Waltzing Matilda is described as 'the people's song'.  More well known than the real Australian National Anthem around the world, Banjo Paterson's jaunty little ditty actually contains clues to some turbulent times he witnessed in Australian history.  This episode shares a little background about the much loved song. (40mins) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brilliant stories from Australia’s past  Enjoying the podcast?  Help support the show...

In the 1950s Australia hosted a number of British nuclear weapons tests.  The very first one took place on the Montebello Islands, off Australia's north west coast.  This episode we will explore 'Operation Hurricane' on the Montebellos. (75 mins) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Brilliant stories from Australia’s past  Enjoying the podcast?  Help support the show with a one-off...

Maria Island is a UNESCO World Heritage listed Tasmanian convict site, with a long and varied history, and a number of spectacular natural and geological places of interest.  From its original indigenous use, soon after aboriginal people made their way to Tasmania, around 30,000 years ago, through it’s early colonial use as penal outposts and then for agricultural and industrial uses, many historical remnants are visible for visitors to explore.  Since 1971 it was designated as a National...

From a land with no native domesticated dogs, nearly 230 years after colonists’ brought their first pets & hunting dogs on the first fleet, Australia now has one of the highest rates of dog ownership in the world.  Almost half of Australian households kept at least one dog in 2022, but lets take a look at the history & development of the uniquely Australian dogs we created along the way.  (45...

Presbyterian Minister John Flynn had a desire to bring "a mantle of safety" to those living in the remote areas of Australia.  WWI Australian fighter pilot John Clifford Peel suggested a blueprint for such a service.  Alf Traeger tested and designed equipment that would allow communication across the outback and Hudson Fysh acquired the planes that could be used by an Aerial Medical Service.  The vision and tenacity of Flynn brought all these ideas & people together to create one of the...

In this final episode on Buckley & the Wathawurrung, we hear about what happened after Buckley made contact with Batman's party from the Port Phillip Association. Moving back into his original society, he later records his recollections of living amongst the Wathawurrung. (66 mins) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brilliant stories from Australia’s past  Enjoying the podcast?  Help support the show with a one-off...

In Part 2 of William Buckley's story, living amongst the Wathawurrung people who adopted him, we hear how he adapted and learned a great many skills.  He was able to record many of the practices that allowed his mob to live so successfully, in country that almost killed him.  And we learn of tragedies that deeply disturbed him.  (62mins) Brilliant stories from Australia’s past  Enjoying the podcast?  Help support the show with a one-off donation AustralianHistoriesPodcast.com.au

William Buckley was an escaped convict who lived amongst the Wathawurrung people for more than 30 years.  Adopted as Murrangurk, he had the opportunity to participate in, witness and later record some of the lifestyle and cultural practices of these First Nations people, at a time before they had substantial contact with colonial newcomers, when their way of life was altered.  Buckley's story is an exceptional one and we begin in Part 1 by learning how he found himself on this side of the...

We talk about 'Telegraph Todd' and the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line, built through the largely unsurveyed and vast centre of Australia.  Only one group of British explorers had, to date, survived a trek all the way from the south to the north and returned, but using the information they recorded, Todd was sure he could supervise the construction of a more than 3200km Telegraph Line, that would allow the colonies in Australia to be linked up the the rest of the world.  A huge...

In this final episode on Alexander Pearce we hear about his second escape attempt from Macquarie Harbour, with fellow convict Thomas Cox.  They planned a less difficult route for their escape but again, their scheme didn't proceed as they had planned.  This time the authorities took the situation more seriously and we learn how it all ended for Cox & Pearce. (40 mins) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoying the podcast?  Help support the show...

We continue the story of Alexander Pearce as he and his fellow convicts continue their escape from Port Macquarie.  They have found themselves in the wild west country, exhausted mentally & physically, and starving with no provisions remaining.  Talk turns to cannibalism, and the horror soon begins.... -------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoying the podcast?  Help support the show with a   one-off...

Alexander Pearce was one of our more notorious convicts, and one of very few convict escapees from Macquarie Harbour, who survived attempting to reach the settled districts.   As the last man standing from the eight that absconded together, his survival was only possible because he resorted to cannibalism. In Part 1 we look at his background, and what lead him to be shipped to Sarah Island, a place of harsh secondary punishment, attempting an unlikely escape.  We consider the terrain and...

John Macarthur was a divisive character in the first decades of the New South Wales penal colony and he was instrumental in the overthrow of Governor Bligh (see the Bligh series Eps 52-55), along with the discomfort and early recall of a number of other Governors. But he and his family did manage to build a farming dynasty in NSW and he was often later promoted as the 'founder' of the Australian Wool industry.  This episode takes a look at the Macarthur family, the development of his sheep...

The 'Great Ocean Road' is it one of Victoria’s, indeed Australia’s, most well known international tourist attractions, and a favoured coastal town drive for locals, dotted as it is with beautiful surf & swimming beaches, but you may be surprised to know, the road itself constitutes Australia’s longest War Memorial. This episode we talk about how the construction came about. The Great Ocean Road’s heritage listing states, it was “Constructed by workers including around 3000 returned...

This episode is the final in the Bligh-Rum Rebellion series, and we take a closer look at how the day developed, how the arrest of Bligh unfolded at Government House, and what followed on from the revolt by the New South Wales ‘Rum’ Corp.  The British Government was slow to act, but inquiries were made, and the protagonists were expected to stand trial for mutiny, so we take a look at how that all proceeded too. (75 mins)

We reflect on the reforms Bligh had introduced and note the rising aggravation amongst the 'trading group', who were beginning to lose some of their previous dodgy income streams and privileged arrangements.  Many were challenging Bligh's authority, particularity through the courts and with appeals directly to England, and as tensions escalate, we begin to see the path to rebellion opening up.  Macarthur and his friend George Johnston, commander of the New South Wales 'Rum' Corp, are stirred...

This episode looks at William Bligh's background and his reputation as a Naval Captain.  He had some very difficult tasks ahead of him as Governor of the troubled NSW colony, and we need to consider if he had the requisite personality and abilities to introduce the reforms required.  The English were already aware there was a lot of resistance to the changes required, mainly from the members, ex-members and cronies of the NSW Corp, and Bligh was likely chosen for his tenacity.  So we look...

William Bligh, the very same Captain probably best known for the mutiny on the Bounty, was to be recruited in his later life, as the Governor of the Colony of New South Wales. But it seems his days of attracting mutinous behaviour were not over.  Bligh would find himself again at the mercy of military men who felt they could do a better job. So we’ll talk in this series, about the New South Wales Corp – otherwise known as the Rum Corp, the Governors managing them, and the episode that we...

Australian Rules Football and the earliest clubs formed to compete, are said to be the oldest established football clubs in the world.  Started in the late 1850s, initially based loosely on the Rugby School game, within 20 years it had evolved to become the basis of Australia’s very own, different & distinctive code; Aussie Rules Footy.  (62 mins) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoying the podcast?  Help support the...

Early in World War 2, German Raiders were laying sea mines around Australian & New Zealand coastal waters.  Here we tell the story of one ship that was sunk by those mines, and the exceptional salvage operation that was undertaken to recover precious cargo that had gone down with the ship. (65 mins) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoying the podcast?  Help support the show with a one-off...

In Part 2 we will follow William Swallow and his fellow mutineer convicts on the commandeered ship, the Cyprus.  Swallow and his men were delighted to be heading into the Pacific, away from the dreaded Macquarie Harbour, and his sailing skills were put to the test as they made there way across the ocean.  But they ran in to unexpected trouble around the Japanese coast. (60 mins) -------------------------------------------------  Enjoying the podcast?  Help support the show with a one-off...

In part one of Convict Mutineers, we learn about a felon who just could not bear the idea of a life in exile, willing to take all necessary risks to try to return to England.  And his efforts were extraordinary.  I think you will enjoy hearing about this Houdini like convict, a man the authorities had trouble keeping hold of.  Today we look at what brought him to Van Diemen's Land, and how he created opportunities to try and escape the penal servitude there. (60...

As an appendix to Episode 44, Henry Lawson, today's episode presents two final readings, two more humorous offerings.  We read a Banjo Paterson poem, called 'The Man from Ironbark' which I mentioned in Ep 44, and then a short story by Henry Lawson, titled 'The Loaded Dog'. (23 mins)  

This episode is an appendix to Episode 44- Henry Lawson.  We read poems that contributed to the 'Bulletin Debate', discussed in the earlier episode.  We include Banjo Paterson's 'Clancy of the Overflow', 'In Defense of the Bush' & 'An answer to various Bards', as well as Henry Lawson's 'Up the Country' & 'The City Bushman'. (26 mins)