Aussie History Podcast

Between 1952 and 1963 the British Government carried out 12 major nuclear weapon tests in Australia in the remote Montebello islands and in South Australia at Maralinga and Emu Field.

Why did the Australian Government agree to nuclear weapon testing in Australia? Let's find out!

Every Australian knows the words to 'Waltzing Matilda'. On the surface it's a song about a swagman who steals a sheep and drowns himself in a billabong to avoid capture. But, it's more than just a quaint bush ballad. Behind the story of the song lies politics, industrial unrest, class divisions and of course economics.

In this episode we look at a man who was one of the most important people in Australia in the 20th century. But I doubt you have ever heard of him. This man is Herbert Cole Coombs – or as he is most often called – Nugget Coombs.

In this episode resume our review of Robert Menzies. Menzies became Prime Minister for a second time on 10 December 1949. Menzies founded the Liberal Party and was the dominant figure in Australian political and social life for the next two decades.

Menzies, was in many ways, a paradox. He was 'British to his bootstraps' but under his leadership we began to move closer to the United States and take our place in the Asia Pacific region. His period in office coincided with a long economic boom - but he was a poor economic manager.

Love him or loathe him, he was and remains an extremely interesting figure!

Here's a link to Robert Menzies in full swing over his love for a young and blushing Queen Elizabeth II: https://youtu.be/6ibGwqMM6uU

Welcome to 2017!

In this episode we recount the early career of Sir Robert Gordon 'Bob' Menzies, Australia's longest serving Prime Minister. Menzies served as Prime Minister twice –for a total of 18 years and it is still the record term for an Australian Prime Minister. Menzies totally dominated Australian politics and life for the better part of three decades. He dominated Australia so much that his second term as Prime Minister from 1949 to 1966 is often referred to as "the Ming Dynasty.

For a truly worthwhile cause visit 'Batting for Change' at https://battingforchange.com.au. Ryan Carters, a young Australian cricketer, is raising money to support education for disadvantaged women and girls in cricket playing nations. You can donate just a dollar per six hit by the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League cricket tournament. Since 2013 Ryan has raised over $350,000 and transformed the life of dozens and dozens of women. This year the target is $150,000.

In this episode we delve into an extremely controversial period in Australian history – the genocide of the Tasmanian Aborigines. We also look at Truganini, the most famous of the Tasmanian Aborigines. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this episode contains the names of people who are deceased.

Be warned! This is a very long episode by AWP standards.

It's back to bushrangers - more bushrangers who were not Ned Kelly. In this episode we will be looking at four bushrangers: Jack Donohoe the 'Wild Colonial Boy'; Mad Dan Morgan who roamed the Murray Valley area in the 1860s; Martin Cash the 'gentleman bushranger'; and Jimmy Governor – the last of the bushrangers about whom Thomas Keneally wrote his book "The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith".

Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.com.

Episode 50 - half a century!

In this episode we cover Ronald Ryan's hanging and the public outcry that accompanied his execution. We then ask did Ryan really kill prison warder George Hodson?

Check out this excellent 15 minute documentary on the Ryan execution:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDyFJqru9UI

Also this website that seeks to prove Ryan's innocence: http://www.ronaldryan.info

Email me at: [email protected]

At 8.00 a.m. on 3 February 1967 Ronald Joseph Ryan was hanged in Pentridge gaol in Melbourne for the murder of a prison officer named George Henry Hodson. He had been found guilty of shooting Hodson with a rifle he had taken off another prison guard while escaping from prison. Ronald Ryan was the last person to be executed in Australia.

Email me at: [email protected]

On Fathers Day, the 2nd September R 1984, there was a shoot out between two rival motorcycle gangs at a British motorcycle swap meet in the Western Sydney suburb of Milperra. The shoot out had its origin in a bitter split within the Comancheros and Bandidos motorcycle or bikie gangs. At the end of the shoot out seven people were dead,including a 15 year old girl who was just standing by.

Check out the 60 Minutes documentary on the massacre – done in 2014 on the 30th anniversary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nFKnEwU4MI