Aussie History Podcast

On the morning of 13May 1787 the First Fleet weighed anchor and set sail from Portsmouth, England. On 26 January 1788 the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Harbour. In this episode we relive the journey out to New South Wales and see what it was like for the colonists in the first few years of the new colony. Needless to say, it was pretty hard going. There was a constant threat of starvation and there were skirmishes with the local Aboriginal people – the Eora.

For this episode check out the Sydney Museum website. There is an exhibition on the First Fleet ships at: http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/museum-of-sydney

Email me at [email protected] and visit the Aussie waves Podcast Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/AussieWavesPodcast

In this episode we are embarking on a voyage to Botany Bay with the First Fleet. On 13 May 1787 eleven ships commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip set sail from Portsmouth, England and headed for Botany Bay. On board were 1420 people of which 755 were convicts. Eight months later they arrived in Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to found the penal colony of New South Wales.

For this episode I recommend Robert Hughes’ book The Fatal Shore. This can be downloaded as an e-book from Amazon and can be purchased in bookstores in Australia. Check out a YouTube video of the Australian folk song 'Bound for Botany Bay' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEYseM_R6Hk

And since it's the Australia Day Long Weekend also have a look at a song called 'We Are Australian" written by Bruce Woodley of The Seekers fame and Dobe Newton from The Bushwackers and sung by Australian Soprano Marusia Louwerse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtpBUQoVups

Email me at: [email protected]

Music courtesy of the talented Dan-O at: http://www.danosongs.com/

Thanks to Ken Dampier for post-production.

In this episode we remember Gough Whitlam’s visits to China – the People’s Republic of China - in 1971 and 1973. The 1971 visit, when Whitlam was Opposition Leader, paved the way for the diplomatic recognition of China and sowed the seeds for a thriving cultural and economic relationship. In 1973 Whitlam became the first Australian Prime Minister to travel to China.

Visit the Whitlam Institute website – where much of the material for this episode was sourced: http://www.whitlam.org/

Also check out the It’s Time TV commercial from the 1972 election campaign. Whitlam shakes hands with Premier Zhou at around the 1 minute 15 second mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqMCZBjvmD4

Music courtesy of Dan-O at: http://www.danosongs.com/

Thanks to Ken Dampier for post-production.

In the late 1800s Indian labourers were sent to work in Fiji in the sugar cane farms as indentured workers. Following the 1987 military coup and the coups that followed many have moved to Australia. According to the 2011 Census 57,000 Fijian born people live in Australia and of this 36,000 are Indian.

For this episode I recommend: www.girmitunited.org – a website dedicated to preserving the history of the Indian Fijians.

You can always email me at [email protected]

Music courtesy of Dan-O at: http://www.danosongs.com/

Thanks to Ken Dampier for post-production.

For more than 20,000 years the Snowy region was home to the Ngarigo people and a number of other Aboriginal peoples. White settlement meant that in the 1800s the Ngarigo people were forced from their lands.

Up until the mid 20th century the Snowy was the province of farmers and high country horsemen as immortalised on Banjo Patterson’s poem The Man from Snowy River.

But after WWII, it was populate or perish and in this environment the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electricity Scheme was built. Over 100,000 people from over thirty countries came to the mountains to work on the Scheme.

For this episode I recommend you read or listen to The Man from Snowy River:

http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/paterson-a-b-banjo/the-man-from-snowy-river-0001004

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs_-DKUimeo

Email me at: [email protected]

Music courtesy of Dan-O at: http://www.danosongs.com/

Thanks to Ken Dampier for post-production.

We continue our two part series on how Australia’s system of Government works. In this episode we cover:

· how the House of Representatives and the Senate work;

· how a new law is created and passed by the Parliament; and

· how do we keep the Government honest?

Then we take a brief look at one of the founders of Australian democracy and the federal Australian Labor Party, King O’Malley

For this episode I recommend you watch Question Time from the House of Representatives at: http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives

Email me at: [email protected]

Music courtesy of Dan-O at: http://www.danosongs.com/

Thanks to Ken Dampier for post-production.

This is Part 1 of a two part series on Australia’s system of Government. After white settlement the colony of New South Wales was divided up into the six colonies of Australia. Each of these colonies formed their own Governments and reported directly back to Britain.

From the 1850s, however, there became a view that the colonies of Australia should federate to form a new nation of Australia. On 1 January 1901 Australia did federate to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia adopted a hybrid model taking bits from the British Westminster and American Federal systems.

For this episode visit the Australian Parliament House website at: http://www.aph.gov.au

Email me at: [email protected]

Music courtesy of Dan-O at: http://www.danosongs.com/

Thanks to Ken Dampier for post-production.

The first German people arrived in Australia on the First Fleet in 1788. Despite this, when World War I was declared around 4500 German-Australians found themselves interned in camps for the duration of the war.

For more information check out the Migration Heritage of New South Wales website at www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au and the National Archives of Australia website at: http://naa.gov.au/collection/snapshots/internment-camps/index.aspx

Email me at: [email protected]

Music courtesy of Dan-O at: http://www.danosongs.com/

Thanks to Ken Dampier for post-production.

The first Jewish people to come to Australia arrived on the First Fleet on 26 January 1788. Among the 827 convicts on the English First Fleet were at least 8 and possibly up to 14 or 15 British convicts who were Jewish.

On board was Esther Abrahams. Esther would go on to become the First Lady of the Colony of New South Wales and an important landholder and farmer in her own right.

Over the past few hundred years there have been several waves of Jewish migration to Australia. More recently after the Second World War Australia accepted significant numbers of Jewish refugees from war ravaged Europe.

For this episode I recommend the excellent Australian history podcast Last Stop to Nowhere hosted by Michael Sloan and Kyle Sherer. You can download it from ITunes.

Check out the Sydney Jewish Museum’s website: www.sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au

Also have a listen to Renee Geyer singing Heading in the Right Direction – such a beautiful voice:

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

Finally, read the Australian Geographic article on the discovery of an 18th Century Chinese coin found on Elcho Island off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory:

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2014/08/18th-century-chinese-coin-found-in-arnhem-land

Email me at: [email protected]

Music courtesy of Dan-O at: http://www.danosongs.com/

Thanks to Ken Dampier for post-production.

In this episode we explore the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples before the arrival of white European settlers. We also look at first contact with Europeans – the Dutch explorers and finally the British. I use the Aussie rock band Goanna’s song Solid Rock to tie the episode together.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should execise caution if listening to this episode as it may contain the names of people who have passed away.

Check out a YouTube clip of Goanna performing Solid Rock on Countdown (an Australian TV music show of the 1970s and 1980s):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t94RBuiOgsA

Another great Aussie Song is Christine Anu’s version of My Island Home. The video is from the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDyc-T2AYt4

Email me at: [email protected]

Music courtesy of Dan-O at: http://www.danosongs.com/

Thanks to Ken Dampier for post-production.