On 27 October 1857 a party of Yiman warriors killed 12 people at Hornet Bank Station. On 16 October 1861 another massacre of settlers took place at Culin-la-Ringo when Gayiri warriors killed 19 people. What emerges is a story of frontier wars where local Aboriginal people fought to protect thier hunting lands and sacred sites which they saw were be…

Vera Deakin is one of those great women in Australian History that you have probably never heard of. However, if your family has roots that go back to WWI she may have had a significant impact on your life. Vera Deakin was the daughter of Alfred Deakin and his wife Elizabeth. She is known for her long involvement with the Australian Red Cross of ov…

We wrap up our four part series on the Australia First Movement. There's one final inquiry, led by Justice Clyne, to investigate the internments. We look at what happened to some of the key people after the War and ask what to make of it all? Finally, it's ANZAC Day, the day Australians and New Zealanders commemorate those who have served in war. Y…

Following the internments of Australia First members, there is disquiet about why, in a democracy, people could be detained without trial. Some appeal against their internment. The Government establishes a number of inquiries and most internees are released over 1942. Except, that is, for Percy Stephensen and a few others. Remember, you can always …

The security forces, police and political leaders take a close interest in Australia First members. After WWII is declared the Publicist ceases and there is public opposition to Australia First, particularly in Sydney. In Western Australia the police send in an undercover agent and get evidence of a conspiracy to suport a Japanese invasion, sabotag…

On 9 March 1942 four people were arrested in Perth on suspicion of a plot to contact the Japanese armed forces to help with a Japanese invasion and to assassinate public officials. They had formed an organisation called the Australia-First Group. A few days later 16 people, members of the Australia First Movement, were arrested in Sydney. In Parlia…

Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January each year. But how much do you really know about the history of Australia Day? 26 January is not the date the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Harbour, nor is it the day the Colony of NSW was proclaimed. And it may surprise you that the first public holiday to be actually called Australia Day was held on 30 Ju…

On 8 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II died. In this episode we explore what it meant for Australia. Oh, and I also rave on a little about cricket.By James Dampier

It's ANZAC Day and we commomorate those Australians who served on HMAS Perth which was sunk in the Battle of the Sunda Strait on 1 March 1942.By James Dampier

Learn about the amazing story about Oskar Speck a man who paddled his kayak from Germany to Australia, starting in 1932 and taking 7 years to complete his voyage. By the time he arrived in Australia the world was at war and so he was, like many German nationals, interned. After the War Speck settled in Australia, becoming a successful opal dealer.…

In the 1930s the inner suburbs of Sydney were in turmoil as rival gangs fought it out for supremacy in what was called the Razor Gang Wars'. The Razor Gangs were led by two women - Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh. We also pay tribute to Shane Warne (Warnie) who passed away at the young age of 52. For his ball of the century see: https://www.youtube.com…

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this episode mentions the names of people who have passed away. Governor Macquarie uses military force to effectively end the Sydney Wars. We also wrap things up and conclude that the history I learned at school was not accurate. We also pay tribute to John Landy, the second person to br…

We wrap up our coverage of the 1971 Springbok Tour. The Sprinboks arrive in Australia and are met with protests wherever they go. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.comBy James Dampier

The 1971 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia was controversial. Protests erupted against the South African policy of apartheid and in Queensland a state of emergency was declared. The implications of the Tour also went broader than the rugby tour. No Apartheid-era sporting team from South Africa ever toured Australia again. It also made Aust…

The wetlands around Koo Wee Run in Victoria had a long Indigenous history before they were drained for agricultural use. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.comBy James Dampier

Ernest Fisk may be a name you have never heard of. But, as the man who bought radio to Australia, he has had a huge impact on your life. Also, be sure to catch the History Detective Podcast series 'Ladies in the House' Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.comBy James Dampier

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this episode mentions the names of people who have passed away. Things hot up on the Cumberland Plain as large bands of warriors exact reprisals as far south as Razorbank Range. Farms are abandoned as the settlers fear for their lives. Apologies for the poor recording quality. Email me a…

Mary MacKillop founded the Sisters of St Joseph, the first Catholic order founded by an Australian. She and her order established schools and welfare institutions throughout Australia and New Zealand, with an emphasis on education for the rural poor. She was the first Australian to be canonised as a Saint by the Catholic Church. Email me at jamesda…

James Hardy Vaux was an English-born convict transported to NSW. He is probably the dodgiest convict ever and was, in fact, transported three times. But he also wrote the first full length autobiography in Australia and the first Australian dictionary. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.comBy James Dampier

Aboriginal and Torres Islander people are warned that this episode mentions the name of people who have passed away. Pemulwuy may have been killed but the attacks continue. Governor King is forced to act and orders punitive responses. Meanwhile, Mosquito and Bull Dog are caputured and sent to Norfolk Island and Pemulwuy's son Tedbury joins the figh…

Reg Saunders was a war hero who won the Military Medal. He was also the first Indigenous Australian to be commissioned as an officer in the Australian Army. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.comBy James Dampier

Australia has had censorship since Captain Arthur Phillip planted the Union Jack at Sydney Cove in 1788. During the mid 20th century Australia is said to have had one of the strictest Censorship regimes in the western world. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.comBy James Dampier

We finish our look at Malcolm Fraser, the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. Why did he turn his back on the Party he led did he become a left winger after he retired from politics? Email me at jamesdampier.wap@gmail.comBy James Dampier

In this and the next episode we look at the life and career of John Malcolm Fraser, the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. Malcom Fraser was extremely divisive in his day, predominantly because of his role in the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government. I hope to convince you that he is a much misunderstood figure. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.com…

On Tuesday 18 January 1977 a crowded commuter train derailed and careered into the supports of the Bold Street Bridge in the Western Sydney suburb of Granville. The bridge collapsed, killing 83 people and injuring 213 others. The Granville Rail Disaster remains the worst rail disaster in Australian history. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.com…

The conflict on the Cumberland Plain and along the Hawkesbury River ramps up. Pemulwuy takes it to the colonists and leads his band of warriors in serious guerrilla warfare. In the Battle of Parramatta, he and 100 warriors fight it out with the NSW Corps. On the Hawkesbury, the Dharug and Darkingjung people resist the encroachment of the colonists.…

In this episode we learn about Tilly Aston, the blind Australian writer and educator, who founded The Victorian Association of Braille Writers and The Association for the Advancement of the Blind. Tilly Aston is remembered for achievements in promoting the rights of vision-impaired people. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.com…

On Remembrance Day I want to bring you the story of two best friends - Harold West and George Leonard. Private Harold West and Private Leonard were among about 5,000 Indigenous Australians who served during the Second World War. Here is a link to a YouTube video which is a trailer for a film about Harold West and George Leonard. Alas the film has n…

In June 1826 local Campbelltown farmer Frederick Fisher disappeared. Four months later John Farley ran into the local pub claiming to have seen Frederick Fisher's ghost sitting on a bridge pointing to where his body lay. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.comBy James Dampier

On 15 October 1970, 50 years ago, workers were busy constructing a new bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne. Suddenly the bridge started to groan, a pinging noise filled the air and the bridge just fell away. As a result of this tragedy 35 workers died. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.comBy James Dampier

On 1 January 1915 Badsha Mahommed Gool and Mullah Abdullah shot dead four people and wounded seven more just outside the western NSW mining town of Broken Hill. Was this incident an act of war during WWI, a terrorist attack, or simply a criminal act by the two men concerned? Email me at james dampier.awp@gmail.com…

In this episode we are a taking a look at two eccentrics who lived in Sydney in the early and mid 20th Century - Beatrice Miles and Arthur Stace Email me at james dampier.awp@gmail.comBy James Dampier

The Bathurst Rebellion of 1830 was the strangest rebellion of the convict era. It took place around Bathurst about 170 kms to the west of Sydney. And it all started from a skinny-dipping incident. Remember you can email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.comBy James Dampier

On 13 August 1940 a Royal Australian Airforce Lockheed Hudson aircraft crashed near the Canberra airport, killing all 10 passengers and crew on board. This crash had a significant impact on the Australian Government as the passengers on board included three Cabinet Ministers. The crash contributed to the downfall of the UAP Government of Robert Men…

From 1950-53, 17,000 Australians in the Army, Navy and Air Force fought in the Korean War. In this episode we delve into some of the battles Australians fought in and the stories of a number of Australians who served in Korea. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.comBy James Dampier

June 2020 marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. The Korean War is often called the forgotten war. But, from 1950-53, 17,000 Australians fought as part of the United Nations Multinational Force, defending South Korea from the Communist forces of North Korea. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.com…

It's back to bushrangers. In this episode were are focusing on Frank Pearson also known as ‘Captain Starlight' and James Alpin McPherson who went by the moniker the 'Wild Scotchman'. Check out the following YouTube video on the 'Wild Scotchman' and his escape attempt from St Helena prison island: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wITSpdaZj9g Email me…

In this episode we take a gander at one of Sydney’s most iconic landmarks – the Sydney Opera House. Sitting on Bennelong Point, the Sydney Opera House sits resplendent, with its white sails dominating Sydney Cove. Take a look at Stevie Wright performing Evie Parts 1, 2 and 3 at the Sydney Opera House in 1979. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPveBD6…

Francis Greenway was an English-born architect who was transported to New South Wales as a convict for the crime of forgery. He was the colony’s first Government architect. Greenway is admired for his buildings such as St Matthew’s Church in Windsor and St James’ Church and the Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney. He was an extremely talented, but deeply …

In this episode we learn about Douglas Grant, an Indigenous man who served in the trenches in World War I. He was treated as an equal in the AIF but faced discrimination upon his return home. Then there is Douglas Berneville-Claye, my English teacher at St Greg's Campbelltown. He passed himself off as a war hero. But he was actually a traitor, a Br…

The conflict between the British settlers and the local Indigenous people is heating up. The settlers push into the extremely fertile river flats along the Hawkesbury River near Windsor, Richmond and Wilberforce. This deprives the local people of access to traditional food sources. Email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.com. I answer every email.…

In 1813 Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth made the first successful crossing of the Blue Mountains. Or did they? Were Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth really the first to cross the Blue Mountains? And what of the implications of their explorations for the local Indigenous people?…

On 17 February 2020, General Motors announced the end of the Holden brand. This has shocked the nation and it truly is the end of an era. Watch the Holden TV advertisement 'Football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGW-WX77zjYBy James Dampier

On Wednesday 26 May 1971, a man calling himself “Mr Brown" telephoned saying that Qantas Flight 755 from Sydney to Hong Kong was carrying a bomb. It was set to detonate as the plane came in to land and it could only be prevented if he was paid $500,000. Check out the movie 'Call me Mr Brown' on YouTube athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUDku9ha0-A …

Today we are into Aussie cryptozoology; the Bunyip and the Blue Mountain's Panther. Do they really exist? Well yes!. There is a real Bunyip right here in Canberra - Alexander the Bunyip - and you can find him at Gunghalin Library. Check out the truly remarkable ABC cartoon 'Bluey'. For you parents and grandparents out there it provides great parent…

The local Sydney people continue to find it tough going after the arrival of the British. A smallpox epidemic breaks out killing many Indigenous people. Bennelong is captured and Arthur Phillip is speared and recovers from his wound. Arthur Phillip then orders reprisals after the apparently unprovoked killing of John McIntire. Email me at: jamesdam…

Nancy-Bird Walton was one of the great pioneers of flight in Australia. Learn about her remarkable life and achievements. A youtube video aired by the ABC on the day of her funeral can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjfUSjh-muoBy James Dampier

Episode 100! I never dreamed I would still be going after 100 episodes and 6 years. In this episode we cover Australia becoming a nation. When the six colonies of Australia decided to federate and become a nation in its own right. Thank you to all my listeners for your support and encouragement since I started this little podcast. A big shout out t…

In this episode we cover the history of the Sydney Harbour Bridge – or as local Sydney-siders call it, the coat hanger. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is an iconic bridge that joins the north of Sydney Harbour to the south. At the time of its completion in 1932 it was considered the epitome of modern bridge design and engineering ingenuity…

In this episode we finish our look at Ben Chifley. Chifley spends many years in the political wilderness before being re-elected to Parliament. After the death of John Curtin he becomes Prime Minister. email me at jamesdampier.awp@gmail.com I answer every email.By James Dampier