Australia On This Day
Australia On This Day
Subscribe
What happened on this day back in the day? From the creator of Forgotten Australia, this is your daily dose of the stories that made headlines and sometimes made history.
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
12 hours ago
5 August - 1944 - The Cowra Breakout
At 2am on this day in 1944, the Cowra Breakout began. This episode looks at the man who blew the bugle that gave the signal for the mass escape – and how he wound up behind barbed wire as the first Japanese POW in the first place, courtesy of a Darwin Digger's odd angry shot and the bravery of an Aboriginal man from the Tiwi Islands.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
1 day ago
4 August - 1845 - Australia's Titanic
175 years ago today, 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.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
2 days ago
3 August - 1912 - The Persecution Of The Eccentric Sexologist
On this day in 1912, William Chidley, radical sexologist and one of Australia’s most eccentric characters, was arrested for being a lunatic – the first use of this power against him in a vendetta that’d eventually make him a martyr to free speech.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
3 days ago
2 August - 1986 - The Theft Of The Weeping Woman
On this day in 1986, one of Australia's strangest and funniest crimes was committed when Pablo Picasso's masterpiece The Weeping Woman — valued at $2m — was stolen from the National Gallery of Victoria and held to ransom by a mysterious group calling themselves Australian Cultural Terrorists.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
4 days ago
1 August - 1905 - Australia's First Lady At Law
On this day in 1905, Flos Greig became Australia’s first female lawyer — but before she could practice the law she had to change it via an act of parliament.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
5 days ago
31 July - 1902 - Henry MacCabe & Our Two Worst Mining Disasters
Australia suffered what is still our worst industrial disaster when an explosion ripped through the Mount Kembla mine on 31 July 1902. Strikingly, lead rescuer Henry MacCabe had 15 years earlier been acclaimed a hero of the 1887 Mount Keira explosion, which was our previous worst industrial catastrophe. Yet Henry's legacy isn't quite black and white.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
6 days ago
30 July - 1930 - The Fate Of Australia's Forgotten Aviator
Pioneering Australian pilots Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm and Bert Hinkler are household names for their aviation feats and tragic fates. Eric Hook is forgotten — not even a Wikipedia entry. But in mid-1930 his England-Australia flight was a front-page story as the world awaited news of what had happened to him in Burma. Hear his story in today's episode.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 28, 2020
29 July - 1917 - The Outback Accident That Changed Australian History
On the 24th of May 1917, famous Aussie boxier James Leslie “Les” Darcy died in America. Just over two months later in Western Australia, his namesake, jackaroo James Darcy, would unwittingly become the one to really alter history when he came off a horse in the remote Kimberley and suffered terrible internal injuries. His only hope was surgery — done by a postmaster being instructed by a surgeon 1200 miles way in Perth — via Morse Code telegraph messages. What came later, saved countless lives.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 27, 2020
28 July - 1950 - The Life-Saving Sacrifice of the Young Snake Catcher
On this day in 1950 in Cairns, amateur herpetologist Kevin Budden caught a Taipan to start Australia’s anti-venom program for that deadly species. He died in the process. But his sacrifice saved the lives of many people — at least one of whom then saved other lives. Today’s episode tells the story of this forgotten hero — and includes an interview about Kevin’s legacy with Brendan James Murray, author of Venom: The Heroic Search For Australia’s Deadliest Snake.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 26, 2020
27 July - 1909 - The Mysterious Disappearance of the S.S. Waratah
On this day in 1909 the SS Waratah, voyaging from Australia to England via South Africa with more than 200 people aboard, vanished without a trace. This is a story that includes a one-armed double murderer, a scientific genius who'd reshape the way we see the universe and a buttoned-down business chap whose life was saved by a series of terrifying premonitions.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 25, 2020
26 July - 1919 - The Forgotten Flyweight Champion
On this day in 1919, boxer George Mendies won the Australian Flyweight Title — and it was a crown he'd defend successfully again and again. Despite this being a period of racism and anti-Semitism, this Jewish-Portuguese-Chinese Australian champion was hugely popular — and his fate was every bit as tragic as those of Les Darcy and Dave Sands.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 24, 2020
25 July - 1910 - A Meeting Of Magnificent Minds
On this day 110 years ago, two scientific giants spent a couple of hours hanging out and talking shop in Sydney. One had invented the telephone. The other's inventions had made it possible for men to fly.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 23, 2020
24 July - 1920 - Dad & Dave Hit The Silver Screen
100 years ago today, Raymond Longford's classic silent film On Our Selection had its Australian premiere in Brisbane. This was a bush saga that defied expectations thanks to a new cinematic approach. Hear all about it in today's episode.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 22, 2020
23 July - 1931 - The Murder Of Mary Edson
On this day in 1931 Australia was shocked by news of an Adelaide crime, as much for its sheer brutality as for the cold and calculating way the killer had tried to cover his tracks.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 21, 2020
22 July - 1950 - From Dead Heart To Inland Sea
On this day in 1950, Australia learned that its driest and most inhospitable region had become a huge inland sea — and that it was being explored by the only white man who'd successfully made a living in the Lake Eyre area.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 20, 2020
21 July - 1942 - The Coastwatcher's Last Stand
On this day in 1942, the battle for the Kokoda Track began — just as the long and lonely war of a brave Australian coastwatcher came to its end in another part of New Guinea. Con Page isn’t a name that’s widely known – but it should be.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 19, 2020
20 July - 1940 - Australia's Spitfire Ace
Eighty years ago today the Battle of Britain was raging. Among those taking on the Nazis in Spitfires was a handful of young Australian pilots on secondment to the RAF. On this day in that desperate time, Brisbane-born Gordon Olive made his mark with his first confirmed Luftwaffe kill — setting himself on the path to becoming one of our few Battle of Britain Spitfire aces.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 18, 2020
19 July - 1960 - Australia's First Skyjacking
Sixty years ago today, Australia was shocked by our first skyjacking, when a disgruntled young man pulled out a sawn-off .22 rifle and a gelignite bomb on TAA Flight 408 from Sydney to Brisbane. With 49 lives in the balance at 20,000 feet, everything came down to a split-second decision by a brave crew member.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 17, 2020
18 July - 1940 - The Goebbels Touch
Eighty years ago today, wartime Australia was appalled by the dictatorial powers claimed by Sir Keith Murdoch. The media mogul had just been appointed as Director General of Information by Prime Minister Menzies, but the control he wanted over newspapers, radio and cinema had politicians and newspaper editors comparing him to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 16, 2020
17 July - 1932 - The Cairns Riot
On this day 88 years ago, 1000 Cairns citizens marched on a camp of 100 unemployed men. A pitched and bloody battle ensued that left 80 people injured. Who was to blame? When cases came to trial, the verdicts were surprising.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 15, 2020
16 July - 1952 - Humping A Swag To Hollywood
Born in 1900, Charles Shaw grew up in poverty, was orphaned at age 14 and worked more tough jobs than he could count over the next two decades before settling into a career as a newspaper journalist and columnist for the Bulletin. On this day in 1952, Hollywood bought Charles's latest novel — and it'd become a movie classic. Though flush with case, the orphan-turned-swaggie-turned-reporter-turned-author kept working and writing, creating a hardboiled noir series that was published and praised all over the world.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 14, 2020
15 July - 1968 - The Lady Reappears
On this day in 1968, geologist Jim Bowler found the bones of an Aboriginal woman who'd died and been ritually cremated and buried more than 40,000 years ago. Mungo Lady — as she became known — and Jim's next discovery — known as Mungo Man — rewrote our history books. More than half a lifetime later, Jim Bowler joins us to recall those discoveries, how they changed our understanding of Australia and their ongoing relevance.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 13, 2020
14 July - 1906 - The Unluckiest Bookie
Shonky Melbourne bookie Don McLeod fleeced Flemington punters through a scam known as scaling. When his luck ran out and he felt the full fury of a mob of mug punters, the shock waves were felt all the way to the Victorian state parliament.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 12, 2020
13 July - 1940 - The Death Of A Razor Gangster
On this day in 1940, a bullet-ridden body was found in a dark alley in Sydney's Surry Hills. The reign of razor-gangster William Smiley had come to a bloody end. But which of his many enemies had killed him?
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 11, 2020
12 July - 1912 - Queen Of Swimmers
At the Stockholm Olympics in 1912, champion swimmer Fanny Durack became the first Australian woman to win a gold medal. But Fanny nearly didn't get there because her very presence at the games had been staunchly opposed by an influential Sydney feminist and by powerful Australian swimming and Olympic bigwigs.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 10, 2020
11 July - 1980 - FM Radio's Debut Snafus
Back when the Village People's Can't Stop The Music was top of the charts and AC/DC's Back In Black was about to be released, Australian rock fans were hanging out for the start of FM radio that'd cater to their tastes. The race was on between 2MMM, 2Day FM and 2JJJ in Sydney, and 3EON FM and Fox FM in Melbourne. But who'd hit the airwaves first? And who'd be delayed for three weeks?
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 9, 2020
10 July - 1907 - Hello, Melbourne! Hello, Sydney!
After much preparation, expenditure and near catastrophe, the rival cities of Sydney and Melbourne are as last connected by telephone — but for first-day callers there are some things you're not allowed to say.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 8, 2020
9 July - 1952 - The Champ's Last Fight
Aboriginal boxer Dave Sands was a household name in the late 1940s and early 1950s, holding three Australian titles — and wearing the Empire Middleweight Crown. But tragedy intervened as this champion prepared his run at a world title.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 7, 2020
8 July - 1965 - The Supreme Ruler Of The Wireless
On this day 55 years ago, wireless pioneer Sir Ernest Fisk died in his Sydney home. This eccentric genius left a colourful legacy, having not only introduced radio broadcasting to Australia but having also proposed we might use it to communicate with the dead.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 6, 2020
7 July - 1960 - The Kidnapping Of Graeme Thorne
This was a crime against a child that shocked a nation. Yet the kidnapping of Graeme Thorne was also the sensational story that young media proprietor Rupert Murdoch needed to make his acquisition of Sydney's Daily Mirror a success — just as his father Keith Murdoch had bolstered his newspaper career 40 years earlier in Melbourne by capitalising on a "good murder story" where the victim was a child.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 5, 2020
6 July - 1964 - The First Aussie Digger KIA In Vietnam
Australian Army Warrant Officer Kevin Conway of Queensland became the first Australian soldier to die in combat in Vietnam when the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army launched a fierce night-time assault on a US Green Beret base in Nam Dong. More than 50 years later, questions remain about the circumstances of his death.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 4, 2020
5 July - 1920 - Eugene Falleni — Murderer?
On this day 100 years ago, Sydney police arrested a man named Harry Crawford for murder — giving Australian newspapers the story of the year when it was revealed this male suspect was biologically female. The Eugene Falleni "man-woman" case — as it became known — culminated in a sensational trial, though doubts that justice was done persist to this day.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 3, 2020
4 July - 1964 - A Boy And His Steamroller
What possessed a 15-year-old Sydney boy to save for three years to buy a 50-year-old vintage steamroller? How'd he end up splashed across the front page of the newspapers and the star of a newsreel?
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 3, 2020
3 July - 1850 - This Train Will Be Delayed... Five Years
Australia's first railway got under way with huge fanfare — and then went nowhere for more than half a decade. As bad as this delay was, a crucial decision made during this bumbling period would derail Australia for much of the next century.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 2, 2020
2 July - 1870 - The Case Of The Electric Snakes
When colonial newspaper readers were jolted by the claim that electric snakes were on the loose, it was up to a heretical scientific genius to weigh in on this shocking reptile tale.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jul 1, 2020
1 July - 1932 - The Birth of the ABC
The ABC is born amid controversy over whether it should carry advertisements and whether its bosses are politically biased. Here’s the catch: the ALP wanted an ABC with ads... and ABC bosses were said to be biased towards the Liberals
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jun 30, 2020
30 June - 1930 - Don Bradman's Best Innings
Having lost the First Test and with the Second Test in the balance, Australians tune in to their wireless sets to hear if Don Bradman can save the day. What they'll hear is cricket history being made. (And later that year Don Bradman will make different types of records — with a piano in recording studios.)
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Jun 19, 2020
Introducing Australia On This Day
Coming soon - your new daily history podcast, from the creator of Forgotten Australia.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.