The Mysteries of Mystery Island — Part One

The Mysteries of Mystery Island — Part One

In 2018 I found and reunited with my biological family, discovering that my people go back to 1842 on Lord Howe Island. On my first visit that Christmas, I became fascinated by the mystery surrounding the early talkie Mystery Island, which was shot on Lord Howe in 1936. Why did its leading man Brian Abbot — who had everything to live for — try to sail to Sydney across the treacherous Tasman Sea in a tiny motor launch? Was he mad, like they said, or was there something else at play?


In the past few months, my investigations have unearthed dozens of startling stranger-than-fiction stories that each shine a different light on this question. So, strap in for an eight-part epic series. You're going to meet Hollywood hopefuls, surf rescuers, plucky canoeists, turf tricksters, war heroes, daredevil aviators, shipwreck survivors and a handful of accused killers. Then there’s one chap who wrestled an octopus, rode sharks, hunted a humpback whale in Sydney Harbour, tried to reel in an Olympic swimming champion and led an expedition to catch a mysterious sea serpent — twice. Underlying all of these dramatic, tragic and comic tales is a haunting question: what role does “the element of luck” play in who lives and who dies?


In Part One, we meet young George Rikard-Bell, who rejected his privileged upbringing to become an adventurer and a conman in the Great Depression — before reinventing himself as the actor Brian Abbot. Part Two will be released on Thursday. Instalments will be out on Mondays after that. But you can binge all eight parts now by becoming a Forgotten Australia supporter for just a few bucks per month — go to: patreon.com/forgottenaustralia

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Episoder(329)

Short – Maestro! (feat. Goering + Hitchcock)

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 h...

26 Feb 13min

Short – Australia's First Typewriter

Short – Australia's First Typewriter

A century and a half ago, the age of the typewriter dawned in Australia.Who was the first to import these new American gizmos? Would they cause the extinction of handwriting? Would typewriters increas...

23 Feb 27min

Short – The Strange Story of the Australian Flag

Short – The Strange Story of the Australian Flag

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the Australian flag being raised for the first time – the winning design selected from a competition that attracted over 32,000 entries. Who sponsored the cont...

20 Feb 20min

This Week in 1966 – Part Three: Mr Stinky, a Rogue Cop and the Beaumont Children

This Week in 1966 – Part Three: Mr Stinky, a Rogue Cop and the Beaumont Children

Having just retired from the NSW police, infamously bent Sydney detective Ray Kelly injects himself into the Beaumont case in what is one of Australia’s most cynical newspaper stunts. At the same time...

15 Feb 34min

This Week in 1966 – Part Two: H-Bomb Horror & All the Way With LBJ

This Week in 1966 – Part Two: H-Bomb Horror & All the Way With LBJ

In Spain, a B-52 accident has left a nuke lost at sea – while on land a fallout cover-up is in full swing. In Australia, even as more Diggers than ever are dying on the battlefield, and our Americans ...

12 Feb 39min

This Week in 1966 – Part One: The Dawn of the Decimals

This Week in 1966 – Part One: The Dawn of the Decimals

In the second week of February 1966, Australians are preparing for ‘Changeover Day’, when we’ll say 'G’bye' to pounds, shillings and pence and say 'G’day' to dollars and cents. But would we have been ...

10 Feb 42min

This Week in 1986 – Part Three: The Murders of Anita Cobby, Sallie-Anne Huckstepp and Megan Kalajzich

This Week in 1986 – Part Three: The Murders of Anita Cobby, Sallie-Anne Huckstepp and Megan Kalajzich

Australia is shocked by three Sydney murders – even as a spate of brutal attacks on sex workers goes ignored by the police and tabloid media. Plus: Lindy Chamberlain freed as the newspapers dodge acco...

2 Feb 43min

This Week in 1986: Part Two – A Billionaire Tyrant Terrorises His People

This Week in 1986: Part Two – A Billionaire Tyrant Terrorises His People

In the Philippines, authoritarian ‘strongman’ President Ferdinand Marcos – having once survived a sex tape scandal that should've sunk him, and having siphoned billions from the people he's impoverish...

29 Jan 29min

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