Episodes
The 1910 Bar Beach Massacre: A Brutal Frontier Secret
In 1910, on the edge of Darwin, five Japanese divers were murdered by two white men, sparking a trial that exposed the brutal underbelly of the pearl-shell industry and the casual racism of colonial Australia. This episode digs into the Bar Beach Massacre — its victims, its perpetrators, the sham prosecution by Alfred Deakin's federal government, and how the case was quietly buried. Lucas and Luna also trace the broader frontier of the north: Chinese and Japanese labour, Aboriginal divers, and…
The 1902 Dawn of Federation: Aboriginal Affairs and the New Commonwealth
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the early days of the Australian Commonwealth, when the new federal government took control of Aboriginal affairs from the states. They focus on the Aboriginal Protection Act of 1902 and the creation of the position of Protector of Aborigines, which formalised policies of control and assimilation. The discussion centres on the life of David Unaipon, the Ngarrindjeri inventor and writer born in 1872, whose work in the 1900s challenged racial stereotypes…
The Frontier of Memory: Interpreting Aboriginal History
In this episode, Lucas and Luna step back from the colonial record to explore how Aboriginal history has been remembered, recorded, and reclaimed. They trace the early ethnographic work of figures like Walter Baldwin Spencer and Francis Gillen, the troubled legacy of salvage anthropology, and the Dunbar case that shaped the Northern Territory's Native Administration. The conversation examines oral tradition as a historical source, the politics of place names like Uluru, and how museums like the…
The 1948 Pilbara Strike: Pastoral Workers Walk Off
In 1946, Aboriginal pastoral workers in Western Australia's Pilbara region walked off the job, igniting the longest industrial action in Australian history. This episode follows the strike's leaders—Clancy McKenna, Don McLeod, and Dooley Bin Bin—and the extraordinary alliance between an Aboriginal lawman and a white prospector. We trace how the strike began over unequal wages and poor conditions, how it evolved into a movement for land and autonomy, and how strikers built their own mining…
The 1884 Escape from Cape Barren Island: A Tasmanian Aboriginal Odyssey
In 1884, a group of Tasmanian Aboriginal people fled the confines of Cape Barren Island, a government reserve in the Bass Strait, sparking a dramatic pursuit across the sea. This episode follows the escape of a family led by the matriarch Dolly Dalrymple, tracing their journey in a stolen whaleboat to the mainland, the colonial authorities' chase, and the legal battle that followed. We explore the island's brutal conditions under the Aboriginal Protection Board, the resilience of the Palawa…
The 1860s Native Police: A Brutal Frontier Force
Before the Native Police became a feared instrument of colonial expansion, there were moments when its Aboriginal troopers defied the system. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the origins of the Native Police in the Port Phillip District, the complex motivations of its Indigenous recruits, and the tragic story of Constable Billy, a Yorta Yorta man who deserted and fought against the force he once served. Drawing on the work of historian Marie Fels, they unpick the myths and realities of a…
The 1876 Lake Tyers Mission: Kurnai Survival on the Coast
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 1876 establishment of the Lake Tyers Aboriginal Mission in Gippsland, Victoria, and the fierce resistance of the Kurnai people. They follow the journey of Tulaba, a Kurnai elder who fought to keep his people on their ancestral lands, and the role of the missionary John Bulmer, whose own battles with the colonial bureaucracy shaped the mission's fate. The conversation touches on the Aboriginal Protection Act of 1869, the failed Ramahyuck mission, and…
The 1880s Frontier on the Gulf: Inside the Native Police
In the 1880s, the Gulf Country of northern Queensland was the most violent frontier in Australian history. This episode follows the Native Police, an armed force of Aboriginal troopers under white officers, as they 'dispersed' Indigenous groups resisting pastoral expansion. We focus on the 1884 Kalkadoon resistance at Battle Mountain, where the Aboriginal people of the Cloncurry region used traditional weapons like the leangle and burrem against rifles and carbines. We also meet the Native…
The 1901 Immigration Restriction Act and the White Australia Policy
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the origins of the White Australia policy, focusing on the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901. They discuss the political climate of the newly federated nation, the push for racial purity, and the act's impact on Pacific Islander laborers, Chinese migrants, and Aboriginal Australians. Learn about the dictation test, the critical role of politicians like Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin, and the lasting legacy of a policy that shaped Australia's identity…
The Djab Wurrung of Budj Bim: The Fight for Country
In this episode of The Story of Australia, Lucas and Luna explore the ancient engineering of the Gunditjmara people at Budj Bim, focusing on the intricate eel trap systems and the ongoing cultural revival led by the Djab Wurrung. They discuss the volcanic eruption that shaped the landscape, the sustainable aquaculture that sustained communities for millennia, and the colonial disruption that nearly erased this knowledge. The conversation also touches on the recent UNESCO World Heritage listing…
The 1889 Anne Bonney Legend: Fact, Fiction, and the Making of a Myth
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the curious afterlife of Anne Bonney, the notorious Irish-born pirate woman who may or may not have sailed the Caribbean in the 1720s. They sift through the sparse primary sources — the trial transcript, the anonymous chapbook, the fanciful memoirs of Captain Charles Johnson — and find that almost everything we think we know about Bonney was invented or embellished after her disappearance from the record. The episode traces how a minor historical footnote…
The 1869 Aboriginal Protection Board: A New Colonial Grip
In 1869, Victoria's colonial government passed a law that would reshape Indigenous life for over a century. The Aboriginal Protection Act handed the Board for the Protection of Aborigines unprecedented powers over every Aboriginal person in the colony — where they could live, work, marry, and even whether they could keep their children. This episode follows the Board's early years, from the failures of Coranderrk's experiment in 'protective' settlement to the rise of the 'half-caste' policy…
The 1885 Duguid River Gold Rush and the Yolngu Frontier
In 1885, gold was discovered along the Duguid River in Arnhem Land, sparking a rush that would collide with the ancient worlds of the Yolngu people. This episode traces the brief, brutal encounter between European miners and the Indigenous owners of the land — from the initial skirmishes to the government's reluctant response. We follow the story of a little-known figure, the prospector Ernest Favenc, whose expedition mapped the frontier and whose reports shaped official attitudes. We examine…
The Gunditjmara Eel Farms: Engineering Before Colonisation
Long before Melbourne existed, the Gunditjmara people of western Victoria built a vast network of stone channels, weirs, and traps to farm eels at Lake Condah. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how this sophisticated aquaculture system worked, the volcanic landscape it was built on, and the evidence that it operated for thousands of years. They discuss the 1830s conflict between the Gunditjmara and the Whyte brothers, the role of the eel harvest in Gunditjmara society and trade, and the…
The Macassan Trepangers: Australia's Pre-Colonial Trade
Before the British flagged the continent, Yolngu people in Arnhem Land were already trading with Macassan fishermen from Sulawesi. This episode explores the seasonal trepang harvest, the exchange of goods and ideas, and how Macassan words like 'balanda' entered Yolngu languages. We dig into the rock art at Djulirri that depicts these praus, and the colonial policies that ended a centuries-old connection. It's a reminder that Indigenous Australia was part of global networks long before 1788.…
The Kalkadoon Resistance at Battle Mountain, 1884
In northwest Queensland, the Kalkadoon people mounted one of the most determined defenses against colonial expansion, culminating in the 1884 Battle of Battle Mountain. This episode dives into their tactical ingenuity — using leangle clubs, returning boomerangs, and fire drives against armed Native Police led by Sub-Inspector Ernest Henry. We explore the Kalkadoon's sophisticated weapons, their strategic trap on the enemy, and the devastating aftermath that saw over 200 killed. It's a story of…
The 1881 Coranderrk Inquiry: Aboriginal Voices in the Colonial Court
In 1881, a Board of Inquiry convened in Victoria to investigate the condition of Aboriginal reserves. At its heart was Coranderrk Station, a model settlement established after the 1869 Aboriginal Protection Act. This episode focuses on the testimony of William Barak, the Wurundjeri ngurungaeta, who led a campaign for self-determination and land rights. We explore the political maneuvering of colonial officials, the role of John Green, the dismissed manager, and the remarkable moments when…
The 1869 Aboriginal Protection Act and the Fight for Coranderrk
In 1869, the Victorian colonial government passed the Aboriginal Protection Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that placed Aboriginal people under state control and created a network of reserves. This episode tells the story of Coranderrk, a station near Healesville that became a beacon of Aboriginal self-determination. We follow the leadership of William Barak, the Wurundjeri ngurungaeta who fought tenaciously to keep his people on their ancestral lands, against a Board determined to…
The 1816 Appin Massacre: Macquarie's Frontier War
In 1816, Governor Lachlan Macquarie launched a punitive expedition against the Dharawal and Gandangara people of the Hawkesbury-Nepean frontier. This episode tells the story of the Appin Massacre, where soldiers under Captain James Wallis killed at least 14 Aboriginal men, women, and children at the Cataract River. We explore the escalating conflict between settlers and Indigenous inhabitants, Macquarie's strategy of 'dispersal,' and the aftermath that shattered resistance in the region for…
The 1824 Bathurst War: Windradyne and Wiradjuri Resistance
In 1824, the Wiradjuri people of the Bathurst Plains waged a guerrilla war against colonial settlers and the British military, led by a charismatic warrior named Windradyne. This episode explores the rapid expansion of the colony after the Blue Mountains crossing, the outbreak of violence in 1822, Governor Brisbane's declaration of martial law, and the eventual negotiated peace that temporarily halted the conflict. We examine Windradyne's extraordinary journey to Parramatta for a meeting with…
The 1868 Aboriginal Cricket Tour of England
In 1868, a team of Aboriginal Australian cricketers from the missions of western Victoria became the first Australian sports team to tour England. This episode tells the story of that landmark tour: how thirteen men, including star all-rounder Johnny Mullagh (Unaarrimin), navigated colonial prejudice, impressed English crowds, and played 47 matches in four months. We explore the blend of skill, spectacle, and survival that defined their journey, the conditions they faced upon return, and how…
The Execution of Tunnerminnerwait: Tasmanian Resistance in Port Phillip
In 1842, two Tasmanian Aboriginal men, Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener, were publicly executed in Melbourne, the first legal hangings in the Port Phillip District. Their story is a direct link between the Black War in Van Diemen's Land and the frontier conflict on the Australian mainland. Lucas and Luna trace their journey from the brutal Tasmanian campaign, through their escape across Bass Strait, to their campaign of resistance in the bush around Melbourne. The episode examines the trial…
The 1789 Smallpox Epidemic: Sydney's Silent Catastrophe
In April 1789, a devastating smallpox epidemic swept through the Aboriginal populations around Sydney Cove, killing an estimated 50 to 90 percent of the Eora and Dharug people. This episode explores the outbreak's origins, its impact on Indigenous resistance, and the controversy over whether it was accidental or an early act of biological warfare. We follow the stories of Arabanoo, an Eora man taken captive who died of the disease, and Bennelong, who survived and later became a key intermediary…
The Jandamarra Rebellion: Bunuba Resistance in the Kimberley
In the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia, a young Bunuba man named Jandamarra turned from police tracker to guerrilla leader, igniting a three-year rebellion against colonial expansion. This episode traces his journey from the Lillimullura police camp to the rugged gorges of Windjana, where he evaded a massive manhunt using his intimate knowledge of the land. We explore the violent frontier politics of the 1890s, the role of Indigenous trackers on both sides, and the tragic betrayal…
The Myall Creek Massacre: Justice on the Australian Frontier
In 1838, on a cattle station beside Myall Creek in northern New South Wales, a group of white settlers murdered at least twenty-eight Wirrayaraay people. What made this massacre different was what came next: a trial, convictions, and the hanging of seven of the killers. It was the first time in Australian colonial history that white men were executed for the murder of Aboriginal people. This episode examines the massacre itself, the legal battle led by Attorney-General John Plunkett, the role…
The 1804 Castle Hill Uprising: Irish Convicts and Dharug Warriors
In March 1804, a group of Irish convicts at the Castle Hill prison farm in New South Wales rose up, seizing weapons and calling for liberation. But their rebellion was not a solitary event—it unfolded amid ongoing Dharug resistance, with warriors like Pemulwuy and others challenging British expansion. This episode explores the uprising's connection to the 1798 Irish Rebellion, the role of Dharug alliances, and the brutal suppression led by Major George Johnston. We examine the rebel leader…
The 1797 Toongabbie Convict Plot: Irish Rebels and Eora Alliances
We step back to 1797, when Irish political prisoners and English convicts conspired to overthrow the Sydney colony—and nearly did. Lucas and Luna trace the plot from its roots in the 1798 Irish Rebellion to the secret meetings at Toongabbie, where hundreds of convicts planned to seize guns from the garrison and escape by sea. But the plan relied on an unlikely ally: the Eora people, who had their own reasons to distrust Governor Hunter. We explore why Pemulwuy's resistance may have intersected…
The Eora Fisherwomen of Sydney Cove: Diving for a Living
Before the First Fleet arrived, the shallow waters of Sydney Cove were worked by Eora women who dove for shellfish, fished with handlines, and supplied the fledgling colony with its first reliable food source. This episode follows the lives of Patyegarang, a young Eora woman who taught the naval officer William Dawes her language, and the generations of fisherwomen who sustained both their own clans and the starving colonists at Port Jackson. We explore the daily rhythms of shellfish gathering…
The 1790s Sydney Economy: Rum, Dharug Trade and the First Bank
Before the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, there was a struggling penal colony held together by rum, barter, and the ingenuity of the Dharug people. This episode explores the makeshift economy of 1790s Sydney — a world where rum was currency, Dharug women traded fish for iron tools, and the first bank was a marine's wooden chest. We look at how Governor Arthur Phillip tried to impose order, why the Rum Corps became the colony's real power, and how trade with the Dharug, Dharawal, and…
The 1829 Swan River Colony: Noongar Resistance at the Founding
When the first British settlers landed on the Swan River in 1829, they found a land already carefully managed by Noongar people. This episode follows the first decade of the Swan River Colony through the eyes of the Whadjuk Noongar custodians. We explore the initial friendly encounters between Captain James Stirling and Yagan's father Midgegooroo, the rapid breakdown of trust as settlers fenced off water sources, and the escalating violence that led to the 1834 Pinjarra Massacre. We also…
The 1860s Native Police Corps: Black Trackers in Blue
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the complex history of the Native Police Corps in Victoria during the 1860s. They focus on the enigmatic figure of Trooper Billy, a Yorta Yorta man who served as a tracker and enforcer for the colonial authorities. The conversation examines the dual role of Indigenous troopers — as both skilled trackers and agents of dispossession — and the moral ambiguities they faced. Drawing on accounts from the Wimmera and Gippsland regions, the hosts discuss how the…
The 1846 Bent Street Police Office and Aboriginal Prisoners
In 1846, a small police office on Bent Street in Sydney became the center of a controversy that exposed the brutal treatment of Aboriginal prisoners in the colonial justice system. This episode follows the story of two Wiradjuri men, Billy and Tommy, who were arrested for sheep stealing and held in the Sydney lockup. Their case reveals how colonial law was weaponized against Indigenous people, with magistrates imposing harsh sentences for minor offenses while ignoring frontier violence. We…
The 1842 Port Phillip Aboriginal Mounted Police: Black Trackers in Blue
In 1842, the colonial government of New South Wales formed a corps of Aboriginal mounted police to patrol the Port Phillip District. Drawing from the Kulin nations, these men served as trackers and fighters, policing their own country under white officers. This episode follows the rise and fall of the Native Police Corps, focusing on figures like Trooper Billy and the force's role in frontier conflicts. We examine the complex loyalties, the violence they were ordered to carry out, and the moral…
The 1834 Pinjarra Massacre: Binjareb Resistance on the Swan River
In this episode of The Story of Australia, Lucas and Luna examine the 1834 Pinjarra Massacre, a brutal confrontation between Binjareb Noongar people and the Swan River Colony under Governor James Stirling. We explore the context of escalating frontier violence around the Murray and Swan Rivers, the role of the Mounted Police under Captain Theophilus Ellis, and the leadership of Binjareb elders like Yagan's brother who resisted encroachment on their lands. The episode delves into the immediate…
The 1830 Eumeralla Wars: Gunditjmara Resistance in Victoria's Southwest
Long before the better-known frontier conflicts, the Gunditjmara people of southwestern Victoria waged a decade-long guerrilla war against European settlers and the Native Police. This episode follows the Eumeralla Wars of the 1830s and 1840s, focusing on the volcanic plains around Mount Eccles and the Budj Bim aquaculture system—one of the world's oldest engineered landscapes. We explore how the Gunditjmara used their deep knowledge of the land for resistance, the role of informants like…
The 1860s Native Police Corps: Black Trackers in Blue
In the 1860s, the Native Police Corps of Victoria operated as a hybrid force: Aboriginal troopers under white officers, tasked with 'dispersing' their own people off land claimed by settlers. This episode focuses on the Corps' operations in the Wimmera and Gippsland regions, the career of Trooper Billy (a Yorta Yorta man who served for a decade), and the 1861 massacre at Mount Emu Creek where the Corps was implicated. We also examine the 1864 official inquiry led by William Henry Archer, which…
The 1888 Centennial Celebrations: Australia's Forgotten Protest
In 1888, as Sydney celebrated 100 years of British settlement with parades and fireworks, a quiet but powerful protest unfolded. Aboriginal activists, led by figures like William Cooper and the Australian Aboriginal Association, boycotted the events, demanding recognition and rights. This episode explores the Centennial Celebrations, the rise of early Aboriginal political organizing, the role of the Bulletin magazine in amplifying Indigenous voices, and the legacy of this forgotten protest. We…
The 1795 Hawkesbury Frontier War: Wiradjuri-Dharug Resistance
In 1795, a wave of violence swept along the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, as Indigenous clans led by the Wiradjuri and Dharug fought to push back the expanding British settlement. This episode reconstructs the frontier war that erupted after the devastating smallpox epidemic, centering on the guerilla tactics of Pemulwuy's allies, the retaliatory expeditions of Governor Hunter, and the forgotten story of the 'Watchful' patrols. We explore how the Hawkesbury clashes forced a shift in…
The 1857 Flying Foam Massacre: Yamaji Resistance on the Murchison
In 1857, on the Murchison River in Western Australia, a violent encounter between Yamaji people and a party of European settlers led to what became known as the Flying Foam Massacre — one of the deadliest frontier massacres in the state's history. Lucas and Luna explore the events leading up to the attack, the key figures involved, and the aftermath that saw the displacement of the Yamaji from their lands for decades. They discuss the role of pastoral expansion, the murder of a shepherd named…
The 1843 Gundagai Floods and Wiradjuri Knowledge
In this episode of The Story of Australia, Lucas and Luna explore the catastrophic 1843 Gundagai floods, which wiped out the fledgling colonial town and killed 89 people—one-third of its population. They examine how the Wiradjuri people, who had lived along the Murrumbidgee River for millennia, warned settlers not to build on the floodplain. The conversation delves into the archaeological evidence of Wiradjuri seasonal movement, the colonial dismissal of Indigenous land knowledge, and the…
The 1824 Bathurst War: Wiradjuri Resistance and the Frontier
In 1824, the Wiradjuri people of the Bathurst region launched a coordinated resistance against colonial expansion, led by the warrior Windradyne. Governor Thomas Brisbane declared martial law, deploying mounted police and British soldiers in a campaign that foreshadowed later frontier conflicts. This episode examines the causes of the war, the role of the Wiradjuri in shaping colonial policy, and the ambush at Battle Hill. It also explores the aftermath: the conciliatory mission of Reverend…
The Warlpiri of Central Australia: Ceremony, Country and Colonisation
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Warlpiri people of Australia's Central Desert, focusing on their rich ceremonial life, the concept of Dreaming (Jukurrpa), and the violent impact of colonisation in the 20th century. They discuss the 1928 Coniston Massacre, one of the last large-scale frontier massacres in Australia, triggered by the killing of a white dingo trapper and resulting in the murder of up to 70 Warlpiri and Anmatyerre people. The conversation also covers the Warlpiri's…
The 1868 Cricket Tour: Aboriginal Athletes in England
In 1868, a team of Aboriginal Australian cricketers became the first Australian sporting team to tour England, playing 47 matches across the country. This episode tells the story of the tour, focusing on key figures like Johnny Mullagh (Unaarrimin), a star all-rounder from the Jardwadjali people, and Charles Lawrence, their English coach and promoter. We explore how the tour was shaped by colonial politics, the legacy of frontier violence, and the players' experiences as both athletes and…
The 1885 Queensland Coast Expedition: A Forgotten Voyage
In 1885, a small government expedition set out from Cooktown to chart the unknown coastline of Far North Queensland and establish friendly contact with Aboriginal communities. Led by explorer and naturalist William Saville-Kent, the party encountered the Kuku Yalanji, Guugu Yimithirr, and Wik peoples, documented rock art at Laura, and narrowly avoided disaster on the Great Barrier Reef. This episode follows the voyage of the schooner 'Alert', examining the tangled motives of science, commerce…
The 1841 Bountiful Heifer and the Wiradjuri Warrior
In this episode of The Story of Australia, Lucas and Luna explore a small but revealing incident from 1841: the attempted theft of a heifer on the Lachlan River and the ensuing pursuit of a Wiradjuri warrior named Monga. This event, documented in the colonial records of the New South Wales Border Police, sheds light on the everyday violence and resistance on the Australian frontier. They discuss the role of the Border Police, the punitive expeditions against Aboriginal people, and the legal and…
The 1840s Overlanding: Squatters and Aboriginal Resistance
In the 1840s, a wave of overlanders drove sheep and cattle from New South Wales into what would become Victoria, sparking fierce Aboriginal resistance. This episode follows the story of the Whyte brothers' journey in 1838, the conflicts with the Jardwadjali and Dja Dja Wurrung peoples, and the role of the Native Police. We explore the economic forces behind the squatting rush, the failed attempts at protection, and the legacy of a frontier defined by violence and dispossession. Along the way…
The Wurundjeri and the 1835 Batman Treaty: A Land Deal That Never Was
In 1835, a Tasmanian grazier named John Batman sailed to Port Phillip and claimed to have 'purchased' 600,000 acres of land from the Kulin nation, including the area that would become Melbourne. But the treaty he brokered with the Wurundjeri elders — signed with crosses and marked by the exchange of blankets, knives, and tomahawks — was immediately repudiated by the colonial government in Sydney. Governor Richard Bourke declared the treaty void under the legal doctrine of terra nullius…
The 1804 Castle Hill Rebellion: Ireland's Fight on Australian Soil
Before the Eureka Stockade, before the Shearers' Strike, there was the 1804 Castle Hill Rebellion — the first major convict uprising in Australian history, led by Irish political prisoners. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the background of the 1798 Irish Rebellion, the transportation of United Irishmen to New South Wales, and the secret plotting that culminated in a midnight march from Castle Hill to Parramatta. They examine key figures like Philip Cunningham and William Johnston, the…
The 1838 Waterloo Creek Massacre: Australia's First Frontier Massacre
In 1838, a year before the famous Myall Creek killings, a posse of mounted police and settlers slaughtered dozens of Kamilaroi people at Waterloo Creek in northern New South Wales. This episode tells the story of that largely forgotten massacre — the first large-scale killing of Aboriginal people in Australia's colonial record. Lucas and Luna piece together what happened through the testimony of Major James Nunn, the official inquiry that followed, and the chilling silence that fell over the…
The 1830s Aboriginal Reserve of Port Phillip: A Failed Experiment
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the short-lived 1830s Aboriginal reserve at Port Phillip, a failed experiment in 'civilising' Indigenous Australians. They discuss Chief Protector George Augustus Robinson's controversial role, the Yorta Yorta and Wurundjeri peoples caught in the system, and the reserve's collapse due to disease, displacement, and settler encroachment. The conversation highlights the tension between protection and control, the tragic fate of figures like Derrimut, and how…
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