Best Legendary Australian Characters Podcasts (2024)

1
‘You had to overcome their fear’. Exclusive interview with co-founder of Qantas 40:47

2d ago40:47

40:47

It was bitterly cold up there, in leather cap and goggles, in the open cockpit. Turbulence in North Queensland skies was often terrifying. Passengers could do nothing but hang on and bear it, hopefully holding something to catch the vomit. And on landing, ‘sometimes the only edifice on the aerodrome was a little tin shed’, Sir Hudson told me. ‘On a…

1
‘It’s a terrible crime to be a scab. A scab is worse than a murderer’ 38:17

15d ago38:17

38:17

One day 1970, in the Outback town of Broken Hill, I was standing on a street corner, tape recorder in hand, grabbing sounds for a radio documentary. A short, energetic little fellow wandered up and said, ‘Hello son, what are you doing here?’ It was Frank Bartley, born 1888, who like his father before him became a miner at the Broken Hill mines. Bro…

1
Both families were miners. Together they created musical gold 53:47

30d ago53:47

53:47

Last edition we met Sis McRae, the all-night fiddler from the early part of the 20th Century. Sis had just one child, Margaret McRae, who married Jim Coad. Both families had mining backgrounds. With Margaret and Jim this continued, with their barytes mine at Martins Well in the Flinders Ranges. But it’s what they achieved above ground, out there in…

1
Famous Escapes 45-xx-xx 02 Catherine Of Russia 12:56

1M ago12:56

12:56

Famous Escapes was a captivating radio series produced in Australia around 1945. The show delved into some of the most daring escapes in history, featuring remarkable characters who managed to break free from seemingly impossible situations1. Here are a few intriguing episodes from the series: “The Man They Couldn’t Hang”: This episode recounts the…

1
Famous Escapes 45-xx-xx 01 The Man They Couldnt Hang 12:12

1M ago12:12

12:12

Famous Escapes was a captivating radio series produced in Australia around 1945. The show delved into some of the most daring escapes in history, featuring remarkable characters who managed to break free from seemingly impossible situations1. Here are a few intriguing episodes from the series: “The Man They Couldn’t Hang”: This episode recounts the…

1
More Naughty Norman, then tales from Granny McRae, the All-night Fiddler 46:28

2M ago46:28

46:28

There are two distinct parts to this episode: first, more revelations about an early aviation legend. Then, we visit Ada (Sis) Mcrae, born 1889, who recalls the hardships and joys of life in a small Outback town. SIR NORMAN BREALEY really made the dust fly with his biplane-era airline in Western Australia, but the maverick way he ran his business a…

1
Some ’naughty bits’ on Australian airline pioneer Sir Norman Brearley. 32:11

2M ago32:11

32:11

They wouldn’t let Brearley look at the bodies. A women said it was the first time she’d ever seen a man cry. 'I made all the rules, and I followed every one of them'. World War One dogfighter Major Norman Brearley was the first off the ground with an airline in Australia, dramatically changing the lives of people in Outback Western Australia. Major…

1
From WW1 ace fighter pilot, to starting Australia's very first airline 41:25

3M ago41:25

41:25

Within a few short years after the First World War, over the heads of horses donkeys camels and bullock teams, a new sound could be heard in Australia’s interior: the droning and spluttering of aircraft. First it was the 'barnstormers' offering thrills and first flights to small country communities. Then came airmail services, then passenger routes…

1
Chasing opals since the 1920s, while paddling his own dusty canoe 25:49

3M ago25:49

25:49

Opal miner Franko Albertoni was born in 1883. He was 88 when John Francis interviewed him in 1971, but still jumping around in the crushing heat like a little pixie. In 1920 Franko and his brother were among the very early miners at the Coober Pedy Opal Fields in South Australia. Then in 1930 they were among the first 12 to dig for opal in Andamook…

1
Cranky camels, murderous mules, and a swarm of swaggies 33:26

3M ago33:26

33:26

It was 1919, and Charlie Gill was 12 when he started work on a cattle station east of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. It was a tough but joyous life for a boy. Charlie was an acute observer, with the memory of a steel dingo trap, and a great way with words. In this 1968 interview he talks of sleeping rough when mustering, of dealing with cr…

1
RED DUST TAPES trailer 2:06

4M ago2:06

2:06

Are you intrigued by Australian oral history? You’ll really love RED DUST TAPES. Soak up the voices and the stories of Outback old-timers who were born over 130 years ago. Here's a quick trailer of RED DUST TAPES, which will be available weekly from mid-April. For more information and to SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER, go to: reddusttapes.au…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Legendary Australian Characters Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Red Dust Tapes

John Francis

1
Famous Escapes (Aus)

Entertainment Radio

1
‘You had to overcome their fear’. Exclusive interview with co-founder of Qantas 40:47

1
‘It’s a terrible crime to be a scab. A scab is worse than a murderer’ 38:17

1
Both families were miners. Together they created musical gold 53:47

1
Famous Escapes 45-xx-xx 02 Catherine Of Russia 12:56

1
Famous Escapes 45-xx-xx 01 The Man They Couldnt Hang 12:12

1
More Naughty Norman, then tales from Granny McRae, the All-night Fiddler 46:28

1
Some ’naughty bits’ on Australian airline pioneer Sir Norman Brearley. 32:11

1
From WW1 ace fighter pilot, to starting Australia's very first airline 41:25

1
Chasing opals since the 1920s, while paddling his own dusty canoe 25:49

1
Cranky camels, murderous mules, and a swarm of swaggies 33:26

1
RED DUST TAPES trailer 2:06

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