Forgotten Australia

Episodes

• 
  The Guyra Ghost – Part One: Things That Go Bump in the Night 28.10.2026 50m

  Halloween Special! Just over 100 years ago, Australia was spooked by strange happenings at a farmhouse in northern NSW. Showers of stones! Bumps in the night! Night after night! All centred on a little girl named Minnie. Was she a portal to a poltergeist? The police, press and public wanted answers.Check out my other podcast, Australian Murder, wherever you get your audio.Support Forgotten Australia for a few bucks per month for ad-free early and exclusive bonus episodes.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  The Runaway Plane – Part Two: “Shoot It Down!" 25.10.2026 36m

  With the Auster Archer over Sydney, and everyone freaking out, the RAAF scrambles to do something… anything… but their responses are 100% inept and 0% intercept. Luckily, a couple of other Top Guns are ready to fly into the Danger Zone...Be sure to check out my new true crime show Australian Murder.Find it wherever you get your podcasts.See the TV segment on this story here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ehAQVhOL3k Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  The Runaway Plane – Part One: “There’s No Pilot!” 22.10.2026 35m

  In August 1955, Sydney was suddenly under threat from a rogue plane.Had it really taken off by itself? Would it crash into the city?What were the RAAF doing about it?Be sure to check out my new true crime show Australian Murder.Find it wherever you get your podcasts.Support Forgotten Australia for a few bucks per month for ad-free early and exclusive bonus episodes and the chance to win prizes.To use a free trial and get immediate access:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Introducing Australia Murder 18.10.2026 4m

  I'm launching a new true crime podcast called Australian Murder.Here's the lowdown.Check out Australian Murder wherever you get your podcasts.Follow to get the first episode as soon as it's released next week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Talking History – Musquito: The Real Story of a Legendary Colonial Warrior 16.10.2026 57m

  Who was Musquito, the Aboriginal warrior feared by colonists in Sydney and Tasmania? Historian Naomi Parry Duncan's new book takes us behind the myths for a better understanding of this remarkable man.But Musquito: The Real Story of a Legendary Colonial Warrior is much more than a biography – it also tells the entwined stories of Naomi's own colonial ancestors.Booktopia Awards:https://www.booktopia.com.au/booktopia-book-award/promo4387.htmlSupport Forgotten Australia for a few bucks per month for ad-free early and exclusive bonus episodes.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.comCheck out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’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.
• 
  Australian Frankenstein – Part Two: The Infernal Machine 12.10.2026 32m

  Having successfully toured Australian cities with Frankenstein, Professor Hornburg invents a new machine man that uses a new energy source. But he and his creation – called Adam Iron, first man of iron – will have to share the limelight with a snake charmer and his nest of vipers. Two showmen scientists. Deadly serpents and an infernal machine. What could possibly go wrong?Support Forgotten Australia for a few bucks per month for ad-free early and exclusive bonus episodes and the chance to win prizes.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.comCheck out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’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.
• 
  Australian Frankenstein – Part One: The Steam Man 09.10.2026 46m

  Just as the Iron Outlaw Ned Kelly is going to the gallows, Australians are astonished by a walking automaton called ‘Frankenstein - The Steam Man’. Professor Hornburg’s invention is intriguing, ingenious and imaginative. But is it really ‘the greatest piece of mechanism in the universe’? How much is science and how much is showmanship? To put it bluntly: Is Hornburg a Humbug?Step right this way and all will be revealed!All true and all bizarre, this is a strange parable for our own age of Gods and Monsters.Australian Frankenstein – Part Two: The Infernal Machine is available now early & ad-free to Forgotten Australia supporters.If you're using Apple, click on that episode and follow the instructions for a free trial.Or go to:apple.co/forgottenaustraliaTo access via Patreon (and listen on other podcast apps):patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaapple.co/forgottenaustraliaTo see the 1880 'Steam Man' poster: https://cyberneticzoo.com/steammen/1876-steam-man-mechanical-horse-hornburg-australian/Email: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Mysteries of the Sea – Part Three: Beyond Human Knowledge 29.09.2026 57m

  In March 1912, Australia was stunned to learn that Koombana was missing in nearly identical circumstances to Yongala. In this final episode, we look at how good and bad luck again decided who lived and who died, how the Koombana story crossed over with the loss of Titanic, and how the Adelaide Steamship Company put greed over need. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Mysteries of the Sea – Part Two: Dead Unlucky 27.09.2026 1h 4m

  Alongside Yongala, the Adelaide Steamship Company prided itself on its luxury vessel Koombana, designed especially to work the Western Australian coast. But this was a seemingly cursed vessel, where anything that could go wrong did, from disappearing and dead passengers, to collisions, fires and a broken loaf of bread that not only triggered a national crisis but sent a handful of men to their fates.Part Three – Beyond Human Knowledgeis available now ad-free for Apple and Patreon supporters.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Mysteries of the Sea – Part One: More Haste, Less Speed 24.09.2026 48m

  In March 1911, with the loss of the ship Waratah still fresh in memory, a big passenger liner went missing in a cyclone off northern Queensland. As a massive search began, Australia tried to believe that ‘no news is good news’. Incredibly, a year later almost to the day, the same scenario played out again – involving a ship from the same company, in the same conditions, in the same latitude. In this three-part miniseries, we look at the entangled tales of the Adelaide Steamship Company’s coastal vessels Yongala and Koombana – and how these tragedies were bookended by Waratah and Titanic.Part Two – Dead Unlucky and Part Three – Beyond Human Knowledgeare available now ad-free for Apple and Patreon supporters.Use a free trial to hear them now!Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Short – The Mystery of the Waratah 24.09.2026 21m

  I’m re-releasing this short as background for the new miniseries, Mysteries of the Sea.In July 1909, the world wondered what had become of the SS Waratah, last seen off coast of South Africa with more than 200 souls aboard. This grim mystery was even more sensational for featuring a double murderer, a passenger plagued by prophetic visions and a veteran sea captain with a charmed reputation. But once all hope was lost, a likely explanation for the disaster was to come from a former Waratah passenger: Australian professor William Bragg, who a few years later would win the Nobel Prize. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Short – Good Evening and Welcome to Television: The Real Story Behind An AI Slop Promo 15.09.2026 19m

  This week marks the 70th anniversary of regular television broadcasting in Australia. Channel Nine recently 'recreated' the 'Good Evening and Welcome to Television' moment in a fakes-over-facts promo generated by artificial intelligence. In this short, we look at the strange evolution of Australian TV, which started in colonial times. It’s a rich history, and one that deserves better than cheap slop that flattens understanding.Support Forgotten Australia for a few bucks per month for ad-free early and exclusive bonus episodes and the chance to win prizes.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.comCheck out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’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.
• 
  Talking History – Blackbirding: A Reckoning With the Australian Slave Trade 07.09.2026 49m

  Blackbirding – A Reckoning with the Australian Slave Trade. We talk about the practices and policies that led to a staggering death toll – and how we don’t remember because our forgetting was engineered by language and laws meant to obscure and hide the true horrors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Australia’s Slave Ship Massacre – Part Three: Confessions of Mass Murderers 07.09.2026 1h 5m

  Dr James Patrick Murray kidnaps and kills more people, and goes mad and is nearly murdered himself, before returning to Australia to be acclaimed as a saviour during a smallpox outbreak. But the hero becomes villain overnight when the truth of the massacre is revealed. Yet the doctor – dubbed ‘the worst demon of them all’ – still has diabolical tricks to play. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Australia’s Slave Ship Massacre – Part Two: Shoot Them All 06.09.2026 52m

  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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Australia’s Slave Ship Massacre – Part One: Doctor Evil 06.09.2026 1h 2m

  Dr James Patrick Murray ranks as one of the most evil characters in Australian history.In September 1871, he ordered the massacre of 70 men that his slavers had kidnapped from Bougainville and imprisoned aboard their ship.In Part One, we look at Dr Murray’s background – and how he became widely hated across Australia long before he became a mass murderer.Originally released in 2021. Re-released to accompany the new Talking History episode called Blackbirding – A Reckoning With the Australian Slave Trade Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  The Last Gasp: Stubbing Out Ciggie Commercials – Part Two 03.09.2026 45m

  From 1972, Paul Hogan was the Australian tobacco industry’s most formidable marketing weapon, the Winfield warrior in a new era of mandatory health warnings. When a total ban on ciggie commercials loomed, the manufacturers were to pivot and spend even more money with media companies and sporting bodies to ensure they stayed in play after that fateful day. Much later, Aussie A-list ciggie frontmen would all say the same thing: ‘But, we didn't know…’Support Forgotten Australia for a few bucks per month for ad-free early and exclusive bonus episodes and the chance to win prizes.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.comCheck out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’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.
• 
  The Last Gasp: Stubbing Out Ciggie Commercials – Part One 31.08.2026 1h 2m

  Fifty years ago this week – 1 September 1976 – tobacco commercials were banned on Australian television. So, it was goodbye to Paul Hogan, Stuart Wagstaff, Norman Gunston and other celebs selling ciggies and smoking to adults and kids alike via the idiot box. In this episode, we sift the dirty ashtray of recent history for a look at the powerful profiteers who put the A-list on the payroll, chronicling how multinational tobacco companies, the Australian media and government undermined medical science to make a killing.Part Two will be available first for supporters. It will go on general release later in the week.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Short - Our Forgotten Crime Fiction Mastermind 28.08.2026 19m

  Aussie writer Charles Shaw came from the school of hard knocks to create a true-blue noir antihero in a series of novels that were internationally popular and compared with the work of hardboiled master Mickey Spillane. He also wrote another bestseller that was adapted into a Hollywood classic in the 1950s. You may even have seen it!Support Forgotten Australia for a few bucks per month for ad-free early and exclusive bonus episodes and the chance to win prizes.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• 
  Short – Bravery & Barbarism: The Wave Hill Walk-Off 26.08.2026 13m

  Sixty years ago this week, Gurindji elder Vincent Lingiari led 200 Aboriginal stockmen and their families in the Wave Hill Walk-Off. They were protesting pitiful pay and conditions and demanding the return of traditional lands. The Walk-Off was the start of a brave eight-year struggle. In this episode, we also look at the brutality of the killing times at Wave Hill.Support Forgotten Australia for a few bucks per month for ad-free early and exclusive bonus episodes and the chance to win prizes.Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.comCheck out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’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.