In Black and White
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In Black and White
From alleyway gangsters to cold war spies to eccentric entrepreneurs, Australian history is full of colourful but forgotten characters. Host Jen Kelly talks with experts, historians and yarn spinners to uncover the untold stories of some of our most interesting and offbeat ancestors.
Recent Episodes
308 episodesNEW PODCAST: Dear Rachelle
A killer is on the loose in an Australian country town.
Excited for the June long weekend, bubbly 23-year-old Rachelle Childs leaves work, calls...
Harry Houdini: The great escape - Part 2
In the very last of our great history stories, we turn to Harry Houdini, one of the great magicians in history, and his time in Australia.
His t...
Harry Houdini: The great escape - Part 1
In the very last of our great history stories, we turn to Harry Houdini, one of the great magicians in history, and his time in Australia.
His t...
A bushranger's body in the window - Part 2
WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT. George Melville was a daring highwayman who pulled off one of Australia's biggest heists. But when the law caught up with...
A bushranger's body in the window - Part 1
WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT. George Melville was a daring highwayman who pulled off one of Australia's biggest heists. But when the law caught up with...
BONUS EPISODE: The Aussie who gave up gold for honour - Part 2
With the Paris Olympics in the books, we tell the tale of Cecil Healy, a champion swimmer who innovated in the pool. But it's for an amazing act of sp...
BONUS EPISODE:The Aussie who gave up gold for honour - Part 1
With the Paris Olympics in the books, we tell the tale of Cecil Healy, a champion swimmer who innovated in the pool. But it's for an amazing act of sp...
The "world's oldest lesbian"
To the outside world, Monte Punshon was utterly respectable. But her perfect 19th-century diction disguised her wild past as a bad girl who hung out a...
The witch of Kings Cross
Rosaleen Norton was a bohemian artist and occultist who horrified Australian society in the 1950s. There were wild tales of devil worship, satanic rit...
The Aussie samurai Gallipoli war hero spy - Part 2
Harry Freame was raised in Japan under the ancient bushido code but wound up fighting for Australia. But was this Anzac hero betrayed by his nation? H...
The Aussie samurai Gallipoli war hero spy - Part 1
Harry Freame was raised in Japan under the ancient bushido code but wound up fighting for Australia. But was this Anzac hero betrayed by his nation? H...
The bride of Christ and the baby mystery: Part 2
When Marie Grunke entered a strict convent in Melbourne in the 1960s, she couldn’t tell anyone her shameful pregnancy secret. But Marie’s story would...
The bride of Christ and the baby mystery: Part 1
When Marie Grunke entered a strict convent in Melbourne in the 1960s, she couldn’t tell anyone her shameful pregnancy secret. But Marie’s story would...
Charles Bean: From correspondent to combat
He was known as one of the men who told Australians what was happening in the Gallipoli campaign. But at a place named Krithia, Charles Bean risked hi...
The defiant daughter of the rebellion
One of the enduring images of the Rum Rebellion is of Governor William Bligh cowering under his bed as the mob draws near. But it was his daughter Mar...
True history of Ned's mate Joe
When stories of the Kelly Gang are written, it's always their charismatic leader who grabs the spotlight. But Joseph Byrne lived his own very colourfu...
The murder in the garden mystery: Part 2
WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT.
The last photos ever taken of Edward Feeney and Charles Marks showed them holding hands and pointing guns a...
The murder in the garden mystery: Part 1
WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT.
The last photos ever taken of Edward Feeney and Charles Marks showed them holding hands and pointing guns a...
The last woman to hang: Part 2
Jean Lee was sentenced to die by 12 good men and true for the gruesome torture and murder of an SP bookie in Carlton in 1949.
But was the last w...
The last woman to hang: Part 1
Jean Lee was sentenced to die by 12 good men and true for the gruesome torture and murder of an SP bookie in Carlton in 1949.
But was the last w...
A very tangled birthright: Part 2
During World War I, Letitia Leake may have looked like a proper and patriotic English lady. But her childhood - half a world away - was a saga of alle...
A very tangled birthright: Part 1
During World War I, Letitia Leake may have looked like a proper and patriotic English lady. But her childhood - half a world away - was a saga of alle...
How Mad Dog Morgan went from hero to villain: Part 2
Before Ned Kelly, the bushranger that most struck fear into the hearts of lawmen was Dan Morgan.
And while he started out as a champion of the d...
How Mad Dog Morgan went from hero to villain: Part 1
Before Ned Kelly, the bushranger that most struck fear into the hearts of lawmen was Dan Morgan.
And while he started out as a champion of the d...
A high-wire act for poor Mabel Worley: Part 2.
Running away to join the circus has been the quixotic goal of many the bored teenager. But by the time Mabel Worley took that path, her life was anyth...
A high-wire act for poor Mabel Worley: Part 1.
Running away to join the circus has been the quixotic goal of many the bored teenager. But by the time Mabel Worley took that path, her life was anyth...
The hanging judge's Plan B
Redmond Barry is best known for sending Ned Kelly to the gallows. But he never would have sat in judgement if it wasn't for some poor judgement of his...
A macabre act of betrayal
WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT. When George Augustus Robinson was employed as the Chief Protector of Tasmania's Aboriginal people, he proclaimed he was t...
The Butcher of Fromelles
He was dubbed the most unpopular AIF commander of World War I, thanks to a series of bungles and mismanagement. But was James McCay mad, bad, or just...
The man who reinvented the Australian home
Before TV, social media and the internet, Australians turned to magazines to help define their style.And for 43 years William Shum was one of the tita...
A wartime flyer's mid-air miracle: Part 2
Len Fuller was just a trainee pilot when his RAAF aircraft collided mid-flight with another plane. But instead of a fiery tragedy, what happened next...
A wartime flyer's mid-air miracle: Part 1
Len Fuller was just a trainee pilot when his RAAF aircraft collided mid-flight with another plane. But instead of a fiery tragedy, what happened next...
Todd the Time Lord
It seemed like science fiction at the time, but in the late 1800s one scientist and his team ventured forth into the deep Outback to connect Australia...
The jailbird dynasty: Part 2
WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT
The prisons of old Victoria were no strangers to the tragic, the macabre and the downright bizarre. But in Geelong,...
The jailbird dynasty: Part 1
WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT. The prisons of old Victoria were no strangers to the tragic, the macabre and the downright bizarre. But in Geelong, the H...
Charlie's perfect footy record
Throughout the decades of AFL and VFL history, there have been many coaching greats.
But only one could boast a perfect record.
AFL histor...
The Appeal: Part 3
On a special Good Friday edition of the show, we conclude our three-part deep dive into the history of the Royal Children's Hospital and the long-runn...
The Appeal: Part 2
This week, in the lead-up to the 93rd Good Friday Appeal, we do a three-part deep dive into the history of Melbourne's beloved Royal Children's Hospit...
The Appeal: Part 1
This week, in the lead-up to the 93rd Good Friday Appeal, we do a three-part deep dive into the history of Melbourne's beloved Royal Children's Hospit...
The man who ended Ned
Elijah Upjohn was a sewage worker turned quack doctor who found himself behind bars for chicken thievery. But his life took a sharp turn when a notori...