In Black and White

When his ship was wrecked off the Australian coast in violent seas, Matthew Flinders channelled his fictional hero and helped 94 people survive three months on a desert island.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In England he was a convicted theif from an oppressed minority, but when James Squire was transported to Australia, it gave him the opportunity to build an empire. Read great tales of Australian history at https://heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Percy Grainger was renowned as a musical prodigy, but it was his bizarre pastimes from self-flagellation to making his own towelling clothes that set him apart from other brilliant composers. Get history features and much more at heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author Jim Haynes joins the show again to tell the story of Annette Kellerman, and her extraordinary rise from crippled child to international swimming star. Get history features and much more at heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new book explains why adventurer, journalist, secret agent and political dynamo George Morrison was “the most influential Australian who ever strode the planet”.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Douglas Grant survived a massacre as a child to go on to serve as one of the few indigenous soldiers in the First World War. The Australian War Memorial's Michael Bell joins the show to tell the story of a proud Australian man who never felt like he fit in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Australian adventurer Keith Jack was stranded after his ship vanished, it would have been easy to quit. Instead, he achieved the unimaginable. Like the show? Get backgrounders and more at heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AB 'Banjo' Paterson is well known as the lyricist behind the classic song 'Waltzing Matilda', but the music was contributed by Christina MacPherson, a woman with her own remarkable tale. Chris Adams, author of the Grave Tales series of books joins Jen to tell Christina's story. Like the show? Get background articles and more at https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibaw More on Grave tales at https://www.gravetales.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Sam Knott explained he 'allus has wan at eleven' when a photgrapher asked why he drank before noon, it became the start of one of Australia's biggest advertising campaigns. Jen Kelly talks with author Chris Adams about the tale. Like the show? go to https://heraldsun.com.au/ibaw for more. Read more from Chris' Grave Tales series - go to: https://www.gravetales.com.au/ for more info.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After escaping a POW camp and across the sea, Australian officer Jock McLaren fought the Japanese behind enemy lines alongside Filipino guerillas for two years. Like the podcast? Get backgrounders, photos and more at heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A young man with a self-confessed lazy streak found himself on the end of the hangman’s noose in 1857 for his cruel act while bailing up a family man on Flemington Rd. Like In Black and White? Get backgrounders and more at: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/in-black-and-whiteSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new book reveals the central role 14-year-old Kate Kelly played in the story of the notorious Kelly Gang’s misdeeds. Lke In Black and White? Go to https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibaw for features, photos and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When a wave of young girls were abducted and murdered in broad daylight in the 1930s, no-one suspected doting family man Arnold Sodeman was to blame. Like the show? Get stories, backgrounders, images and more, go to: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ASIO spies Dudley and Joan Doherty enlisted their three young kids in Australia’s battle against Soviet infiltration during the Cold War. Like the show? Get background articles, photos and more at heraldsun.com.au/ibaw.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A pocketbook of mugshots was Detective “Eagle Eye” Reginald Henderson’s secret to nabbing hundreds of wanted criminals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In one of the most brutal murders in Melbourne’s history, a brazen killer strolled into a busy CBD office building in broad daylight and fled with a £3000 haul of diamonds.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When a boy started a rumour about a hoard of cash in an elderly farming couple’s bush shack, it set the wheels in motion for a horrific murder.. Read the background, see photos and more at heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

William 'Gunny' Hughes ran one one of the worst larrikin gangs in old Melbourne. But an encounter with the law saw him run a double life in service to the public.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

History writer Michael Shelford joins the show again to talk about Thomas Treloar, who embarked on a murderous rampage on the streets of Albert Park. See photos and read the full story at https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When a chocolate salesman was gunned down in 1913, forensic police used the newfangled technology of fingerprinting to crack the case. But the scallywag they had in their sights wouldn't go down without a fight. Go to https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibaw for more on this story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Antonio Soro first gained fame for claiming to invent a perpetual motion machine. But it was for the killing of a Melbourne schoolteacher that he became truly infamous. Get photos of Soro, his invention and more at https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We normally talk about the hidden characters in Australian history. Dame Nellie Melba was far from that. But while the opera singer's achievements are recognised in our cuisine and our currency, what's less known is her secret life as a prankster. Ben Oliver from Drinking History Tours tells the story. Like the show? Go to heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moments before 23-year-old Elizabeth Scott was hanged for murdering her abusive husband, she turned to her lover and asked, “Will you not clear me now?”. Get more stories of Australian history at heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ghost sightings and strange occurrences at the Queen Vic Market have been reported for many years. So could it be Melbourne’s founding father? Get more tales of Australia's history at heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation, you swear you never could have predicted? A situation so far from the ordinary that even remembering it feels surreal? Season 2 of I Swear I Never is publishing now, you'll hear from Peter, an ex homicide detective haunted by his past, Tina, a mum who hit rock bottom after a prescription drug addiction and Amber, a pregnant woman who went out to dinner during a pandemic and got more than what she ordered. Search I Swear I Never wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scorned mistress Connie Waugh is said to have hanged herself at an historic inner city pub, where her ghost remains to this day. But how much of the story is true?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legend has it the famed opera singer was seen giving his final bows on stage minutes after he died, giving rise to Melbourne’s most famous ghost story. Get stories on this and more tales of haunted Melbourne at https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He killed his family in England, then did the same to his new wife in Australia. Many people believe Frederick Deeming could have been Jack the Ripper - and may still haunt Melbourne to this day. Like the show? Get background articles, photos and more at https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sidney Myer arrived in Melbourne as a 21-year-old with no money and little English. Soon he was selling towels and sheets door to door, the first step in his rise to greatness. Read more stories stories of Australia's forgotten characters at heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Normally on this podcast we talk about history's forgotten characters. And although Ned Kelly is far from that, what's lesser known is what happened in the hours before he met the hangman.The Herald Sun's sister publication The Weekly Times was there to document the execution, 140 years ago today. Now their country living editor Hannah Driscoll has uncovered their archives to piece together the notorious outlaw's last moments. Read the full story on The Weekly Times. Read more extraordinary stories of forgotten figures at heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On his Melbourne tour, Prince Alfred was bored by pomp and ceremony, preferring gambling, partying and brothels. Yet he was so wildly popular many wanted him to become King of Australia. Get more of this story, plus backgrounders and other tales of Australian history at: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibawSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

His story has been largely lost to history, but the youngest jockey ever to win the Melbourne Cup was a “little freckled lad” from a township near Geelong who was only 11 years old. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Marine Stupid made headlines for escaping Melbourne Zoo and hurling roof tiles at her pursuers, she made her name by serving with distinction on three British naval ships in WWII. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Horrie the Wog Dog saved countless Aussie lives in World War II, acting as an early-warning system when enemy aircraft approached. So when Australian authorities ordered the dog’s surrender in 1945, Private Jim Moody knew he had only one option. Read more at https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is 50 years since one of Australia's biggest bridges crashed down during construction. Herald Sun reporter Alex White speaks to survivors and family who lost their lives in one of Australia's worst industrial disasters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He was notoriously cantankerous, virtually unrideable and often violent, but Bill the Bastard became Australia’s greatest war horse after carrying five troopers to safety in the middle of a fierce gun battle during WWI. Get more on this story and other tales of Australia's hidden characters at https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When HMAS Perth was sunk by Japanese torpedoes in 1942, fewer than half of the 681 men – and one cat – made it to shore. Her extraordinary survival with the help of a group of Aussie POWs is detailed in a new book. Read more fascinating stories of Australia's hidden characters at: heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From our TV screens to the hit parade, singer Yvonne Barrett was a popular personality in Melbourne’s entertainment scene in the 1960s, but she died tragically and violently. Get more great history stories at heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While other spy rings worldwide are far better known, a trio of respected businessmen dubbed the “Melbourne cell” mounted one of the most successful Soviet espionage operations in history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Frances Bernie was a Catholic schoolgirl raised in Sydney by a couple from Oxford, England. So how did she end up a Soviet spy inside the office of foreign minister HV “Doc” Evatt leaking Australia’s and Britain’s secrets to the Russians? Author John Fahey joins the show with more. Go to https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibaw for more great Australian history stories More information on John Fahey's book at: https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/general-books/history/Traitors-and-Spies-John-Fahey-9781760877705 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While she was born and raised in Sydney, “Sally” was so devoted to Stalinist Russia that she became a Soviet spy and infiltrated a US government agency. Like the show? consider becoming a Herald Sun subscriber for Jen Kelly's columns and much more. Go to heraldsun.com.au/ibaw and click on any article to begin See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1918, Melbourne was celebrating the end of WWI, unaware an insidious new war on home turf had just begun. That’s when a new drug – cocaine – first came under the nose of Melbourne police, introduced by a prostitute from Sydney. And the mastermind of the cocaine trade was Charles le Marchant, a longtime opium addict who had honed his criminal skills as a teen gang member in Chinatown. Read more about Melbourne's dark past at heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early 1900s, Chinatown's Heffernan Lane was one of the worst streets in Melbourne thanks to brothels, opium dens, gambling rooms and a tendency to attract murderous thieves. And its most notorious resident was Chinese-born gangster Harry Quong, whose upstanding parents migrated to Melbourne to give their son "a good English education". Instead, he repaid his parents’ sacrifice by becoming a bank robber, thief and all-round scoundrel - then scored himself 15 years in jail for shooting a policeman. Read more at heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1919 as a gang war called the Fitzroy Vendetta raged, Squizzy Taylor and a cast of misfits were tearing apart the inner Melbourne suburb. And living amid the sly grog shops, opium dens, brothels and slums was one man, World War I veteran Arthur Skerritt, whose life of crime culminated in a shocking murder. Read more at heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Collis family caused mayhem for decades with their sly grog shops and gang violence until authorities were forced to declare their homes condemned to run them out of town. Read more at heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Her name is barely known today, but the formidable Ann Shiell was a powerful crime boss, slum landlord, brothel madam and controller of gangs of thieves in Melbourne in the late 1800s. For more on this story, go to heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian-born beauty Enid Lindeman disguised escaped Allied servicemen as maids to trick police when they raided the riviera mansion she used as a safe house for the French Resistance. Read more Australian tales at www.heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As well as driving a cheetah with a diamond collar around London in her Bentley, scandal-plagued socialite Enid Lindeman outlived four husbands, earned the nickname “Lady Killmore”, and walked around with a pet hyrax on her shoulder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After building an empire of brothels in the notorious Little Lon red light district, Madame Brussels was dubbed the “worst and wickedest woman in Melbourne”. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Convict James Porter and his crewmates were viewed as mutineer scum when they escaped Australia in a leaky stolen boat, but hailed as heroes in their new home 10,000km away. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.