-
2 months ago | 
abc.net.au | Kirsti Melville
We''ve got news! The History Listen has been given a makeover. Our new show, ABC Rewind, is still your home for gripping audio storytelling, and still the podcast where you'll hear true stories told by the people who lived through them. Come on a deep dive into the past on Rewind.
-
Dec 7, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Kirsti Melville
Fifty years ago, in the early hours of Christmas Day 1974, Cyclone Tracy killed 66 people and decimated the city of Garramilla/Darwin. Afterwards more than 30,000 residents were evacuated, many never returning to Darwin. Writing down memories of the event helped some survivors of the cyclone process the experience. Hear a handful of these stories, set in crumbling houses, airborne cars, a busy restaurant and an overcrowded hospital, all set to the terrifying real-life soundtrack of Cyclone Tracy.
-
Nov 29, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Kirsti Melville
It’s the early 1900s and a gang of men moves through the gritty streets of inner-city North Melbourne: they dress sharp and inspire fear wherever they go. This gang, the Crutchy Push ruled the streets of North Melbourne over a ten year period, from late 1890s. And the reason for their curious name?
-
Nov 25, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Kirsti Melville
It’s March 25th, 1999, and Australia’s most remarkable prison escape has just taken place, after a helicopter hovers above the recreation grounds at the Silverwater maximum security prison, in Sydney. In the blink of an eye, a prisoner runs towards the chopper, climbs onboard, and is on his way to freedom. This is the story of that airborne escapee, John Killick, a man who spent much of his life leading the authorities on a merry dance.
-
Nov 15, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Kirsti Melville
In a shocking and brutal end to a colourful life, Australian wallpaper designer Florence Broadhurst was murdered in her Paddington studio on the 15th of October, 1977. So who was suspected of this crime and why is the case still unsolved to this day? Please listen with care - this episode contains graphic content.
-
Nov 8, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Kirsti Melville
She’s one of Australia’s most prolific and popular designers, and yet not many people know her name, let alone her audacious life story. Florence Broadhurst was from regional Queensland but people who met her later in life, thought she was English aristocrat. She reinvented herself many times throughout her life. Today she’s known for her wallpaper designs that cemented her in Australian design history. But a shadow lingers over her legacy; her unsolved murder in 1977.
-
Nov 1, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Kirsti Melville
When superannuation pioneer Mavis Robertson was in her seventies, she was showered with awards and honours. But something was missing from the life story she shared with the public at this time: the more than 30 years she spent as a leading member of the Communist Party of Australia. Joining the Party in 1949, at nineteen, Mavis rode a political rollercoaster of opportunities, battles and disappointments.
-
Oct 25, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Kirsti Melville
On 14th February 1977, nine school children, and their teacher, are kidnapped at gunpoint from a remote country school at Wooreen. They’re taken hostage by a prison escapee called Edwin John Eastwood. He demands a ridiculous ransom. It includes 7 million dollars, the release of 17 prisoners, 100 kilos of cocaine, automatic weapons, and an escape vehicle.
-
Oct 18, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Kirsti Melville
Between 1952 and 1965, over 600 Japanese war brides crossed once enemy lines to make a home in Australia. Anti-Japanese sentiment was still palpable then, and they had little choice but to hide their Japanese-ness, and assimilate into Australian society. But today, WWII is in the distant past, and ‘Japan-as-enemy’ is an idea that feels alien. How do the grandchildren of Japanese war brides tell this history, one that began with war, fear, and hate?
-
Oct 11, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Kirsti Melville
In the late 1950’s Spanish men came to Australia in record numbers to work. But if the country was to populate, and not perish, women were also needed. So a plan was created to encourage young unmarried Spanish women to migrate. The Martha Plan offered free travel to Australia for young Spanish women, in return for signing a 2 year domestic work contract. In that time, it was hoped that the women would meet Spanish migrant men, and settle in Australia permanently.
