Dead and Buried Podcast

This episode is Part Two of the season finale. We look at some of the most visible and wild adolescent subcultures to form in Melbourne - in particular the larrikins who left an imprint on our national psyche and the sharpies who helped spearhead several of Australia’s most successful rock music exports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is Part One of the season finale. We look at some of the most visible and wild adolescent subcultures to form in Melbourne - in particular the larrikins who left an imprint on our national psyche and the sharpies who helped spearhead several of Australia’s most successful rock music exports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode we explore two more Melbourne stories of people rising up and sticking it to the man. It’s world war one and class tensions on the homefront are mounting. “I can tell you about the broken lives that caused the broken windows” says activist and suffragette Adela Pankhurst.  In the early 1930s, the unemployed organise and fight a barrage of evictions across the suburb of Brunswick, even if it means breaking a few windows. Or getting shot.  Check out the original Melbourne On Strike episode in Season One. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1903 an Indian hawker was found dead in the barn of the Junction Hotel. In this episode we discover just who were these travelling traders and query the police's investigation into this curious and sad case. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Psychiatric hospitals, mental institutions, mental asylums, lunatic asylums, nut houses, funny farms, the loony bin. Mental health facilities of bygone eras have gone by many names, and not all of them complimentary or kind. These hospitals with their dark and intriguing architecture, their rundown appearance and supernatural reputations are frequently considered awesome places filled with ghosts and misery.  But these places were often home to individuals within society who had no one to care for them and nowhere else to go. These places were their home.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s the link between John Lennon of The Beatles and 19th century Aboriginal circus performer ‘Little Nugget’? Find out as we follow the story of the St Leon family’s circus and uncover how pioneer Australian travelling performers fared hazards like crocodiles, bushrangers and even rebellions. In the process discover what the history of circus in this country tells us about colonialism and the very nature of how we see ourselves.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 11am on the 6th of April 1966 in Clayton Victoria, over 200 children and teachers claimed to have witnessed a silver disc shaped object flying over Westall Primary and Westall High School, before it zoomed off into a nearby paddock. Many of the students followed the object into the paddock. Some even claim they were so close they could touch it, feeling the heat radiating off the thing before it shot off into the sky and disappeared.  The mass sighting would become known as Westall 66.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the night of Tuesday the 12th December 1882 in Creswick Victoria 41 gold miners descend 250 feet into the New Australasian No.2 Gold Mine to start their night shift. Hours later two brothers tie themselves together as the cold, rancid water continues to rise. The Navy is called. A whole town is on edge. The mining community of Victoria will be changed forever. This episode is dedicated to memory of Dr Joan Hunt.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s 1892 and a landlord makes a grim discovery about his previous tenants. An international hunt begins for the man with a distinctive ginger moustache who charms his way into the lives of multiple women. But just how far was his reach? How infamous were his crimes? And why are we all still so obsessed with violent men?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On May 8 1943 Pauline Thompson was stood up for a dance. She instead met an American soldier and they drank together. He offered to walk her home and she accepted, since the heavy rain was making the Melbourne streets even darker than usual. Pauline had a beautiful voice, and as they walked, she sang to him. World War Two brought masses of American soldiers to Melbourne. At first the 'exotic' foreigners are welcomed by all, particularly many young women who are impressed by their suave uniforms and hollywood-like charm. But as panic grows over a series of brutal attacks, this all starts to change. Dead & Buried teams up with crime fiction author Anna Snoekstra for this final, thrilling episode of series one. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On August 31 1885 John Alexander Dowie arrived at the Free Christian Tabernacle in Fitzroy Melbourne to find his pastor’s room destroyed from a suspicious explosion.  Months earlier, he had been imprisoned for preaching on the streets. These processions drew both crowds of the faithful and jeers from local hecklers. But Dowie's knack for attracting controversy would only continue following his move to America, the imagined land of opportunity.  This episode traces Dowie's rise from humble beginnings to the world's first celebrity faith healing preacher. Outspoken about the moral issues of his time, Dowie got as good as he gave - lampooned by the press as the 'Prophet for Profit'. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Located in the heart of Bank Place lies the Mitre Tavern pub – a Melbourne institution known especially for its resident ghost! It’s said to be haunted by the spirit of Connie Waugh, the mistress of local heavyweight Sir Rupert Clarke. In this episode Dead & Buried investigates two classic Melbourne urban legends in our version of history mythbusting. We unearth the paper trail surrounding former Melbourne stars who have lingered in the limelight well beyond the grave. And what we uncover might upset more than a few ghosthunters!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Condemnation of Nazi Germany, rioting furniture makers and cops on strike! In this episode we profile significant acts of protest and demonstrations that saw mayhem reign - things could get pretty wild out there on Melbourne's streets!  Our episode begins in 1938 at the home of Mr William Cooper in Footscray, where news of Jewish persecution sparks a call to action. We also examine the Chinese cabinetmakers riots and the racist White Australia Policy, with one of our hosts attempting the notoriously impossible dictation test. Finally we end by looking at the Melbourne police strike, where chaos ruled for three days in the heart of the city.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ghosties, ghoulies, murder and scandal! Melbourne has certainly had it's fair share. On this All Hallows' Eve we welcome you to... DEAD & BURIED'S HALLOWEEN SPECIAL! In this bumper-sized episode we speak to historian Dr David Waldron about Victoria's continued obsession with ghosts and folks scaring each other. We'll also hear a colonial haunted house story, guaranteed to have you shaking in your boots. And we end with the true, disturbing and sad tale of Mabel Ambrose - the 'body in the box'. This episode contains disturbing subject matter, including abortion, torture and abuse. Content is not suitable for children. Listener discretion is advisedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy one October evening in 1863, The Great Eastern was hotly pursued and finally tackled by a policeman.  After several failed attempts to escape, the prisoner suddenly confessed ‘I may as well tell you I am a man.’ This episode explores clothing, sexuality and gender in colonial Melbourne. This episode contains coarse language and sexual references.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the 10th April 1899, a bunch of radishes was tied to the shopfront of phrenologist and fortune teller Emery Gordon Medor. A few hours later, a neighboring stallholder would lie dead inside the shop. Dead and Buried takes you into the lives of the fortunetellers and performers involved in this strange tragedy, set in the now lost Eastern Melbourne Market. We find out what happened when our courts first bowed to the opinions of ‘experts’ on madness. And we investigate the women who practiced the then illegal trade of turning teacups.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.