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(325)

Bloody Murder in the Blue Mountains – Part One

Bloody Murder in the Blue Mountains – Part One

A mountains hotel. A locked room. Screams in the night and a body in the morning. The mystery of what happened in the California boarding house in Katoomba in autumn 1917 was like something by Agatha ...

30 Apr 202345min

The Notorious Lady Munro – Part Three: A Most Remarkable Woman

The Notorious Lady Munro – Part Three: A Most Remarkable Woman

Did Lady Justice favour Lady Munro? Would she have the last laugh on her copper nemesis? Has anyone ever faced court more often in Australian history or done it with more style? All will be revealed.....

19 Apr 202353min

The Notorious Lady Munro – Part Two: Drunk Around the Universe

The Notorious Lady Munro – Part Two: Drunk Around the Universe

Having come back from the grave once, Lady Munro faces another close call with death, becomes ever-more popular in colonial culture and goes toe-to-toe with one of Australia's most prominent gentlemen...

16 Apr 202350min

The Notorious Lady Munro – Part One: The Woman in the Waterhole

The Notorious Lady Munro – Part One: The Woman in the Waterhole

The eccentric Lady Munro cut a swathe through late colonial and early Federation Australia with her drunken antics, defiant unconventionality and mysterious claim to be from one of England’s most famo...

10 Apr 20231h 7min

Unholy War – The Salvation Army vs The Skeleton Army

Unholy War – The Salvation Army vs The Skeleton Army

While The Salvation Army is now a beloved institution, 140 years ago its men and women were regularly the victims of violent assaults by larrikin hordes who marched under the skull and bones and calle...

27 Mar 20231h 7min

The Pashometer Craze – Measuring Aussie Sex Appeal In The 1930s

The Pashometer Craze – Measuring Aussie Sex Appeal In The 1930s

“GIRLS ON PYLON SEX MACHINE”– it’s gotta be the weirdest newspaper headline of the 1930s. So what’s the strange story behind it? Join me for a plunge into the "Pashometer" craze that had Australians g...

13 Mar 202344min

The Terrible Mr Thomas – Part Four

The Terrible Mr Thomas – Part Four

It’s July 1950 and Sydney detectives have Arthur Graham - aka Fred Stevens, aka Thomas Croft, aka Lionel Thomas – cornered in Perth. But can the man they suspect of multiple murders escape justice aga...

28 Feb 202338min

The Terrible Mr Thomas – Part Three

The Terrible Mr Thomas – Part Three

It’s winter 1950 and Sydney detectives are criss-crossing Australia as they try to piece together the whereabouts of Blacktown widow, Phyllis Mary Page, last seen in the company of Fred Stevens – aka ...

26 Feb 202336min

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