Weachurch: Werewolf of Pentridge – Part One

Weachurch: Werewolf of Pentridge – Part One

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/forgottenaustralia

Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/ForgottenAustralia


Email: forgottenaustraliapodcast@gmail.com


Check out my books:

Hanging Ned Kelly @ Dymocks

https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/hanging-ned-kelly-by-michael-adams-9781922992185

The Murder Squad @ Dymocks

https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/the-murder-squad-by-michael-adams-9781923046504


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

Episoder(329)

The Tantanoola Tiger

The Tantanoola Tiger

Australians are no strangers to big cat stories, but only one mystery resulted in the capture of not one but two monsters. In the early 1890s, witnesses claimed to have seen a tiger in the Tantanoola ...

23 Jan 201933min

The Parramatta River Murders

The Parramatta River Murders

In March 1872 Australians were shocked by one of the most cold-blooded murders the colonies had ever seen. The nightmare began with the discovery of a badly decomposed body that had been weighed down ...

16 Jan 201941min

Australia’s Titanic Hero: Part Two

Australia’s Titanic Hero: Part Two

With Titanic sinking in the early hours of 15 April 1912, boatswain Albert Nichols has to muster his men and make ready the lifeboats. Around 1am, it’s claimed, he was given a dangerous mission that, ...

9 Jan 201934min

Australia’s Titanic Hero: Part One

Australia’s Titanic Hero: Part One

Albert Nichols was born in 1864 on remote Lord Howe Island. After a public scandal that saw him pitted against his parents, Albert fled to Sydney before working his way to London as a seaman. There he...

9 Jan 201933min

The Comic Book Killer

The Comic Book Killer

From 1946 Sydney’s Leonard Lawson was a hero to kids for creating the comic book The Lone Avenger. But in reality the young artist was a psychopathic villain responsible for crimes far more terrible t...

19 Des 201837min

The Mystery of Marjorie Norval

The Mystery of Marjorie Norval

It was the Teacher’s Pet-style mystery that gripped Australia 80 years ago. Brisbane socialite Marjorie Norval disappeared in November 1938 under bizarre circumstances, sparking the biggest search in ...

12 Des 201846min

The Botanic Gardens Massacre

The Botanic Gardens Massacre

While the random mass shooting that inspires a further murder spree seems a very modern and very American phenomenon, the first such outrage happened nearly a century ago in Australia. Melbourne’s 192...

5 Des 201835min

When Melbourne Went Mad

When Melbourne Went Mad

Most cops are on strike. The few loyalist police left on duty risk life and limb because tens of thousands of citizens are crowding the streets and the mood is turning darker as fists and bottles fly....

28 Nov 201846min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-katastrofe
historier-som-endret-norge
henrettelsespodden
rss-benadet
sektledere
med-egne-oyne
aftenposten-historie
historier-som-endret-verden
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
historiepodden-ww2
rss-frontkjemperne
rss-gamle-greier
liberal-halvtime
historiepodden
rss-historiepodden-ww2
rss-politisk-preik
rss-bisarr-historie
vare-historier