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Forgotten Australia — History
Forgotten Australia

Bloody crimes, unsolved mysteries, eccentric celebrities, dark events and bizarre happenings: it’s all here – the stuff you wish they’d taught you in school!

Dive into our strange-but-true history via never-before-told stories, author interviews, weekly flashbacks and the weekly trivia quiz.

Forgotten Australia is created and hosted by Michael Adams, author of the acclaimed true crime books The Murder Squad, Hanging Ned Kelly and They’ll Never Hold Me.

He’s also a regular history and true crime commentator on ABC Nightlife and the podcast Australian True Crime.

Support Forgotten Australia for a few bucks per month to get ad-free early episodes, exclusive bonus episodes, a show shout-out and the chance to win prizes in the special edition trivia quiz episodes.

Get a week’s free trial here:

Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia

Email: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.com

Check out my books!

They’ll Never Hold Me:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

The Murder Squad:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

Hanging Ned Kelly:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

Australia’s Sweetheart:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latest Episodes:

Australia's Slave Ship Massacre — Part Three (Season Finale) Oct 08, 2021

Show notes

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 read their piece — which has plenty of parallels with Covid-19 — go to:

https://www.brac.vic.gov.au/disease-deja-vu

Season 5 of Forgotten Australia will start in mid-November.

In the meantime, I'll be releasing a new bonus episode for supporters. Supporters also have access to half a dozen bonus episodes I've already produced.

For info: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australia's Slave Ship Massacre — Part Two Sep 27, 2021

Show notes

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.

Australia's Slave Ship Massacre — Part One Sep 13, 2021

Show notes

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 understand the man who ordered it. In part one of "Australia's Slave Ship Massacre", we delve into the life of forgotten mass murderer Dr James Patrick Murray, who played a role in the Burke & Wills, Ludwig Leichhardt and Adam Lindsay Gordon stories — and who had been widely hated across Australia even before he told his men on the Carl to "Shoot them all". To see images of the people from this episode (free, no sign up), go to patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australia's First UFO Wave — In 1909 Sep 06, 2021

Show notes

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. To become a Forgotten Australia supporter and get exclusive full-length bonus episodes: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Mysteries of Mystery Island — Part Eight: Finale Aug 29, 2021

Show notes

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 month, go to: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Mysteries of Mystery Island — Part Seven Aug 22, 2021

Show notes

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 Australia and get bonus episodes — including those related to this series — go to: www. patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Mysteries of Mystery Island — Part Six Aug 15, 2021

Show notes

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: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Mysteries of Mystery Island — Part Five Aug 08, 2021

Show notes

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 men — and plans his own voyage to Lord Howe Island. To hear all eight instalments now — and for bonus episodes and the audiobook of Australia's Sweetheart — become a supporter: www.patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Mysteries of Mystery Island — Part Four Aug 01, 2021

Show notes

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.

The Mysteries of Mystery Island — Part Three Jul 26, 2021

Show notes

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 of this series — along with bonus episodes — become a supporter at: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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