Forgotten Australia

Forgotten Australia

History – As You've Never Heard It Before

  • 58 minutes 34 seconds
    Death-Defying Destiny Deciders – Part Eight: The Land of Better Chance

    Having made her unthinkable decision, my great-grandmother Emma Murtough takes her children for a new life in Australia. But getting to the Land of Better Chance is to require a scandalous sea voyage, while life in remote Western Australia will come with plenty of hardships – and they'll only get harder during the Great Depression. Despite these tough times, Norah proves she's the daughter of two risk takers when she strikes out on her own. In Sydney, her bravery during a life-and-death drama is to change her fate – and mine.


    *All episodes will be available early & ad-free to Patreon and Apple supporters*

    It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access. Follow these links:


    Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

    Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia


    Want more original Australian history? Check out my books!

    They’ll Never Hold Me:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

    The Murder Squad:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

    Hanging Ned Kelly:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

    Australia’s Sweetheart:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

    Email: [email protected]

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

    2 April 2026, 3:44 am
  • 26 minutes 28 seconds
    Short – The Mystery of Mr Eternity

    Arthur Stace is an Australian legend. But for decades the identity of ‘Mr Eternity’ was a Sydney mystery. Who was this man? Why was he writing this message over and over? How did one word chalked by an eccentric fellow of faith reach billions of people all over the world?


    Forgotten Australia live!

    "Crashes, Chases and Crooks in Melton History"

    More info and free tickets:

    https://libraryevents.melton.vic.gov.au/event?id=209608


    *All episodes will be available early & ad-free to Patreon and Apple supporters*

    It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access. Follow these links:


    Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

    Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia


    Want more original Australian history? Check out my books!

    They’ll Never Hold Me:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

    The Murder Squad:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

    Hanging Ned Kelly:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

    Australia’s Sweetheart:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

    Email: [email protected]

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

    30 March 2026, 11:13 am
  • 33 minutes 35 seconds
    Short – Boots on the Ground

    ‘Boots on the ground’: it rolls off the tongue all too easily. But America – and Australia – learned that in Vietnam they didn’t have boots on the ground. They had them in a quagmire. The first Australian soldier killed in action was Kevin Conway, who in 1964 fought beside US Green Berets in a pivotal battle that provided a glimpse of the military debacle that was to last a decade, kill millions of people and leave a gaping hole in history.


    Crashes, Chases and Crooks in Melton History

    Get your free tickets or Zoom registration here: 


    https://libraryevents.melton.vic.gov.au/event?id=209608


    To support Forgotten Australia and get all episodes early and ad-free, and get access to bonus episodes, use a free trial:

    Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

    Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia



    Want more original Australian history? Check out my books!


    They’ll Never Hold Me:


    https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html


    The Murder Squad:


    https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html


    Hanging Ned Kelly:


    https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html


    Australia’s Sweetheart:


    https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html


    Email: [email protected]

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

    26 March 2026, 1:07 pm
  • 43 minutes 4 seconds
    Death-Defying Destiny Deciders – Part Seven: All Disquiet After the Western Front

    Beyond the propaganda about glory, duty and sacrifice, the aftermath of the Great War ushers in a grave new world for my great-grandmother Emma Murtough and her three children. To escape and have a new life, she’ll have to make a shocking choice.


    *All episodes will be available early & ad-free to Patreon and Apple supporters*

    It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access. Follow these links:


    Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

    Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia


    Want more original Australian history? Check out my books!

    They’ll Never Hold Me:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

    The Murder Squad:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

    Hanging Ned Kelly:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

    Australia’s Sweetheart:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

    Email: [email protected]



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

    24 March 2026, 9:35 pm
  • 41 minutes 30 seconds
    Death-Defying Destiny Deciders – Part Six: Somewhere in France

    My great-grandfather Peter Murtough arrives on the Western Front in August 1915. He is soon plunged into some of the most horrific battles of the Great War. Casualty rates soar in his battalion. Some months, more men are killed or wounded than come through unscathed. With bullets flying, shells falling and deadly poison gas drifting across the battlefield, how long will it be until Peter's luck runs out?


    *All episodes will be available early & ad-free to Patreon and Apple supporters*

    It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access. Follow these links:


    Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

    Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia


    Want more original Australian history? Check out my books!

    They’ll Never Hold Me:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

    The Murder Squad:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

    Hanging Ned Kelly:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

    Australia’s Sweetheart:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

    Email: [email protected]


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

    22 March 2026, 1:05 pm
  • 38 minutes 1 second
    Death-Defying Destiny Deciders – Part Five: It’s A Long Way to Tipperary

    Celebrated high diver Peter Murtough takes the plunge when he marries Emma Hanbury – my colourful great-grandmother. But being a husband and father to three young children doesn't stop him from taking the greatest risk of his life – enlisting at age 40 to fight in the Great War. As Emma cheers him on with her special version of 'It's A Long Way To Tipperary', she can't know that the horrors of the Western Front will upend all of their lives.


    *All episodes will be available early & ad-free to Patreon and Apple supporters*

    It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access. Follow these links:


    Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

    Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia


    Want more original Australian history? Check out my books!

    They’ll Never Hold Me:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

    The Murder Squad:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

    Hanging Ned Kelly:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

    Australia’s Sweetheart:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

    Email: [email protected]



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

    20 March 2026, 3:00 am
  • 58 minutes 31 seconds
    Death-Defying Destiny Deciders – Part Four: Nightmare in South Africa

    After the patriotic fervour that sends Peter Murtough to South Africa, he and hundreds of thousands of soldiers discover the reality of the Boer War is hunger, thirst, filth and sudden bursts of deadly violence. But the most dangerous enemy? Typhoid. Fortunately, a vaccine has been developed – but most soldiers won't take it.


    *All episodes will be available early & ad-free to Patreon and Apple supporters*

    It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access. Follow these links:


    Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

    Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia


    Want more original Australian history? Check out my books!

    They’ll Never Hold Me:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

    The Murder Squad:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

    Hanging Ned Kelly:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

    Australia’s Sweetheart:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

    Email: [email protected]

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

    18 March 2026, 3:00 am
  • 50 minutes 25 seconds
    Death-Defying Destiny Deciders – Part Three: Diving & Dicing With Death

    In July 1898, my great-grandfather Peter Murtough competes for the title of best diver in the world. But seeking more than the thrills of the life aquatic, he ratchets up the risks to himself – and future me – by enlisting to fight the Boer in South Africa.


    *All episodes will be available early & ad-free to Patreon and Apple supporters*

    It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access. Follow these links:


    Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

    Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia


    Want more original Australian history? Check out my books!

    They’ll Never Hold Me:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

    The Murder Squad:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

    Hanging Ned Kelly:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

    Australia’s Sweetheart:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

    Email: [email protected]


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

    15 March 2026, 1:05 pm
  • 44 minutes 21 seconds
    Death-Defying Destiny Deciders – Part Two: From Waterloo to the Waters of Life

    Having fought the French and beaten the odds, Bernard Murtough’s family goes on to prominence in peacetime, establishing themselves and their mineral water business in Portsea. While raised a child of privilege, restless youngster Peter Murtough strikes out for London, set on high adventure as a high diver.


    *All episodes will be available early & ad-free to Patreon and Apple supporters*

    It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access. Use these links to get started:


    Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

    Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia


    Want more original Australian history? Check out my books!

    They’ll Never Hold Me:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

    The Murder Squad:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

    Hanging Ned Kelly:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

    Australia’s Sweetheart:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

    Email: [email protected]

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

    12 March 2026, 6:00 am
  • 47 minutes 36 seconds
    New miniseries: Death-Defying Destiny Deciders – Part One: War, Peace & Plague

    I recently discovered that my great-grandfather was a champion diver who was active in the very same London scene as the doomed stuntmen who featured in my recent miniseries Death-Defying Death Divers!


    With this as my, um, jumping off point, I’m taking a plunge into my family history, tracing the men and women of the Murtough family, from the Battle of Waterloo, the Boer War and the Western Front, to the wilds of Western Australia and the remote paradise of Lord Howe Island. We’ll also take a look at the birth of tabloid sensationalism and the early days of the London Blitz. 


    Along the way, I'll share a few tips and tricks you can use to make your family history writing come alive.


    In this episode, we meet Peter Murtough, celebrated swimmer and diver, who owed his existence to his grandfather surviving one of the most horrific and pestilent battlefields of history. And that was just the start of his military adventures...


    *All episodes will be available early & ad-free to Patreon and Apple supporters*

    It’s easy to get a free trial that will give you access. Follow these links:


    Patreon: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

    Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia


    Want more original Australian history? Check out my books!

    They’ll Never Hold Me:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

    The Murder Squad:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

    Hanging Ned Kelly:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

    Australia’s Sweetheart:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

    Email: [email protected]

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

    9 March 2026, 12:45 pm
  • 13 minutes 15 seconds
    Short – Maestro! (feat. Goering + Hitchcock)

    From a run-in with the future Nazi villain, to working with the master of movie suspense, Aussie musical genius Arthur Benjamin lived a big life, even if he’s these days overshadowed in our cultural history by the scandalous Percy Grainger and Eugene Goosens.


    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/forgottenaustralia

    Apple: apple.co/forgottenaustralia


    Want more original Australian history? Check out my books!

    They’ll Never Hold Me:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/they-ll-never-hold-me-michael-adams/book/9781923046474.html

    The Murder Squad:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-murder-squad-michael-adams/book/9781923046504.html

    Hanging Ned Kelly:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/hanging-ned-kelly-michael-adams/book/9781922992185.html

    Australia’s Sweetheart:

    https://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-sweetheart-michael-adams/book/9780733640292.html

    Email: [email protected]

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

    26 February 2026, 9:00 am
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