Streets of Your Town

I have put together one of the most positive podcasts I have done for this—my special Christmas edition of Streets of Your Town for you my wonderful Wandering Journo tribe! With all that is going on around the world, I thought a ray of positivity in the midst of the confusion was just the tonic that was needed. Hope you can kick back and have a listen while wrapping those last minute presents, or...

I hope you my dear listener, can take half an hour out of your hectic “getting everything done before Christmas" prep, put on your headphones and close your eyes as you walk through the Queensland Museum with Rhianna, and let the audio guide you as you immerse yourself in this fascinating First Nations culture. You can hear songs from the islands, and some of the many languages that are still spok...

Today’s Streets of Your Town podcast goes to North Stradbroke Island in the sparkling jewel that is Moreton Bay in Queensland’s south-east. You can bliss out listening to the waves lapping at my feet as I interview incredible artist Delvene Cockatoo-Collins. Just click on the play link above. While this patch of paradise is known as “Straddie” to some, to the Quandamooka Aboriginal people, who hav...

Tucked away in the hustle and relentless movement of Cairns’ famous Rusty’s Markets in the middle of town on Sheridan Street, is a local institution. Billy’s Coffee has its own loyal gathering of locals every market day, and behind the coffee machine coordinating the barista symphony is the ever-smiling Billy Hoade. He came from Papua New Guinea as a student 25 years ago and since then has built u...

This episode of Streets of Your Town straddles two continents on opposite sides of the world—Ireland and Australia. Where the wild ocean whips the rocky cliffs of Ireland’s west coast, the people of the small county of Mayo are contemplating whether they can overcome a hoodoo of 70 years. Is it a coincidence or a curse? I delve into the mystery of how this county has not won an All Ireland Gaelic...

This week on Streets of Your Town podcast we feature Dale Mundraby, from Mandingalbay Yidinji country in Far North Queensland. Mandingalbay Yidinji country straddles two great world heritage areas in far north Queensland, the Wet Tropics and the Great Barrier Reef, stretching out to the Coral Sea. Executive Director Dale Mundraby recalls many stories that have been handed down through the generati...

In some hope that humankind is progressing, I bring you a good news story this week for Streets of Your Town podcast. It’s a very Australian story, with a long history of exploitation and shame that’s carried down through generations. It took more than a century, but on Friday July 30th 2021, Mayor Jack Dempsey acknowledged that blackbirding history, and that it amounted to slavery. And then he sa...

This week on Streets of Your Town podcast we feature the extraordinary documentary, Scattered People . This six-year labour of love follows two young Iranian asylum seekers Mas and Saha, navigating Australia’s immigration detention system, and the unexpected connections they make through music. Musicians such as John Butler, Missy Higgins, Dan Sultan, Archie Roach, Baker Boy, Michael Franti and Ka...

In efforts to bring you a little lock down cheer and hope in the world, in this episode of Streets of Your Town podcast we meet a group of people who cook home made meals for the homeless—rain, hail, or pandemic shine. “Dig In” hasn’t missed a single service to the people who eagerly await their homely meal, with hundreds of volunteers on the roster to cook every Saturday since it was started by f...

It’s a giant grass that many Australians would be familiar with seeing, but not so familiar with eating. When properly prepared, Bamboo is nutrient-rich, and is in fact a staple of many Asian country’s diets. Big Heart Bamboo founder, farmer and entrepreneur Becky Dart is forging a new industry on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast—growing, cooking and preserving bamboo to eat. “Bamboo is the world’s lar...

With Reconciliation Week 2021 in Australia drawing to a close, Streets of Your Town speaks to trailblazing Aboriginal entrepreneur and proud Wiradyuri man Birrunga Wiradyuri. Birrunga is the co-founder and principal artist of the aptly titled and multi award winning Birrunga Gallery & Dining, in Brisbane. He’s overcome the challenges of COVID to become the only Indigenous-owned and operated commer...

While Australia’s history of blackbirding is becoming more well known and understood, there are many local histories that are only now coming to light. A garden and gathering place nestled peacefully next to the Caboolture River at North Harbour just north of Brisbane, stands as tribute to the kanakas, or South Sea Islanders, many of whom were brought against their will from islands throughout the...

And now an extra Easter bonus for you my loyal Wandering Journo tribe! I was lucky enough to interview fantastic Aussie muso Katie Noonan over the weekend and thought she would make perfect listening for those of you driving home from your Easter break, or to give you some beautiful music to soothe while you have an extended Easter break at home. Wherever you are this Easter, I hope you enjoy list...

Now that Brisbane is released from yet another Covid lockdown, I wanted to release this podcast to you, my Wandering Journo tribe, straight away so hopefully you have some company on your trip if you’ve hit the roads and the onslaught of traffic escaping the big smoke and heading to the coast for Easter—that great Australian tradition. While I was in Adelaide recently for the city’s world renowned...

Well this is unusual, my Wandering Journo Tribe! For the first time in three series, my Streets of Your Town podcast features—me. This week we celebrate International Women’s Day around the world, and the achievements of women through the ages. As part of those celebrations I was invited to speak for a group of senior hospital administrators at a celebratory breakfast for International Women’s Day...

Well this is a SUPER-POWERED edition of my newsletter—with not one but two fantastic new podcast episodes embedded here for you to enjoy my Wandering Journo Tribe! Firstly is the new Streets of Your Town, this time featuring the voice of Easter Island—Yoyo Tuki. Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, is one of the most remote islands on earth, more than 3700 kilometres off the coast of Chile. For many people...

Welcome back to a brand new year of Streets of Your Town podcasts! Well, have I got news for you! This latest episode comes to you from Eumundi—the bohemian hamlet in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. I’ve brought back an incredible yarn from Mel Manley—the owner of The Imperial, the main watering hole in town. But before I tell you a bit more about Eumundi and more about Mel, let me tell you about t...

Today on Streets of Your Town podcast we talk to former Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja about her appointment to a top United Nations role aimed at ending discrimination against women. “I think I’m still in happy shock, Nance. It was a long time coming because the campaign has been a gruelling one,” Natasha says. “I’m very happy and delighted and honoured and particularly following in the footsteps...

This week on the Streets of Your Town podcast, I take you on a walk through the rainforest in the far north Queensland wet tropics, to Mission Beach. The World Heritage Area is brimming with natural beauty and incredible vistas, nestled in the rainforest that stretches from the mountains to the beach overlooking the Great Barrier Reef. I stumbled across conservationist Liz Gallie at her stall at t...

So here’s our third amazing episode in series 3 of Streets of Your Town podcast! What a privilege for me to interview the youngest sitting member of Australia’s Federal parliament, Senator Jordon Steele-John for this episode. Many people will remember this man crying as he told an almost empty Senate chamber two years ago, about the desperate need for a Disability Royal Commission to comprehensive...

So here’s our second amazing episode in series 3 of Streets of Your Town podcast! I hope you’ll agree with me that Dinesh Palipana, is an absolute gem of a human being, and I hope you get as much out of listening to his story as I did out of putting this interview together. Dr. Dinesh Palipana’s refusal to accept the loss of his dream is paving the way not only for him, but for people with a disab...

Welcome to series 3 of Streets of Your Town podcast! In this series I will continue my wanderings around the country, well as far as I can in this new COVID world. Which might be rural Queensland for now! Mildred the cantankerous kombi and I have just returned from our last adventure researching and recording, and I have brought back this exclusive podcast from Bundaberg for your listening pleasur...

This latest episode of my podcast Streets of Your Town—The Journo Project, features investigative reporter extraordinaire and head of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Gerard Ryle. Just click on the play button above for your listening pleasure! Leading global journalist Gerard Ryle says the Covid-19 crisis has presented an opportunity for journalists to prove journalism’s...

In this latest Streets of Your Town—The Journo Project podcast, journo extraordinaire and Triple J newsreader Nas Campanella. Just click on the play button above for your listening pleasure! This week’s Journo Project features Nas Campanella, who is thought to be the only blind newsreader in the world. Nas is a journalist and radio newsreader on the ABC’s national network, Triple J, and a proud jo...

In this latest Streets of Your Town—The Journo Project podcast, you will hear from seven time Walkley Award winner and renowned investigative journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald, Kate McClymont. We did this interview at a cafe in Paddington, Sydney just as Coronavirus was starting to change the face of the city. You can listen to her by clicking on the link above, or searching for “Streets of...