From alleyway gangsters to cold war spies to eccentric entrepreneurs, Australian history is full of colourful but forgotten characters. Host Jen Kelly talks with experts, historians and yarn spinners to uncover the untold stories of some of our most interesting and offbeat ancestors.
When the corpse of a teenage girl was found bobbing in a trunk on the Yarra, police didn't know what to think. They went to unusual lengths to get the remains identified - and soon their investigations would lead them to a mysterious fortune telling abortionist named Madame Olga. Old Melbourne Gaol tour guide Aurora Llywelyn joins the show to tell the horrible tale. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When the Count de Castelnau sailed into Melbourne, elite society welcomed their new French consul. But the aristocrat was hiding the salacious secret of a young mistress, illegitimate children and falsified birth certificates. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When a babbling ragged wanderer was found in Melbourne's east, authorities couldn't place him, so stuck him behind bars. It took a piece of extraordinary luck, along with a touch of kindness, to set him right. Historian Val Noone joins the show to tell an amazing story that was almost lost in translation. Like the show? Go to http://heraldsun.com.au/ibaw for more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
In 1944, a young soldier named Warwick Meale was brutally bashed to death beside a creek in Townsville with a blacksmith’s hammer after returning from New Guinea. Almost 80 years on, his descendant, Jonathan Butler, has uncovered surprising secrets about the murder and life in the Allied armed forces. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When two prisoners aged in their 60s decided they'd had enough, they plotted one of the most notorious jailbreaks in Australia's history. Geelong Gaol Museum manager Deb Robinson describes the ingenious plan, as well as their lives on the lam. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mary Ann Piper was a grand Sydney lady in a grand sydney house. But her society lifestyle hid a colourful past that started with the First Fleet. Author Jessica North joins the show with more. Read her book about Piper at: https://bit.ly/3r8xa47 Like the show? Get more at: https://heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Policeman Michael Ward was an unsung hero who helped bring down the Kelly gang. But in a strange quirk of fate, he may also inadvertently help it form. Author David Dufty joins the show to explain. More information about the book: https://bit.ly/3JAQpue Like the show? Get more podcasts and features at https://heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Thomas McIntyre had a brush with death when his police posse came up against Australia's most famous bushranger. And years later, it was his words in court that sealed Ned's fate. Author Grantlee Kieza joins the show to tell his story See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Author Tony Bernard joins the show again to tell more of the story of his father, who saw unspeakable Nazi attrocities as a member of the Jewish ghetto police, and then gave evidence against them after the war. Information about the book here . Like In Black and White? Get more at https://heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Author Tony Bernard joins the show to tell a story of his father's survival in Nazi Europe, the torture he endured at concentration camps, and the secrets he brought to Australia. Read more about Tony's book at: https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/other-books/The-Ghost-Tattoo-Tony-Bernard-9781761065415 Like In Black and White? Go to https://heraldsun.com.au/ibaw for more amazing stories of Australia's past. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
In Australia's age of expeditions, William Blandowski catalogued the lands around the Murray. But his adventures in the bush paled in comparison with the war he had with the scientific establishment - a war he fought with fish. State Library Victoria librarian Andrew McConville tells the tale. Like the show? Read more at https://www.heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
When the future king and his wife visited Australia in 1927 to open Parliament House, the trip was marred by a bizarre string of RAAF air tragedies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
At the start of the Cold War, a young Australian scientist found himself caught up in the geopolitics of who could be trusted with nuclear secrets. Find out more about Phillip Deery's book at: https://www.mup.com.au/books/spies-and-sparrows-paperback-softback See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Macabre entrepreneur Maximilian Kreitmayer found himself a special niche in the Melbourne of the late 1800s: using the faces of dead bushrangers to fill his waxworks' Chamber of Horrors. Old Melbourne Gaol tour guide Aurora Llywelyn joins to tell more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
After a patrol of diggers were pinned down by enemy fire in Papua New Guinea, it was up to a pigeon named Q to send for help. Its tale is told by author Mark Wilson, whose book Flapper VC, aims to introduce the courageous creature to kids who may never have heard of Australia's history at war. Find out more about the book at: https://marklwilson.com.au/product/flapper-vc/ Get more great tales of Australian history at: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/in-black-and-white See omnystudio.co...
This summer, we have put together a four part series of some of our most engaging episodes so far, and the final episode looks at amazing women in history. You will hear about Eliza Batman, the wireless pioneer Violet McKenzie, and a revolutionary all female garage. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This summer, we have put together a four part series of some of our most engaging episodes so far, and the third episode looks at war heroes. You will hear the story of Sister Vivian Bullwinkel who was caught in one of the worst massacres of World War II, Horrie the War Dog, and the Aussie pilot who saved stricken kids after a U-Boat attack. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This summer, we have put together a four part series of some of our favourite episodes so far, and the second episode looks at serial killers. You will hear about The Brownout Strangler, the Schoolgirl Strangler who terrorised Melbourne and Frederick Deeming who many say could have been Jack the Ripper. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We have put together a four part series of some of our favourite episodes so far, and the first episode looks at spies. You will first hear about Nancy Weir, a piano prodigy who wowed the crowd in the early years of Melbourne radio. Then, the story of the dramatic defection of two Soviet spies in Australia made worldwide headlines in 1954. And finally, the incredible story of ASIO spies Dudley and Joan Doherty, who enlisted their three young kids in Australia’s battle against Soviet infiltration...
Between burning a seance client to death and shooting a clergyman while drunk, no-one thought Thomas Walker would make much of himself. But they were wrong. Author David Hunt joins the show with more. More information about David at: https://davidhuntwriter.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Spiritualism - a belief system centred on seances - took the world by storm in the mid 1800s, thanks in part to Abraham Lincoln’s wife, Mary. But in Melbourne, a spiritualist leader named William Terry was captivating the crowds and influencing his own political protege. Author David Hunt joins the show with more. Find more about David at: https://davidhuntwriter.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
In Victorian era Sydney, it wouldn't do to be seen to be bathing on the beaches. Until one cop swept away the wowsers' worries. Historian and author Jim Haynes joins the show with more. Get more features and more at https://heraldsun.com.au/ibaw Get more information about Jim Haynes at: http://www.jimhaynes.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
He's often lauded as the man who first found gold in Australia, but according to historian Jim Haynes, pioneer Edward Hargraves was instead a villain who conned the colony. Find out more about Jim at: http://www.jimhaynes.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Waltzing Matilda is one of Australia's most beloved songs. But the origin of the term can be traced back to the battlefields of Germany. Author Jim Haynes joins the show to tell the story. More at: http://www.jimhaynes.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Author Barry McArthur joins the show to recount the time he met prisoner William O'Meally, a police killer, repeat escapee, and the last man flogged in Victoria. Like the show? Go to http://heraldsun.com.au/ibaw for more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
When a young jockey named Joan Richmond was banned from racing horses in Melbourne, she swapped out her silks for a steering wheel. Writer John Smailes tells her story. Like the show? Go to http://heraldsun.com.au/ibaw for more. Get more information about the book at: http://johnsmailes.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Laurie Nash just might have been up among the Bradmans and Borders in the pantheon of Australian cricket. But a baffling selection call kept him out of the infamous bodyline series - and a chance at sporting immortality. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In honor of the race that stops the nation, we went into the vault and picked the tale of the youngest jockey ever to win the Melbourne Cup - a “little freckled lad” from a township near Geelong who was only 11 years old. Like the show? Go to http://heraldsun.com.au/ibaw for more See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Of all of the losers in the race that stops the nation, young John Kavanagh could have been the hardest done by. Because it wasn't another jockey who likely robbed him of a Melbourne cup - it was bad spelling. Get more great tales at heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Author Graham Addison returns to the show to continue the history of the Aussie rich kids who went on a quest to find one of the world's most famous treasures. More at: https://grahamaddison.com/ Like the show? Get backgrounders and more at http://heraldsun.com.au/ibaw See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
