Episodes

  • Season 1 Finale - 6 August - 1930 - Mr Eternity Finds God

    Season 1 Finale - 6 August - 1930 - Mr Eternity Finds God
    Aug 5 2021
    REPEAT: On this day in 1930, Arthur Stace — hopeless Sydney alcoholic — converted to Christianity and set himself on the path to becoming Mr Eternity, whose one-word message would eventually reach billions worldwide. Australia On This Day will be on a short break until next week. Thanks for listening.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    24 mins
  • 5 August - 1944 - The Cowra Breakout

    5 August - 1944 - The Cowra Breakout
    Aug 4 2021
    REPEAT: At 2am on this day in 1944, the Cowra Breakout began. This episode looks at the man who blew the bugle that gave the signal for the mass escape – and how he wound up behind barbed wire as the first Japanese POW in the first place, courtesy of a Darwin Digger's odd angry shot and the bravery of an Aboriginal man from the Tiwi Islands.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    18 mins
  • 4 August - 1845 - Australia's Titanic

    4 August - 1845 - Australia's Titanic
    Aug 3 2021
    REPEAT: 176 years ago today, Australia suffered what is still our worst civil maritime disaster when the emigrant ship Cataraqui struck a reef off King Island and sank in Bass Strait. Of the 409 aboard, just nine were to survive - but fate held a cruel trick in store for two of these men.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    14 mins
  • 3 August - 1912 - The Persecution Of The Eccentric Sexologist

    3 August - 1912 - The Persecution Of The Eccentric Sexologist
    Aug 2 2021
    REPEAT: On this day in 1912, William Chidley, radical sexologist and one of Australia’s most eccentric characters, was arrested for being a lunatic – the first use of this power against him in a vendetta that’d eventually make him a martyr to free speech.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    19 mins
  • 2 August - 1986 - The Theft Of The Weeping Woman

    2 August - 1986 - The Theft Of The Weeping Woman
    Aug 1 2021
    REPEAT: On this day in 1986, one of Australia's strangest and funniest crimes was committed when Pablo Picasso's masterpiece The Weeping Woman — valued at $2m — was stolen from the National Gallery of Victoria and held to ransom by a mysterious group calling themselves Australian Cultural Terrorists.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    21 mins
  • 1 August - 1905 - Australia's First Lady At Law

    1 August - 1905 - Australia's First Lady At Law
    Jul 31 2021
    REPEAT: On this day in 1905, Flos Greig became Australia’s first female lawyer — but before she could practice the law she had to change it via an act of parliament.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    18 mins
  • 31 July - 1902 - Henry MacCabe & Our Two Worst Mining Disasters

    31 July - 1902 - Henry MacCabe & Our Two Worst Mining Disasters
    Jul 30 2021
    REPEAT: Australia suffered what is still our worst industrial disaster when an explosion ripped through the Mount Kembla mine on 31 July 1902. Strikingly, lead rescuer Henry MacCabe had 15 years earlier been acclaimed a hero of the 1887 Mount Keira explosion, which was our previous worst industrial catastrophe. Yet Henry's legacy isn't quite black and white.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    13 mins
  • 30 July - 1930 - The Fate Of Australia's Forgotten Aviator

    30 July - 1930 - The Fate Of Australia's Forgotten Aviator
    Jul 29 2021
    REPEAT: Pioneering Australian pilots Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm and Bert Hinkler are household names for their aviation feats and tragic fates. Eric Hook is forgotten — not even a Wikipedia entry. But in mid-1930 his England-Australia flight was a front-page story as the world awaited news of what had happened to him in Burma. Hear his story in today's episode.

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