else at play?In the past few months, my investigations have unearthed dozens of startling stranger-than-fiction stories that each shine a different light on this question. So, strap in for an eight-part epic series. You're going to meet Hollywood hopefuls, surf rescuers, plucky canoeists, turf tricksters, war heroes, daredevil aviators, shipwreck survivors and a handful of accused killers. Then there’s one chap who wrestled an octopus, rode sharks, hunted a humpback whale in Sydney Harbour, tried to reel in an Olympic swimming champion and led an expedition to catch a mysterious sea serpent — twice. Underlying all of these dramatic, tragic and comic tales is a haunting question: what role does “the element of luck” play in who lives and who dies?In Part One, we meet young George Rikard-Bell, who rejected his privileged upbringing to become an adventurer and a conman in the Great Depression — before reinventing himself as the actor Brian Abbot. Part Two will be released on Thursday. Instalments will be out on Mondays after that. But you can binge all eight parts now by becoming a Forgotten Australia supporter for just a few bucks per month — go to: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born in 1864 on Lord Howe Island, Albert Nichols led a colourful life that ended with him an unsung hero of the Titanic sinking. This re-release comprises parts one and two of the S1 episode “Australia’s Titanic Hero”. It provides a lot of background to next week’s episode The Mysteries of Mystery Island — including insight into my link to Albert and Lord Howe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having escaped prison, fled interstate and joined the army under yet another new name, George Blunderfield seeks reinvention and redemption on the Western Front — but his true nature compels him to commit his most atrocious crimes yet. To become a Forgotten Australia supporter, go to patreon.com/forgottenaustralia**This podcast episode contains references to suicide, violence and sexual violence against children. Listener discretion is advised** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After committing a sickening outrage in the first weeks of 1900, George Blunderfield serves a relatively short jail sentence. When he's set free he sheds his identity but can’t help but follow the nature that causes him to hurt those who only want to help him. **This podcast episode contains references to suicide, violence and sexual violence against children.**To become a Forgotten Australia supporter, go to patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over two decades George Farrow Blunderfield left a trail of pain and death in his wake from one side of the country to the other. I’ve made a three-part podcast exploring the life and crimes of this forgotten monster of early 20th Century Australia. To hear the whole story right now ad-free, become a Forgotten Australia supporter: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia**This podcast episode contains references to suicide, violence and sexual violence against children. Listener discretion is advised** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sister Ellen Savage was the hero of Centaur and over the next four decades she'd keep alive the memory of her fallen sisters and brothers.She was an Anzac hero who was to pass away on an Anzac Day.To support Forgotten Australia: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 14 May 1943, the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, with the loss of 268 people. Nursing sister Lieutenant Ellen Savage was one of the survivors and was hailed a hero for her bravery. While Centaur is well remembered, this podcast focuses on Nell Savage and her life of service before, during and after WWII. Part two will be released tomorrow. To become a Forgotten Australia supporter, go to patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part two introduces us to a hard-charging cop and a spiritually minded reporter as the search for a solution to the Guyra Ghost mystery takes us to Gallipoli and onto the mean streets of Sydney. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Starting 100 years ago this week, Australia was mystified by strange happenings at a farmhouse at Guyra in northern New South Wales. Showers of stones and unexplained bangings occurred night after night at the Bowen property, seemingly centred on the family's 12-year-old daughter Minnie. Police, the public and the press descended — and, with no rational explanation forthcoming, supernatural solutions were suggested. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One hundred years ago today – 22 March 1921 – a gunman shot up the Riverton railway station in South Australia. One man would put himself in the firing line to save lives: Percy "Jack" Brookfield, a firebrand socialist NSW state parliamentarian whose politics had made him of the most loved – and hated – figures in Australia. To become a supporter of Forgotten Australian and get ad-free early and bonus episodes, along with the Australia's Sweetheart audiobook, go to patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In March 1907 Australia was gripped by the plight of Italian miner Modesto Varischetti, trapped deep underground and underwater at the Bonnie Vale gold mine in Western Australia. The Entombed Miner's only hope? A brave diver named Frank Hughes. To support the show and access bonus content: www.patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Greg McHardie on the loose, there's another Woolworths bombing. Is the fugitive out for revenge or is he leading a far more laidback life? Even if his plans to leave the country don't come off, is there a jail that can hold him? In any case, both Greg and Larry aren't destined to stay behind bars long because that's just how NSW works Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this, the second-last instalment of this special series, Greg McHardie is as free as a bird after his audacious Easter escape from Parramatta Jail. That leaves consummate entertainer and storyteller Larry Danielson to give the performance of his life for the most importance audience he’s ever faced: a jury of his peers. If you enjoy Forgotten Australia, please leave a rating and review because it helps other people find the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the trial of the alleged Woolworths Bombers gets underway, the jury hears about ransom letters, suspicious clock mechanisms and gelignite bomb explosions — along with jokey European accents, disappearing Ford Falcons and the provenance of a gaudy blue safari suit. Witnesses include the accused men’s family and friends, cops both upstanding and corrupt — and a police informer who’ll be revealed as one of Australia’s vilest offenders. With the case against Greg McHardie looking airtight, he'll be damned if he’s going to hang around to be convicted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Task Force’s Operation Softly, Softly circles Larry Danielson in Huskisson — with one of the detectives a Manly mate from the good old Flicks days who gets stuck into the booze while on interrogation duty. Fraught though his outlook is, Larry still has a chance at freedom. But Greg McHardie? He's in for serious time, which turns his mind to a jailbreak. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Greg McHardie claiming to detectives he’s a dead man if he names those behind the Woolworths bombings, the Task Force turns its attentions to his associates on the South Coast, including his housemate Larry Danielson, a lovable larrikin who made his name as a singer-songwriter in Papua New Guinea before becoming the host with the most at one of the best venues of the emerging Aussie pub rock scene. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After “Mr Bridge” is caught red-handed with the $1m Woolworths ransom, the suspect tells Task Force detectives he’s only a courier hired for the job. The mastermind’s name? Benny. From that moment on, Sydney’s police, press and public are all on high alert for this flashy character, who has threatened four more store bombings and for whose capture Woolies is offering a $250,000 reward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As 1980 ends and the New Year begins, Woolworths and the NSW police wage a war of nerves with Mr Dunmore over arrangements for the $1m ransom handover. While the extortionist bomber has a cunning plan to get away with the loot, the Task Force’s massive undercover Operation Alpha has set an elaborate trap that’ll end in a showdown on Sydney Harbour. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the Christmas Eve bombing of Woolworths' flagship Sydney store, the company awaits contact from the extortionist calling himself Mr Dunmore. Meanwhile, Woolies receives dozens more threats, a beer carton bomb is found in a store and a sensational leak splashes the terrorist’s secret $1m ransom demand all over the media. But what crime reporters don't know is that undercover detectives are already on the trail of man fitting the description of a Woolworths suspect — a man just released after a long prison sentence for Sydney gelignite bombings… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Christmas Eve 1980, young constable Allan Duncan responded to the Woolies Town Hall bomb threat and would be inside the building when the device detonated. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Christmas Eve 1980, the Woolworths’ head office in Sydney gets a phone call from the man already responsible for two regional store bombings in the past week. An explosive device has been placed in the flagship variety store opposite Town Hall. It's going to detonate in 10 minutes. What follows is like something out of a Hollywood movie. But with its Holden utes and safari suits, beer carton bombs and pub rock gigs, this true-blue true-crime yarn could only have come from Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Christmas Eve 1859, Margaret Douglas and Beverley Howard started their epic 1500-mile walking match in Melbourne — which the city’s newspapers did their very best to ignore. Despite such hostility at home, our first sporting heroine would be appreciated by English reporters when she performed her walking feats in London and Liverpool. In this episode we also trace Margaret’s likely identity — and learn how she inspired a rival in Emma Sharp (pictured), who in turn nearly 150 years later inspired a distant relative to undertake a stirring long-distance charity walk in Canberra. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Melbourne’s Margaret Douglas was an endurance pedestrian every bit as remarkable as her Sydney contemporary The Flying Pieman. After stumbling upon a passing reference to her in an 1878 newspaper, I took a deep dive to shine a light on her completely forgotten achievements and examine how she was deliberately excluded from many newspapers of the time and then from a seminal history book that provided a chronology of pedestrianism. In part one we look at the colourful history of women who walked long distances in England and America, the abundance of coverage given to a man who walked 1000 miles in 1000 hours in Melbourne in 1858 and how Victoria's newspapers treated Margaret’s attempts to conquer the same challenge in the city six months later. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having made his dazzling pedestrian comeback, The Flying Pieman takes another tilt at politics in typical comedic fashion before jolting the Sydney establishment with one last audacious stunt. Feeling his mortality as he enters old age, William Francis King makes a public pledge of love — only for heartbreak to follow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In September 1847, after crashing out during the challenge to walk 192 miles in 48 hours non-stop, The Flying Pieman takes a second tilt at this epic feat of pedestrianism. But he won’t stop there because he has much bigger dreams that include walking 250 miles in 250 hours, spilling his soul in lectures on social issues and finding a damsel he can call Mrs Pieman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the 1840s Australia was amazed by the epic pedestrian feats of William Francis King, who was known far and wide as The Flying Pieman. Our first sporting hero, this eccentric celebrity was every bit as famous for his non-stop talking as for his non-stop walking. In this episode we delve into his incredible accomplishments, the larrikin streak that saw him lampoon colonial politics and the tragedies that turned his life into legend. We begin with The Flying Pieman taking on his greatest challenge — walking 192 miles in 48 hours… without stopping for a moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

75 years ago this week, the Japanese surrendered and WWII was over. After these celebrations came horror at what POWs had suffered. Of the many accounts of surviving atrocities, one stood out: Changi prisoner AIF private Colin Fleming Brien had lived through his attempted beheading. This front-page story shocked Australia and his testimony would help convict Japanese war criminals. In a special Forgotten Australia episode, we'll hear Colin's story in his own words. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By mid-autumn 1900, dozens of people in Sydney had died from Bubonic Plague – many within a day of showing symptoms. Yet the CMO’s rat-killing recommendations were initially ignored and it’d be up to a future PM to stand up for poor people on the front lines of the lockdown, washdown and knockdown policy. Despite lessons learned from the 1900 outbreak, the Black Death would recur through the first quarter of the 20th Century in Australia – with hundreds more dying... before one final lonely and forgotten fatality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's New Year's Day 1900 and Sydney is celebrating on this sunny day. But Dr Ashburton Thompson, NSW's chief medical officer, knows that darkness is coming over the horizon in the form of Bubonic Plague. Once the Black Death strikes, he'll be in charge of Sydney's defences — and have to convince the populace that fleas from infected rats are to blame for the pestilence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In winter 1950 a dark old house in Melbourne — owned by an elderly dying widow — was terrorised by nightly visitations from a fiend who was nicknamed "Jack The Rapper". Like something of out a classic horror movie, the sensational story included frightened nurses, traps laid by cops, vigilante mobs stalking the streets, voyeuristic ghostbusters and a stake-out orchestrated by a tabloid reporter with his own war-time ghosts. As the disturbances spread beyond the original "haunted house", Jack The Rapper became national front page news — and the "answers" offered posed only more questions. For more information: www.forgottenaustralia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WWII Aussie coastwatcher Reg Evans rescued John F. Kennedy in the Pacific in 1943 but his world-changing role in history would be left out of media articles and campaign propaganda that sought to emphasise Jack’s war heroism. It wasn’t until a little Sydney magazine started digging some 17 years later that the truth about the man who’d saved the life of the 35th President of the United States began to emerge. This is the conclusion and it's a story of wartime bravery, alleged Nazi spies, West African riots, men's magazines, TV game shows and Hollywood movie deals — with... of course... a cameo by Betty White. For more information: www. forgottenaustralia.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sixty years ago this month JFK won the West Virginia primary — a decisive moment for his campaign — and he did so with a low-blow political move meant to showcase him as a naval war hero. But not even JFK knew the truth behind the story that was to help him capture the White House — that he was only alive thanks to the work of a mysterious Australian coastwatcher. For more information: www.forgottenaustralia.com and www.facebook.com/forgottenoz  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Kinsela is an Aboriginal man, a Vietnam veteran, a two-time Olympic wrestler and a survivor of PTSD and cancer who was awarded the OAM in 2017 for his work with Circle Sentencing, a western Sydney initiative to keep Indigenous offenders out of the prison system where possible. I spoke with him about growing up in poverty in the 1950s, the road to the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, seeing combat in Vietnam two years later, being at the Munich Games in 1972 when Israeli athletes were massacred and how he dealt with PTSD and his recent and very grim cancer diagnosis. For more information: www.forgottenaustralia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.