A 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 t...
Jun 26, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 9Ep. 38
While 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 ‘Murderpho...
Jun 16, 2025•32 min•Season 9Ep. 37
Up 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/Publication...
Jun 12, 2025•40 min•Season 9Ep. 36
Following 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/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia 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 The Murder Squad: https://ww...
Jun 11, 2025•56 min•Season 9Ep. 33
Having 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/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia 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-m...
Jun 08, 2025•48 min•Season 9Ep. 32
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-Haw...
Jun 05, 2025•50 min•Season 9Ep. 34
After 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...
May 30, 2025•41 min•Season 9Ep. 31
Following 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/forgottenaustralia Apple: appl...
May 29, 2025•42 min•Season 9Ep. 30
Nearly 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...
May 29, 2025•53 min•Season 9Ep. 29
In 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 La...
May 23, 2025•40 min•Season 9Ep. 28
This 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: Ap...
May 16, 2025•43 min•Season 9Ep. 27
Pirates, 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://w...
May 08, 2025•29 min•Season 9Ep. 26
85 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...
May 05, 2025•16 min•Season 9Ep. 13
Just 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/id1442763878 Patreon.com/ForgottenAustralia Check out my books: They’ll Never Hold Me: https://www.booktopia.com.au/the...
Apr 27, 2025•45 min•Season 9Ep. 25
Terribly 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 exclus...
Apr 23, 2025•50 min•Season 9Ep. 24
Did 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/id144276...
Apr 19, 2025•47 min•Season 9Ep. 23
In 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/ForgottenAustrali...
Apr 16, 2025•50 min•Season 9Ep. 22
This 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.html The Murder Squad: https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html Hanging Ned Kelly: ht...
Apr 11, 2025•14 min•Season 9Ep. 20
A 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/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia Check out my books: They’ll Never Hold Me: http...
Apr 07, 2025•45 min•Season 9Ep. 21
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 t...
Mar 31, 2025•56 min•Season 9Ep. 19
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 ...
Mar 24, 2025•56 min•Season 9Ep. 18
In 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-justice For a free t...
Mar 23, 2025•21 min•Season 9Ep. 14
In 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...
Mar 17, 2025•54 min•Season 9Ep. 17
This 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 ...
Mar 10, 2025•56 min•Season 9Ep. 16
Long 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 ...
Mar 03, 2025•43 min•Season 9Ep. 15
In 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:...
Feb 28, 2025•15 min•Season 9Ep. 12
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 M...
Feb 24, 2025•47 min•Season 9Ep. 11
In 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 lea...
Feb 17, 2025•51 min•Season 9Ep. 10
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 du...
Feb 13, 2025•47 min•Season 9Ep. 9
In 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/forgottenaustrali...
Feb 10, 2025•40 min•Season 9Ep. 8
