Family History Mysteries

Frederick Moore Clements was a pharmacist who created Clements Tonic that was popular in Australia in the late 1800s. He did not marry, and when he died in 1920, his spinster sister, Edith, challenged his will.

Robert Cowley was born on the Isle of Man in 1839 and emigrated to Australia when he was only 16. He settled in Deniliquin NSW and became a publican. In 1877 his life took a turn for the worst and a series of devastating events impacted on him and his family.

Reginald Leslie 'Snowy' Baker is one of the greatest all-round athletes in Australian sporting history. He was considered of national calibre in no less than 29 sports. He represented Australia internationally in five sorts and competed at the 1908 Olympics in three events. To top it off he was an actor both in Australia and in the US!

Ethel Pratten was the beneficiary of a hoard of treasures hidden by her grandmother in her home at Newtown, near Beechworth in Victoria. It was discovered after her grandmother's death in 1906.

William and Jane Malpas divorced in Victoria in 1884 and was seen as quite sensational news at the time.

Michael Edward Ebney-Hastings lived in Jerilderie NSW in the southern Riverina and was a rice farmer. There was a 2004 documentary titled 'Britain's Real Monarch', which alleged he was the rightful monarch of England instead of Queen Elizabeth II. From February 1960 until November 2002, he held the courtesy title Lord Mauchline.

George Ernest ‘Chinese’ Morrison was born in Geelong in 1862. His adventures are extraordinary, not just for their astounding individual achievements, but their eclectic nature. It’s hard to believe he fitted them all into his 58 years. He also ushered in an age when exploration was funded by the media. Sources https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/trailblazers/george-ernest-chinese-...

Patrick Coady Buckley was the son of a convict but did very well for himself with pastoral pursuits in the Gippsland region from the 1840s. He passed away in 1872 with no issue and no will. In 1873, his probate hit the courts in what was described as 'a somewhat peculiar case'. Sources used: ⁠http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/84933

Patrick Coady Buckley was the son of a convict but did very well for himself with pastoral pursuits in the Gippsland region from the 1840s. He passed away in 1872 with no issue and no will. In 1873, his probate hit the courts in what was described as 'a somewhat peculiar case'. Sources used: http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/84933

Alice Maria Ninness was born in 1874 in Patterson NSW. Maria was charged with stealing goods at 18, went to court to claim maintenance on an illegitimate child when she was 19 and was again in the papers with a shocking incident with her husband Frank Holmes, a tight rope walker, in 1897. Alice and her family have many mysteries that family members, including Paula Wright, who assisted me with the...

Alice Maria Ninness was born in 1874 in Patterson NSW. Maria was charged with stealing goods at 18, went to court to claim maintenance on an illegitimate child when she was 19 and was again in the papers with a shocking incident with her husband Frank Holmes, a tight rope walker, in 1897. Alice and her family have many mysteries that family members, including Paula Wright, who assisted me with the...

Wirth's Circus was Australia's largest and most prestigious circua company for eight decades. Billed as Australia's own 'Greatest show on Earth', the travelling circus held an international reputation. This is the story of Johannes (John) Wirth and his family. Mark St Leon has done some amazing work documenting the Wirth family including books. Link to his website: https://www.pennygaff.com.au/con...

Wirth's Circus was Australia's largest and most prestigious circua company for eight decades. Billed as Australia's own 'Greatest show on Earth', the travelling circus held an international reputation. This is the story of Johannes (John) Wirth and his family. Mark St Leon has done some amazing work documenting the Wirth family including books. Link to his website: https://www.pennygaff.com.au/con...

William Wilson skippered a number of riverboats on the Murray and it's tributaries. He was one of the few to tackle the Edward/Wakool river system.

Agnes Denieff featured in an 1884 where she masqueraded as a man in Nagambie to steal items with an accomplice.

Robert Barr-Smith left an estate worth nearly 1.8 million pounds when he died in Adelaide in November 1915. He was a well known philanthropist. His estate was the largest in South Australia until then; of this, more than 40,000pounds was left to charities. 

In 1935 in Victoria, Alfred Stoddart opposed the probate of his niece, Mrs Annie Catherine Sullivan. You can get early access to this episode by subscribing for only $5.00 per month! Click on the following link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/.../familyhistor.../subscribe *Note there are terms not deemed acceptable today, in this episode*

Ivan Orchard, a champion shearer in the 1930s, tragically died in a plane crash, aged only 41. Check out a clip of Ivan shearing on my Facebook page 'Family History Mysteries'

Hi all, I am introducing some episodes that are 15-20 minutes long - keep an eye out for them. Enjoy!

Lorna Whyte was a nurse and Sister Berenice Twohill was a nun. They were both prisoners of war in WW2. This is their story and the story of their families.  

Johann Wilhelm Theodor Ludwig von Blandowski was a Polish born explorer, natural scientist, zoologist and artist, who led a Victorian government expedition tothe junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers from 1856 to 1857. He published an illustrated encyclopaedia of Aboriginal life, including the only nineteenth-century portrait images of the Nyeri Nyeri people.

On the 15 March this year, ABC Wimmera did a story on a mystery solved 100 years after Maria and Louisa Langley were buried in an unmarked grave in Edenhope cemetery. So who were Maria and Louisa Langley and why did it take 100 years to find where they were buried? *Warning- there is graphic information contained in this episode*

John William Alexander Jackson, known as Bill, Billy and Jacko was born in bred in Gunbar NSW and enlisted in WW1 underage. On 8th September 1916, that he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on the night of the raid that cost him his arm. The announcement came 5 days before his 19th birthday. As well as being the youngest Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, he was also the only...

Price Maurice was a South Australian pastoralist, who upon his death in 1894 was described as 'A Rich Australian'.

Harry Darby was born in Mansfield Victoria and made it rich on the Edie Creek Goldfields in Papua New Guinea. *Warning – there is information pertaining to suicide in this episode which may be distressing*