This Week in 1956: TV debuts, rock ’n’ roll riots and a dancing senior citizen takes on the world

In the third week of September 1956, a small number of Australians finally saw what all the fuss was about when regular TV broadcasts began. It was a quiet start - unlike the arrival of the raucous, riot-inspiring youth movie Rock Around The Clock. But the new craze didn’t impress Janese Dooley, the 65-year-old widow who’d just danced not around the clock but around the world!Hear the exclusive short about how TV came to Australia now as an Apple or Patreon supporter.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’s Sweetheart:https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.htmlEmail: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week in 1944, Australia's most famous war cameraman — whose film Kokoda Front Line! had won us our first Oscar the previous year — was killed while filming American Marines trying to retake a tiny Pacific island held by the Japanese.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’s Sweetheart:https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.htmlEmail: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One hundred and thirty years ago this month, Mark Twain, creator of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, and hailed as the world’s funniest man, arrived in Australia for the start of a months-long speaking tour. Aussies loved the famous visitor – and those attending his shows were treated to a very modern form of entertainment: American stand-up comedy.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’s Sweetheart:https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.htmlEmail: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As winter became spring in Australia in 1939, the world stood on the edge of the abyss.Then, on Father's Day, 3 September, everyone's worst fears were confirmed: Australia would once again go to war with Germany. In the hours that followed this terrible news, shots were fired off Melbourne, foreigners were rounded up in Sydney, Australians got a crash course in air raid measures and enemy ships were unaccounted for in our waters. European battle updates dominated radios and newspaper headlines. This was the beginning of the beginning.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’s Sweetheart:https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.htmlEmail: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

180 years ago this month, 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.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’s Sweetheart:https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.htmlEmail: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre now flooded, we look back on the first time this happened in white history. Seventy-five years ago, Australia’s driest and most inhospitable region became a huge inland sea — and was explored by Elliot Price, a salt-lake-of-the-earth sorta bloke tooling around in a home-made boat.  Wanna support Forgotten Australia?It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’s Sweetheart:https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.htmlEmail: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having enjoyed a trifecta of splashy Sydney skydiving successes, Stanley makes a new start in Melbourne only to learn that disasters come in threes.It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’s Sweetheart:https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.htmlEmail: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Stanley Thomas’s rapid rise to parachuting success in Sydney, his career starts to stall with a series of jumps that are erratic and dangerous.*Part Three is available now early and ad-free for supporters. You'll also get access to other ad-free, early and bonus episodes.*Use a free trial to get started:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’s Sweetheart:https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.htmlEmail: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stanley Thomas was a young parachutist who made himself into a star in Sydney in the early years of the Great Depression. In public, he thrilled with his daredevil stunts. In private, he wrestled the darkest of demons. In the first instalment of this miniseries, we delve into the reality and the fantasy of Stanley’s story and explore just how he summoned the courage to step into space at 10,000 feet.*Part Two and Part Three are available now ad-free for Patreon and Apple supporters*It’s easy to get a free trial and get exclusive bonus episodes. Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’s Sweetheart:https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.htmlEmail: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When John Hassett was murdered in his Adelaide hotel room, Australia wasn’t faced with a whodunnit but a whydunnit.Why had his wife Ada committed this cold-blooded crime?Is she was insane, what had broken her mind?For the first time, Ada’s tragic history is laid bare - and it speaks directly to issues still making world headlines in 2025.If you need help, call Lifeline Australia on 131114 or text 0477 13 11 14. If you’re an Ancestry member, you can see Ada Hassett’s Supreme Court files here:https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/62316/records/42891Support Forgotten Australia with a free trial that will give you access to ad-free, early and bonus episodes. Hit either of these links:Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustraliaApple: apple.co/forgottenaustraliaWant more original Australian true crime and history? Check out my books!They’ll Never Hold Me:https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.htmlThe Murder Squad:https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.htmlHanging Ned Kelly:https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.htmlAustralia’s Sweetheart:https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.htmlEmail: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.