This German-born thug's misadventures included shooting his dad in the butt, taking to the bush as an escapee, doing time in a POW camp, selling cocaine in Sydney and dicing with the Razor Gangs. But his life would have an unexpected final act.

Check out my books:

They’ll Never Hold Me:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

The Murder Squad:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

Hanging Ned Kelly:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

Australia’s Sweetheart:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brisbane armed robber had hit three banks in twelve months. In the second week of April 1978, the cops had laid a trap he couldn’t escape. Until he did. What followed was an extraordinary car chase and gun battle, all caught by news cameras. But after the smoke cleared, big questions remained.

For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:

Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia

Check out my books:

They’ll Never Hold Me:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

The Murder Squad:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

Hanging Ned Kelly:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

Australia’s Sweetheart:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a big week for true crime and the Red Scare. In Sydney, Roger Rogerson’s future hero, Detective-Sergeant Ray ‘the Gunner’ Kelly, was in court and explaining how and why he’d shot another criminal dead. In London, the cops caught serial killer John Christie, which meant they’d sent an innocent man to the gallows for two murders. In a weird coincidence, a similar failure of justice was about to play out in Adelaide, where serial monster John Balaban had already been set free by the courts to kill again. Meanwhile, the Red Scare was at fever pitch, with leftist Aussies protesting against the imminent execution in the US of convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Also in the US under McCarthyism, academic freedom was under attack at Columbia University. But this wasn’t nearly as racy as what McCarthy’s attack dog Roy Cohn was doing, with President Trump’s future hero making Australian headlines for his rabid anti-Commie tactics.

For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:

Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia

Check out my books:

They’ll Never Hold Me:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

The Murder Squad:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

Hanging Ned Kelly:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

Australia’s Sweetheart:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a bumper episode brought to you by the newfangled "Electric Newspaper" of 1928, Sydney and Melbourne cops carry out spectacular public raids to save white women from the evils of cocaine and African-American jazz men – and, more broadly, to amp up the war on drugs and expand the White Australia Policy. Plus: a Sydney girl makes good in the British movie Moulin Rouge; English women get the vote for a "Flapper Election"; and the "Sex War" is predicted to leave girl bosses in total control of a world of man-worms.

To book Manly Writers' Festival: https://www.manlywritersfestival.org.au/program/true-crime%3A-tales-of-betrayal%2C-escape%2C-and-justice

For Harlem Nights, Deidre O'Connell's book: https://www.mup.com.au/books/harlem-nights-paperback-softback

For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:

Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia

Check out my books:

They’ll Never Hold Me:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

The Murder Squad:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

Hanging Ned Kelly:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

Australia’s Sweetheart:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1906, when a young bookie tried to cheat his customers, he died as the very public victim of a bloodthirsty mob of Melburnians. His murder left the city searching for his killers – and for answers about a state government that continued to allow dangerous unregulated gambling.

This episode updates a previous Australia On This Day episode.

Check out the Manly Writers’ Festival: https://www.manlywritersfestival.org.au/program/true-crime%3A-tales-of-betrayal%2C-escape%2C-and-justice

For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:

Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia

My books:

They’ll Never Hold Me:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

The Murder Squad:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

Hanging Ned Kelly:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

Australia’s Sweetheart:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the third week of 1903, Perth was transfixed by one of the most sensational libel cases in Australian history. The legal action had been brought by a popular clergyman, who claimed a newspaper had falsely accused him of being a vile predator, who'd serially raped his young maid, gotten her pregnant, forced her into an abortion, and then conspired to commit her to a lunatic asylum to keep her from spilling her secrets.

Check out the Manly Writers’ Festival:

https://www.manlywritersfestival.org.au/program/true-crime%3A-tales-of-betrayal%2C-escape%2C-and-justice

Check out my books:

They’ll Never Hold Me:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

The Murder Squad:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

Hanging Ned Kelly:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

Australia’s Sweetheart:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week was a busy one – a royal visit from the Queen, the Centenary Test and mad bulls running through the streets of Melbourne. But no story was more dramatic than the horrific shark attack off Brisbane, which seemed straight out of that recent horror blockbuster: Jaws. In this episode, we look at the men who died that day on Moreton Bay – and the self-styled warrior who set out to avenge them, propelling himself onto the world stage, where he’d remain for decades, killing sharks ruthlessly and playing a role in creating one of the 20th century’s most controversial art works.

For tickets to my presentation about Australia's Titanic Hero:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/special-talk-australias-titanic-hero-tickets-1111132750969

For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:

Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia

Check out my books:

They’ll Never Hold Me:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

The Murder Squad:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

Hanging Ned Kelly:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

Australia’s Sweetheart:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Long before Crocodile Dundee put Australia on the map for American moviegoers, Miss Kangaroo was sent to the USA on a similar mission. But this young polio survivor wouldn’t be alone on her whirlwind 30-city tour – Miss Kangaroo was to chaperone a couple of baby kangaroos. What could possibly go wrong? At the very same time, a separate film stunt saw four koalas shipped to Hollywood – the first such export in decades. Soon all of these poor Australian creatures – including Miss Kangaroo – would be embroiled in a controversy over animal cruelty and the shady exploitation of our beloved fauna by the man who was supposed to be their greatest protector.

For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:

Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia

My books:

They’ll Never Hold Me:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

The Murder Squad:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

Hanging Ned Kelly:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

Australia’s Sweetheart:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1978, the first Mardi Gras was met with police intimidation, violence and mass arrests that were followed by custodial abuse, bashings and malicious prosecutions. Though the cops, courts, Labor premier Neville Wran and even the Sydney Morning Herald were against the LGBTQ+ community, they wouldn’t back down in their fight for their right to party – and enjoy the same rights as every Australian.

This episode updates an archived episode of Australia on this Day.

My books:

They’ll Never Hold Me:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

The Murder Squad:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

Hanging Ned Kelly:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

Australia’s Sweetheart:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last week of February 1927, Sydneysiders could go to the Crystal Palace Theatre to see Australia’s very own ‘Queen’ – the winner of the first Miss Australia pageant. Not only would she appear in her costumes, she’d tell of her adventures going to Atlantic City to ‘challenge’ Miss America. Soon she'd take her show all across Australia. In the background, newspaper mogul-in-the-making R.C. Packer was pulling the strings and pocketing the profits that’d establish a mighty media empire. But Miss Australia was more than a pretty face – and she’d use her smarts like a modern-day influencer.

For a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes:

Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia

To buy They’ll Never Hold Me:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

The Murder Squad:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

Hanging Ned Kelly:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

Australia’s Sweetheart:

https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.