Aussie History Podcast

On Saturday 19 March 1932 Captain Francis Edward de Groot , dressed in full military uniform, raced up on horseback, drew his ceremonial sword, and cut the ribbon declaring the Sydney Harbour Bridge open and proclaiming he was doing so "in the name of the decent and respectable people of New South Wales." Here is a YouTube clip that shows some of the footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19R0d1...

Warning to Indigenous Australians -this episode may refer to people who have passed away. On Australia Day 1972, four young Aboriginal men erected a beach umbrella on the lawns outside Parliament House in Canberra and put up a sign, which read 'Aboriginal Embassy'. Check out a short youtube documentary about this important political protest site (but ignore some of the stupid racist comments in th...

Sixty years ago Melbourne hosted the Olympics. In this episode we look at two events– one in the lead up to the Olympic games and the other during the games. The first is the Olympic Torch Hoax and the second is the 'blood in the water' water polo match between the Soviet Union and Hungary. Here's a few YouTube videos of the water polo match, including one from a movie made about it all: https://w...

On the 7th of July 1986, Australians Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers were hanged in Malaysia for possession of 141.9 grams of heroin. They were the first 'Westerners' to be executed under new and tougher drug laws introduced in Malaysia in 1983. Production quality is a little lower for this episode. But Ken Dampier, Executive Producer is busy on other projects. Email me at: jamesdampier.awp@gmail....

In this episode we review the cycling career of one of the greats of Australian cycling – Phil Anderson. Anderson was the first Australian to wear the maillot jueune, or the yellow leader's jersey, at the Tour de France. Vive la France, Vive le Tour!!! Email me at: jamesdampier.awp@gmail.com Music courtesy of Dan-O at: http://www.danosongs.com/ Thanks to Ken Dampier, Executive Producer, for post p...

In this episode we are going to look at four bushrangers you might never have heard of - John Cesar, Sam Poo, Mary Ann Bugg, and John Gilbert. John Cesar was our first bushranger, Sam Poo our only Chinese bushranger. and Mary Anne Bugg our first Indigenous female bushranger. Some sources: http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/First-bushrangers-trace-back-to-African-roots/2005/01/26/1106415665901.htm...

The entire Dampier family has been ill with a really nasty virus. So apologies for taking this long to get this episode out. You may never have heard of Howard Florey. But chances are you owe this Australian your life or the life of someone close to you. His work on the development of the first penicillin-based antibiotic medicines in the 1940s has probably saved millions of people worldwide. We a...

In this episode we are looking at some strange Australian history that show just how weird a place Australia is. This includes: the Great Emu Wars, when female convicts mooned the Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania, the woman on the $20 note, our Prime Minister who held a Guinness World record for beer drinking and how the Western Australian town of Esperance tried to fine NASA for littering when Sky...

It’s the ANZAC Day long weekend. And it's also family history time!! Find out how my grandfather Company Quartermaster Sergeant Major William Cook was captured in North Africa in November 1942, was made prisoner of war, and escaped via the Vatican. An amazing story and one I did not believe until my family was recently able to retrieve official War Office documents!! I’ll post these documents on t...

At 12,40 am on 13 February 1978, a bomb exploded outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney. The bomb killed two garbage collectors and a police officer. The Hilton Hotel was the site of the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting. Two members of the Ananda Marga Hindu religious sect, Tim Anderson and Evan Pederick were convicted of the bombing. Anderson was subsequently acquitted. Controv...

Do you know what the capital city of Australia is? If you live overseas you will probably answer Sydney. Wrong! It’s actually Canberra. Some people say that Canberra is a good sheep station spoiled. In this episode we learn about how Canberra came into being, how it got its name, and why it is located where it is. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/documentaries/downloads/canberraconf_facts.pdf https://www....

Maybe you have seen a photo of the medal ceremony for the men's 200 meters at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. U.S. sprinter and Gold medallist Tommie Smith and his compatriot John Carlos, the Bronze medallist, stand on the dais. They have no shoes on and each is wearing a single black glove on one hand. They are thrusting their fists into the air in a black power salute and their heads are bowed...

On the morning of 19 February 1942, just 10 weeks after the Japanese navy launch its attack on Pearl Harbour, mainland Australia came under attack from the sky. Japanese forces mounted two air raids on Darwin. The raids involved 54 land-based bombers and approximately 188 attack aircraft, which were launched from four Japanese aircraft carriers in the Timor Sea. For more details visit the Australi...

Juanita Nielsen was an Australian newspaper publisher and conservationist who was leading a campaign against high rise development in Victoria Street, Kings Cross in Sydney. On the 4th of July 1975 she disappeared, never to be seen again.  A coronial inquest found that Nielsen had most likely been murdered. But the case has never been officially solved. In this episode we are going to look at the...

On Christmas Eve 1974 Tropical Cyclone Tracy destroyed the northern Australian city of Darwin. The cyclone took Darwin by completely by surprise and 71 people died. This was before the internet and it took the rest of Australia a while to find out what happened. Check out the you've video of the song Santa never made it into Darwin by Bill and Boyd at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HYbgLcIz2s...

In this episode we will be looking at what happened immediately after the dismissal and how it al played out in the December 1975 election. We will also investigate the ramifications of the 11th November dismissal, including a number of crucial questions about Australian democracy and the Constitution. Check out Sir John Kerr's letter dismissing Whitlam as Prime Minister:  http://www.naa.gov.au/co...

At 1.15 pm on the 11th of November 1975, 40 years ago, Edward Gough Whitlam, the 21st Prime Minister of Australia, was dismissed by the Governor-General Sir John Kerr. The Dismissal of Whitlam and his Government was one of the most dramatic and controversial political events in Australian history. And this is the 40th anniversary of that event. Checkout the excellent Tandberg cartoon on the dismis...

Remember The Seekers? Only if you are over 50 years old, probably. The Seekers was one of the first Aussie Pop Groups to make it big overseas. I used to think their music was way too lame. But maybe I did them a disservice. The angelic voice of Judith Durham took them to the top of the charts in Australia, the UK and the US. For this episode listen to a few of their hit songs at: https://www.youtu...

On the 21 October 1978, 20 year old frederick Valentich dissappeared while on a training flight over Bass Strait.  Some say he was taken by a UFO. 

On 22 nd August 1966, Vincent Lingiari, led a walk-off of 200 Aboriginal stockmen, domestic servants, and their families from the Wave Hill cattle station in the Northern Territory. The protest was about the poor work and pay conditions on the cattle station. But it was much more than that. It was also a struggle for Indigenous land rights and it changed Australia forever. Let’s see how ‘from litt...

Over the course of two days –the 28th and 29th of April 1996, Martin Bryant killed 35 people at and near the historic Port Arthur convict prison site some 100 kilometres north east of Hobart. This tragic event had significant implications for Australia. It enabled the introduction of tighter national gun control laws to ensure that an event like this never happened in Australia again. In its after...

It’s Tour de France time and this gives us an opportunity to remember a man who many consider was Australia’s best ever, competitive professional cyclist, Sir Hubert Opperman, or as he is more commonly, and affectionately known, Oppy. Then we look at the life of Margaret McLachlan. McLachlan was a female cyclist who in the 1960s tried to enter the world of competitive cycling. But back in those da...

In this episode we are in the Philipines - the birthplace of my gorgeous wife Nilda. We are visiting close friends and relatives in Kalibo on the island of Panay and in the province of Aklan.  We also visit the beautiful island of Boracay. I had hoped to record some interviews but it didn't quite work out. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this overview of Filipino history.  I know it ain't Aussie his...

On the night of 31 May 1942 – some 73 years ago - World War II came to Sydney when the Japanese navy launched a daring attack on Sydney Harbour. That night three Japanese midget submarines entered Sydney Harbour to destroy Allied naval and merchant shipping. While the attack inflicted minimal damage on shipping, 27 people died, including all of the crew of the Japanese submarines. At the time of t...

The Ode of Remembrance is recited every ANZAC Day to to commemorate those Australian women and men who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Ode Of Remembrance They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old. Age Shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, We will remember them. Lest we forget.