Forgotten Australia

A year after he's 'disappeared' into a solitary cage at Pentridge, Weachurch makes a last stab at freedom... and leaves behind a haunting legacy of resistance to injustice.Email: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.comCheck out my books:Hanging Ned Kelly @ Dymockshttps://www.dymocks.com.au/book/hanging-ned-kelly-by-michael-adams-9781922992185The Murder Squad @ Dymockshttps://www.dymocks.com.au/book/the-murder-squad-by-michael-adams-9781923046504

*New episode* A century before Mark ‘Chopper’ Read became infamous in Pentridge, a convict named Weachurch struck terror into that prison’s warders and from behind its bluestone walls he loomed large as an Australian boogeyman. Weachurch’s attacks were so bloodthirsty that he was dubbed a ‘human tiger’ – a ‘wehrwolf’ – and he was kept in a cage in between court trials for attempted murder. If convicted, he faced the hangman. But Weachurch risked the noose because he was a rebel with a cause: he wanted the public to hear about his illegal detention and the barbaric treatment he suffered ‘outside the regulations’.To some he was a monster. To others a martyr. To himself he was unbreakable.This never-before-told story is based on extensive research in archival files. It’s made possible by Ancestry’s sponsorship and by supporter contributions.Parts 2 and 3 will be on general release soon.They’re available now to Apple and Patreon supporters:Apple - http://apple.co/forgottenaustraliaPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/ForgottenAustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.comCheck out my books:Hanging Ned Kelly @ Dymockshttps://www.dymocks.com.au/book/hanging-ned-kelly-by-michael-adams-9781922992185The Murder Squad @ Dymockshttps://www.dymocks.com.au/book/the-murder-squad-by-michael-adams-9781923046504

*New episode* The 1931 murder of young Adelaide wife and mother Mary Edson shocked Australia.But despite this crime’s gruesome details, it was even then a depressingly familiar sort of outrage committed by a depressingly familiar sort of offender.Nearly 100 years later, not enough has changed.1800RESPECT is the national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service.If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.

*New Episode*With Kingsgrove people reeling from the outrage committed on Paterson Avenue, Sydney detectives swarm the streets to piece together what happened, who was responsible and why the madman struck at beloved citizens.Support Forgotten Australia:Apple - http://apple.co/forgottenaustraliaPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/ForgottenAustralia

*New Episode*In 1956, Sydney’s usually sedate southern suburbs were stalked by not one but two bloodthirsty men. While the Kingsgrove Slasher’s reign of terror would last years but result in no deaths, the Meticulous Maniac’s outrage was far shorter and far more deadly. Yet in the wake of his violence, victims were to react with extraordinary grace.Part Two will be released soon. It’s available now early and ad-free to Patreon and Apple Supporters. You can hear it with a free trial:Support Forgotten Australia:Apple - http://apple.co/forgottenaustraliaPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/ForgottenAustraliaEmail: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.com

Jack Brown — murderer of three people, supposedly inspired by reading Deadwood Dick pulp novels — went to trial in October 1906. But could a boy who reckoned he’d slaughtered his best friends in the name of a genocidal revolution for White Australia actually be sane, be convicted and be hanged?

Following the supposedly Deadwood Dick-inspired murders committed by Jimmy and Joe Governor, Jack Underwood and Thomas Quinlan, in July 1906 Australia was rocked by a new outrage attributed to “pernicious literature”: the brutal killing and mutilation of three people at German Creek on the NSW north coast. The perpetrator was young Jack Brown. But he said his motivation wasn’t to be a pulp novel hero. Instead, Jack wanted to start a genocidal revolution in the name of White Australia.

One more re-release before new episodes. This one originally came out in 2020, and, while it was supposed to be a two-parter, it became a trilogy – fittingly, given it's a bit like the Dark Knight. Parts two and three will be on general release this week, but are available now to Apple and Patreon supporters.Deadwood Dick was the first pop culture superhero – 50 years before Batman — and he was the first such character to spark widespread moral condemnation as a "cause" of crime. In Australia from the 1890s, Deadwood Dick was blamed for everything, from truancy to... mass murder.