Forgotten Australia

The death of stuntman Dale Buggins, the arrival of Adam Ant in Australia and new ‘evidence’ in the Azaria Chamberlain case – it was a big week for sensational tabloid stories. Plus: the birth of the Macquarie Dictionary, the Sale of the Century phenomenon, computers for consumers and the opening of Sydney Tower. And, on a personal note: when your protectors are predators, and remembering Australia...

In the third week of September 1956, a small number of Australians finally saw what all the fuss was about when regular TV broadcasts began. It was a quiet start - unlike the arrival of the raucous, riot-inspiring youth movie Rock Around The Clock. But the new craze didn’t impress Janese Dooley, the 65-year-old widow who’d just danced not around the clock but around the world! Hear the exclusive s...

This week in 1944, Australia's most famous war cameraman — whose film Kokoda Front Line! had won us our first Oscar the previous year — was killed while filming American Marines trying to retake a tiny Pacific island held by the Japanese. It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links: Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia...

One hundred and thirty years ago this month, Mark Twain, creator of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, and hailed as the world’s funniest man, arrived in Australia for the start of a months-long speaking tour. Aussies loved the famous visitor – and those attending his shows were treated to a very modern form of entertainment: American stand-up comedy. It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access...

As winter became spring in Australia in 1939, the world stood on the edge of the abyss. Then, on Father's Day, 3 September, everyone's worst fears were confirmed: Australia would once again go to war with Germany.  In the hours that followed this terrible news, shots were fired off Melbourne, foreigners were rounded up in Sydney, Australians got a crash course in air raid measures and enemy s...

180 years ago this month, Australia suffered what is still our worst civil maritime disaster when the emigrant ship Cataraqui struck a reef off King Island and sank in Bass Strait. Of the 409 aboard, just nine were to survive - but fate held a cruel trick in store for two of these men. It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these...

With Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre now flooded, we look back on the first time this happened in white history. Seventy-five years ago, Australia’s driest and most inhospitable region became a huge inland sea — and was explored by Elliot Price, a salt-lake-of-the-earth sorta bloke tooling around in a home-made boat.   Wanna support Forgotten Australia? It’s easy to get a free trial that will give...

Having enjoyed a trifecta of splashy Sydney skydiving successes, Stanley makes a new start in Melbourne only to learn that disasters come in threes. It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links: Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia Want more original Australian true crime and history? C...

After Stanley Thomas’s rapid rise to parachuting success in Sydney, his career starts to stall with a series of jumps that are erratic and dangerous. *Part Three is available now early and ad-free for supporters. You'll also get access to other ad-free, early and bonus episodes.* Use a free trial to get started: Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia Want more o...

Stanley Thomas was a young parachutist who made himself into a star in Sydney in the early years of the Great Depression. In public, he thrilled with his daredevil stunts. In private, he wrestled the darkest of demons. In the first instalment of this miniseries, we delve into the reality and the fantasy of Stanley’s story and explore just how he summoned the courage to step into space at 10,000 fe...

When John Hassett was murdered in his Adelaide hotel room, Australia wasn’t faced with a whodunnit but a whydunnit. Why had his wife Ada committed this cold-blooded crime? Is she was insane, what had broken her mind? For the first time, Ada’s tragic history is laid bare - and it speaks directly to issues still making world headlines in 2025. If you need help, call Lifeline Australia on  13111...

Reuben Doodeward faces court, but he’s not backing down, and neither is the NSW government, with the fight over the fate of the two-headed baby headed for the High Court… and beyond. It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links: Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia Want more original Au...

In 1906, Australia was scandalised that Sydney showman Reuben Doodeward (pictured) had exhibited a two-headed baby preserved in a bottle of spirits. Yet he was only doing what his dear old dad had done in Dunedin nearly 30 years earlier. The court case that followed would make for more than just horror headlines – it’d make legal history that continues to shape our world in the age of biotech...

While the evidence against Veronica Monty was damning, she was also damned by the hypocritical morality of Australia in the 1950s. Tried for attempted murder, she was convicted of far worse — and would pay the price. It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links: Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgot...

When Sydney detectives confirm star Balmain rugby league player Bob Lulham has been poisoned with Thall-Rat, they begin an investigation that at first turns up few leads. A series of mysterious phone calls to the CIB keeps the police wondering until they finally make a shocking arrest. While the identification of the suspect is sensational, what emerges at the accused's committal hearing has jaws...

On the 20th of July 1953, Sydney detectives discovered that someone had used rat poison to try to murder star Balmain rugby league player Bob Lulham. More than 70 years later, this remains one of Australian sport’s most sensational, strangest and saddest scandals — and among the least remembered. In part one of this deep dive, we explore Bob’s proud family legacy – his father fought at Gallipoli o...

A judge is gunned down, we welcome our first test tube baby and we try to save the world’s rarest bird. Meanwhile, Sydney sets a record house price and the Village People score bigly Down Under. Plus: Why does President Trump love the YMCA? How did Aussies feel about a Moscow Olympics boycott? Which Hollywood actor’s history with Australia intersected with George Orwell, Oscar Wilde, Sidney Nolan...

While Sydney welcomes African-American entertainers, Moree bans Aboriginal Australians from exercising their human rights on the land that’s always been their home. But this regressive act will have progressive consequences… eventually. Plus, while Australia plans to vaccinate against polio and the government commits ground forces to a war in Asia, the manhunt for escaped murderer Patrick Pla...

Up in the Queensland, a murderer and a robber break out of prison, while down in Canberra our Federal Parliament puts a couple of newspaper blokes behind bars for breaching privilege. Meanwhile, a veteran Aussie journo at Le Mans witnesses history’s worst motor racing disaster. Plus: Hollywood celebrities come Down Under - and turn one Sydney beauty’s life upside down. To read Andrew Moore’s prese...

Following the verdict, Ronald Griggs has one last trick up his sleeve to amaze Australia.  It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links: Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia Want more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books! They’ll Never Hold Me: https://www...

Having already been convicted by the newspapers, Ronald Griggs stands trial for the murder of his wife. If he’s found guilty, he’ll be sentenced to death. It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links: Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia Want more original Australian true crime and hist...

In the first week of June 1930, America was on the brink of economic apocalypse with its Smoot-Hawley tariffs – and their effects would be felt terribly Down Under and around the world. In this very same week, Aussies set in motion a process that'd further guarantee we suffered horribly in the Great Depression. At least in good news, Sydney welcomed heroic aviatrix Amy Johnson in what was the firs...

After Lottie Condon’s shock confession, Ronald Griggs becomes infamous overnight when Truth newspaper publishes every sordid detail of his scandalous love life. But with his wife’s body exhumed and the true cause of her death established, public shame is soon the least of the embattled Methodist minister’s problems. Parts four and five are available ad-free now for Apple and Patreon supporters. As...

Following the mysterious death of his wife in the mountain town of Omeo, rumours about Methodist preacher Ronald Griggs reach a fever pitch — and a veteran detective is sent from Melbourne CIB to investigate. Parts three, four and five are available ad-free now for Apple and Patreon supporters. As a supporter, you get all episodes ad-free, plus exclusive bonus episodes and a show shout-out! It’s e...

Nearly a century before Erin Patterson was put on trial in the mushroom murder case, Australia was scandalised by allegations that a young preacher from country Victoria had poisoned his wife, Ethel, the mother of his baby girl, so he could be with his mistress, Lottie, the daughter of one of his most faithful churchgoers. In this five-part mini-series, we delve deep into the life of holier-than-t...