ABC Rewind

In the 1960s very few people had heard of the word autism, and even fewer knew what it was. In this first episode of a two part series on the history of autism in Australia, we explore how families fought for a place for their children and made a case for change.

In 1974, when the star entertainer Frank Sinatra said the wrong things at the wrong time to the wrong people, a tall poppy was cut down to size in true Australian style.

In April 1942 a Japanese bomber dropped four large mail bags on Port Moresby. They contained nearly 400 letters written by Australian POWs imprisoned in Rabaul. Why did the Japanese make this mail drop?  And what happened to the men after they wrote them?

Nearly one hundred years after it was created, the minute's silence is still used to mark tragedies from war to celebrity death. But few know it was an Australian soldier's idea.

The unlikely story of the Norwegian father of the Australian fishing industry and his untimely disappearance below the waves of the Southern Ocean.

How do you talk about your German grandfather's war story on Anzac Day?

A remarkable Aboriginal man who survived two wars but who many Australians at the time saw as a human experiment.

East Germany is a country that no longer exists. What was it really like?

In the early 1900s, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite's fairy illustrations made her famous in Australia and abroad. Now her timeless artwork is being re-discovered

The Panlooks, an influential family of north-east Victoria, were nearly wiped out in Australia's first anti-Chinese race riot. But they would go on to build an empire with one of our favourite beverages, beer.

The story of Muriel Matters, a daring suffragist from South Australia who helped win the vote for British women.

The personal side of an historic catastrophe.

A plane falls out of the sky and wipes out half Australia's war cabinet. Then what? Does a government fall also?

In 1904, William Ah Ket became Australia’s first Chinese barrister. He went on to fight racist laws and social prejudice in and out of court.

The ecology of the Australian Mallee.

A year in the life of a tiny Mallee town in South Australia.

The people who call the Mallee home.

An ode to the Australian Mallee.

It's the straight bit of the border between NSW and Victoria. It's high altitude mathematical precision and messy politics.

What started out in the 1930s as a home for “half-caste” children under the loving guidance of Sister Kate became a hotbed of abuse and negligence after her death.

The fascinating history of a mythic creature from the North-East of England that seemed to travel to Australia in the nineteenth century. What our Monsters tell us about our culture and our times

Dragons are back. But what are they and how have they come about? For centuries a mythical dragon worm has terrorised the northeast of England, and it continues on its merry path today. A journey back in time reveals some startling stories.

As the Socceroos play on the grand stage of the 2018 World Cup, we take a look back at the role European migrants played in the evolution of the round-ball game in Australia.

In 2002, after a decade of giddy expansion, the bubble burst for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. With debts mounting and creditors circling, Mardi Gras went into voluntary administration. In the new millennium, had Mardi Gras lost its relevance?

'Do we dare do it again?' That was the question Sydney’s gay and lesbian activists faced as the first anniversary of the riot in Kings Cross in June 1978 approached. By answering YES they set the pattern for our world-famous annual parade that turns 40 this week.