Forgotten Australia

In this final instalment of The First Dismissal, we look at Robert Beardsmore's horrific experiences at Fromelles in 1916, his role in a 1922 soldier-settler controversy and at the 1929 Battle For Rothbury. Then came the 1932 Dismissal of Jack Lang. Afterwards, feted as a hero, Beardsmore was to play a part in the downfall of another NSW Premier – and his and Jack Lang's sons would have one f...

When – if – Robert Henry Beardsmore is mentioned in connection with the May 1932 dismissal of Jack Lang, he's depicted as merely an old public servant who reluctantly did his job. But in reality he was the Forrest Gump of Australian history in the first half of the 20th Century. In part A, we look at his role on the Aborigines Protection Board and how he was enmeshed in a scandal that tainted Aust...

On this day 90 years ago, firebrand NSW Premier Jack Lang was sacked by Governor Sir Phillip Game.  In this first of two instalments, we look at Lang's early life and business career, the scandalous aspect of his personal life and his embrace of the White Australia policy, his political rise and the massive opposition he faced from his own party, from big business, from the newspapers and fro...

With the newspapers depicting Henry Maple as determined to commit crimes as terrible as Ned Kelly's atrocities, and the police handing out high-powered military rifles to civilian vigilantes, the stage was set for a bloody showdown in the thick forest of Glen Nayook. To support the show: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

100 years ago today a 15-year-old bushranger dubbed ‘Young Ned Kelly’ made his last stand against an army of heavily armed police and vigilantes. In this two-part episode, we delve into Henry Maple’s short life and reckless crimes — and ask whether he was the victim not only of sensationalist reporting but of a Victorian government cover-up. To support the show: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Host...

Kathleen Butler's smarts and skills saw her play a huge if forgotten role in making the Sydney Harbour Bridge a reality. But this female pioneer in engineering lived in a time when women "couldn't have it all". www.patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From humble beginnings in the Blue Mountains, Kathleen Butler's smarts and skills saw her play a huge but largely forgotten role in making the Sydney Harbour Bridge a reality. But this female pioneer in engineering lived in a time when women "couldn't have it all". Part two released tomorrow, the 90th anniversary of the opening of the bridge. www.patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See...

Like the podcast? Take a sec to leave a rating and review — this helps it reach other people who might be interested. Cheers! Just when they thought it was safe to go back into the water, another young man was mauled by a shark at Coogee and rescued by another brave lifesaver. Now war was declared on the monsters of the deep. It was a conflict that'd attract charlatans, hoaxers and Pacific Islande...

100 years ago today — 4 February 1922 — Australia's attitude to sharks changed when the first known fatal shark attack on a Sydney ocean beach happened in front of thousands of people as a surf carnival was about to start at Coogee. It was a day of horror and heroism that would very quickly have a bloody sequel. Part 2 coming soon. Support: www.patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See a...

In March 1902 — as the Bubonic Plague tightens its grip — Sydney awakes to a disastrous fire at Her Majesty's Theatre. Next the city's Zoo falls victim to the disease that will make encore appearances for the next 20 years. To support Forgotten Australia — www.patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Bubonic Plague spreading in Sydney, the highest-profile "victim" is Ben Hur at Her Majesty's Theatre, despite producers putting pressure on the Premier to circumvent health orders to get the show running again. As more people become infected and die, authorities still struggle to respond in line with their new catchy slogan: "Kill the rats and you kill the plague!" To support Forgotten Austra...

120 years ago today, Sydney faced an epidemic. And it also had a rat problem — but in this case it was there was too many of them. January 1902 saw the second wave of the Bubonic Plague and — despite the lessons learned during the horrific outbreak of 1900 — politicians, bureaucrats and citizens made all the same mistakes. Meanwhile, as rats multiplied and the body count rose, Sydne...

Season Five is just around the corner. We're kicking off with an episode called Blue Murder On The Golden Mile. It’s a killer tale set in 1926 and it takes us inside what was then the most intensive manhunt and homicide trial in Western Australian history. One of the main characters in Blue Murder On The Golden Mile is a brilliant barrister named Arthur Haynes. I featured Haynes two years ago in t...

Season Five is just around the corner. We're kicking off with an episode called Blue Murder On The Golden Mile . It’s a killer tale set in 1926 and it takes us inside what was then the most intensive manhunt and homicide trial in Western Australian history. One of the main characters Blue Murder On The Golden Mile is a brilliant barrister named Arthur Haynes. I featured Haynes two years ago in the...

In the wake of the massacre, Dr James Patrick Murray makes a series of surprising moves that further his infamy in Australia and across the British Empire. Listener Desiree Pettit-Keating, of Bendigo Regional Archives Centre, was kind enough to send through an article they did about the Bendigo smallpox outbreak that features in this instalment — and in which Dr Murray played a central role. To re...

Dr James Patrick Murray takes the brig Carl to the sunny South Seas and into a heart of darkness beyond the imagination of even Joseph Conrad. In this nightmare of his creation shooting dozens of defenceless men is only the start of the atrocities. To support the production of this podcast: www.patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

150 years ago today — 13 September 1871 — Australian slavers — aka 'blackbirders' — fired their guns into the hold of the brig Carl, where they had imprisoned 160 South Pacific Islanders they had recently attacked and kidnapped. Thirty five men were killed in hours of fusillades — and that many again would soon suffer an unbelievably horrific fate. To understand this massacre, we need to understan...

Months before Australia's first heavier-than-air flights, people from Sydney to Hobart, Goulburn to Kalgoorlie, Melbourne to Perth reported seeing strange lights in the night skies. These mystery airships — dubbed "Scareships" — were said to travel at astounding speeds and perform complex aerobatics that suggested they were under intelligent control. What were they? The truth is out there.&nb...

George O'Brien's life hangs in the balance as his DIY yacht is smashed by a gale and heavy seas. Gower Wilson's son Roy grows up to become the hero of a Lord Howe Island aviation disaster. Plus: the legacy of George Rikard-Bell — aka movie star Brian Abbot — and how I found my birth family and discovered I hail from Lord Howe. To support Forgotten Australia from as little as $A2.75 per m...

Despite the recent double tragedies of the Mystery Star and Viking, taxi driver and nautical newbie George O’Brien decides he’s going to build a yacht so he and wife and their two young sons can sail from Sydney to Lord Howe Island. Why does he do it? Perhaps it's to impress his father-in-law: legendary Sydney shark hunter and all-round maritime madman Charlie Messenger. To support Forgotten Austr...

While Brian Abbott and Leslie Hay Simpson are feared lost with Mystery Star, a macabre discovery on the coastline raises new questions, new hopes and new fears. Meanwhile Gower Wilson sets sail for Lord Howe Island aboard Viking — with his crew an eerie echo of the characters from the film Mystery Island. To hear all eight parts of this series now — and access bonus content – become a supporter: p...

Fears mount for the Mystery Island movie stars aboard the little launch Mystery Star. Brian Abbot’s wife Grace and Leslie Hay Simpson’s brother-in-law Arthur Titterton do everything in their power to convince the Federal Government to launch an air-and-sea search of the Tasman Sea. But the weather is turning bad and time is running out. Meanwhile, Gower Wilson offers his theories about the missing...

Despite warnings from Lord Howe Island’s unofficial chief Gower Wilson, Brian Abbot and his co-star Leslie Hay Simpson set sail for Sydney in the tiny motor launch Mystery Star. To hear all eight parts of this series now, become a supporter: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Mystery Island's cast and crew descend on Lord Howe Island, Brian Abbot has a secret plan to return to Sydney in his little motor launch Mystery Star. Why did he feel confident about making this dangerous trip? Likely because the Pup — sister ship to his vessel — had recently survived epic marine treks. But did Brian know the true fate of one of Pup’s skippers? To hear all eight parts...

After enjoying stage success in Sydney in early 1935, Brian Abbot breaks into the movies and lands a starring role in Ken G. Hall's kangaroo drama Orphan of the Wilderness. Next he's cast as the romantic hero of shipwreck thriller Mystery Island. That it's to be shot on Lord Howe Island gives real-life seafarer Brian an idea for his most daring adventure yet. But it's an adventure that risks repli...