Forgotten Australia

On New Year’s Eve 1921, Australia was shocked by a Melbourne child murder. Desperate to boost the Herald’s stagnant circulation, newly appointed editor Keith Murdoch ran sensational coverage that helped to send an innocent man to the gallows. Forty years later, when Australia was shocked by a Sydney child murder, Rupert Murdoch, new editor and owner of the lagging Daily Mirror, followed in his fat...

Will the Chinese invade Taiwan? Is nuclear war with Russia inevitable? While it sounds like these questions are ripped from today's headlines, these were actually the biggest issues in the world in the second week of 1950. Plus, closer to home: the RSL’s purges Commies but embraces Pokies; a female playwright tackles white Australian attitudes to Aboriginal people, and a giant eagle attacks a woma...

In July 1960, Australia was shocked by a new breed of criminal desperado – a gun-wielding and bomb-toting skyjacker. For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes: Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia To buy They’ll Never Hold Me: https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html The Murd...

Happy New Year! We kick off 2025 by adding a new format in which we look at a different week from each year in the 20th Century. And what better place to start than 100 years ago? In the first week of January 1925, Australia was wowed not only by a world record test cricket attendance at the MCG but also by a giant leap forwards in live radio coverage. Also this week: a Melbourne ghost mystery, da...

In 1973 in Sydney, a delusional young criminal and his band of disciples set out to ‘Kill Seven’ as a way to resurrect a dead child. For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes: Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia To buy They’ll Never Hold Me: https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/97819230464...

In the first of the Summer Shorts series, we step back to the day in 1974 that underworld serial killer Stewart John Regan, known as ‘The Magician’ for his trick of making people disappear, met his own bloody fate on a Sydney street. To support Forgotten Australia: Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia Email: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast....

Recently, Nine radio network host Simon Owens interviewed me for his Saturday night show, which is broadcast on Australian east coast stations, including 2GB, 3AW and 4BC. With Simon’s kind permission, here’s the interview, which covers my books They’ll Never Hold Me, The Murder Squad and Hanging Ned Kelly, as well as delving a little into the evolution of Forgotten Australia. We also talk about m...

In 1954 popular Sydney model Shirley Beiger went on trial for the shooting murder of her boyfriend, with the already sensational proceedings made wilder by her outbursts, a media frenzy, the appearance of a crazed mystic, the accused's unruly cheer squad and a confused verdict. Next month, the Sydney Festival premieres The Model Murder, based on this scandalous case. In the meantime, here's a repr...

Seventy years ago – in 1954 – glamorous Sydney model Shirley Beiger shot her lover dead outside a city nightclub. But why did she kill him — and what punishment would she face? Next month, the Sydney Festival premieres The Model Murder, based on this scandalous case. In the meantime, here's a reprise of the 2019 Forgotten Australia episode that first explored Shirley's story in all its strange and...

In April 1974, teenage cousins Yvonne Waters and Raelene Eaton went to a surfside pub in Perth to enjoy a Sunday session. They were never seen again, victims of an unknown killer or killers. In recent years, veteran journalist and television producer Melenie Ambrose has investigated this haunting cold case. In part two of this two-part interview episode, Melenie tell us about the police’s murder s...

In April 1974, teenage cousins Yvonne Waters and Raelene Eaton went to a surfside pub in Perth to enjoy a Sunday session. They were never seen again, victims of an unknown killer or killers. In recent years, veteran journalist and television producer Melenie Ambrose has investigated this haunting cold case. In part one of this two-part interview episode, Melenie discusses the lead-up to the disapp...

They’ll Never Hold Me is in bookstores now. Michael sat down with Meshel Laurie of the Australian True Crime podcast to talk all things Kevin John Simmonds. Part Two covers Simmo’s 1959 crime spree and the first few weeks of what was the largest manhunt in Australian history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They’ll Never Hold Me is in bookstores now. Michael sat down with Meshel Laurie of the Australian True Crime podcast to talk all things Kevin John Simmonds. Part One covers Simmo from his birth during the Great Depression to his 1959 decision to become an armed robber. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please enjoy a second audiobook extract that continues the story of young Kevin John Simmonds, as he grows up in Griffith, grapples with the lure of criminality and gets a preview of his life in the saga of legendary Sydney characters Darcy Dugan and Ray ‘the Gunner’ Kelly. Buy the full audiobook here: https://rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/9781004181971/ Buy the paperback: Dymocks https://www.dymock...

My new book, They'll Never Hold Me, which chronicles the life, times and crimes of Long Bay Gaol escapee Kevin John Simmonds, has just been released as an audio book. I'm pleased to present this exclusive excerpt, which comprises the prologue and first two chapters. The full version is available right now via this product page, which offers all the key places to buy They'll Never Hold Me. https://...

Who was this good guy with a gun? We delve into life of American cowboy Albert “Arizona” Ryan, who became a celebrity in 1919 in Australia after killing a man to end a Sydney siege. Hear how Arizona, like Dirty Harry, had a history of trigger-happy vigilantism, and how, like Dirty John, his creepy marriage to a wealthy woman came to a violent end. Check out my new book, They’ll Never Hold Me https...

In 1919, in the Sydney slum of Surry Hills, a Chinese gunman shot more than a dozen people, triggering a dramatic police siege that was only ended by the violent intervention of a lone American vigilante. But who was this self-styled cowboy with the six-shooter? Check out my new book, They’ll Never Hold Me https://affirmpress.com.au/author/61917 Support Forgotten Australia: Apple - http://ap...

With their suspect in custody, D.C. detectives still can’t celebrate because in Washington in 1972 seven out of every ten murderers go free. Forty years after the verdicts in these murder trials, the FBI will make a bombshell forensic revelation to cast doubt on whether justice was done. Check out my new book, They’ll Never Hold Me https://affirmpress.com.au/author/61917 Support Forgotten Australi...

With another Washington woman murdered in identical circumstances to Sherry and Sharan, D.C. detectives finally have a suspect – but can they find the disturbed man who stalks the D.C. streets, hides in apartments and calls himself ‘Goliath’? Check out my new book, They’ll Never Hold Me https://affirmpress.com.au/author/61917 Support Forgotten Australia: Apple - http://apple.co/forgottenaustr...

Despite the best efforts of D.C. detectives and Sydney cops – including Senior Constable Roger Rogerson – Sherry and Sharan’s killer remains at large. When a breakthrough comes, it’ll be in the worst possible circumstances. To pre-order They'll Never Hold Me: https://affirmpress.com.au/browse/book/Michael-Adams-They%27ll-Never-Hold-Me-9781923046474 To support the show: Apple - http://apple.co...

Sherry Frahm and Sharan Tapp settle into living and working in Washington. But it’s dangerous being a counter girl in a McDonald’s during D.C.’s ever-bloodier wave of senseless murders. The five-part miniseries is based on information unearthed in Australian government archives, US court transcripts, American and Australian historic newspaper articles – and on recent interviews with two family mem...

In November 1971, at the exact moment that Prime Minister Billy McMahon’s wife Sonia stepped out in her infamously revealing dress at a White House dinner, Australian embassy officials in Washington were thrust into the first crucial hours of a serial killer investigation. Two young women had just been found murdered in a nearby apartment and D.C. homicide detectives believed the victims were from...

How was the 1976 case of armed robber Phillip Western a prototype for the “Green Light” that’d soon be given to Neddy Smith? Continuing our in-depth interview, veteran journalist Neil Mercer explains how Roger Rogerson perverting the legal system for profit resulted in a forgotten murder and set the scene for future bloodbaths. Be sure to read Neil Mercer’s new book, The Kingpin and the Crooked Co...

How did a hero detective become Australia’s most notoriously corrupt killer cop? In an in-depth conversation, veteran journalist Neil Mercer talks about the Rogerson he interviewed and investigated, starting with their first meeting in 1982. Be sure to read Neil Mercer’s new book, The Kingpin and the Crooked Cop: The Definitive Inside Story of Neddy Smith and Roger Rogerson, Partners in Crime . Bu...

A new murder committed by a 17-year-old brings the tally of boys on Death Row to ten. From April 1936 onwards, the NSW government has to decide who’ll live and who’ll die. With time running out in one case, they rush towards a ‘ghastly mistake’, while in another what they decide will lead to another murder more than 50 years later in Queensland. To support the show: Apple - http://apple.co/fo...