Today's Stories from our Past

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• Greg and Peter

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Have you ever wondered how your family's past could shape your identity today and our country’s future? 

Join us as we embark on a captivating journey through the annals of Australian history, unearthing long-hidden secrets and stories that have remained shrouded in mystery for generations.  As amateurs in genealogy and history, we, Peter and Greg, have taken on the challenging task of tracing our family roots using tools like Ancestry.com and Trove to uncover our ancestors' tales.  From their arrival in Australia between 1820s and 1870s to their roles in pivotal historical moments like the Black War in Tasmania and the Gold Rushes, their stories are woven into the fabric of the nation’s development.

This podcast is more than just a history lesson; it's a vibrant tapestry of personal anecdotes and historical narratives.  We delve into the triumphs and challenges faced by our forebears, including the stories of resilience during the Great Depression and the groundbreaking achievements such as of Australia’s first registered female architect.  Listen as we reflect on how these stories continue to shape our identities and communities and join us as we bring the past to life with humour, insight, and a few unexpected twists. 

Whether you’re a history buff or simply love a good yarn, there’s something here for everyone. Tune in and discover the legacy of our ancestors in a way you’ve never heard before.

Contact us at todaysstories101@gmail.com.

Speaker 1:

History is a set of lies agreed upon, or at least that is what historians agree that Napoleon said.

Speaker 2:

G'day, I'm Peter.

Speaker 1:

And g'day, I'm Greg. This is a podcast about the history of Australia, but done with a twist, it's not written by historians.

Speaker 2:

I always knew that there were secrets to be found in the tangled branches of my family tree. But it wasn't until late in life that I had the time, the skills and the maturity to go ferreting around in a world unknown to me. So I started by logging on to Ancestrycom, as many others have done, and quickly created a family tree. For the first time I discovered the first names of my grandfathers, Tom and Theo. I never knew them, or even their first names. One died before I was born and the other was ostracized from our family circle. Yes, it became clear there were secrets here to be revealed Quite easily. I was able to trace family lines back through the mists of time. But names and the simple hatch, match and dispatch info alone was not enough. I wanted to know who these people were. What sorts of lives did they live?

Speaker 2:

Australia is a land of immigrants. Except for First Nations people, all Australian family trees are populated with people who migrated to this wonderful land. The only question is when did they arrive? Two years ago, 20? Or 200? Two years ago, 20 or 200?

Speaker 2:

As a quarter of all Australians are born overseas and another quarter have one or both of their parents from overseas, I assumed that somewhere in recent generations I'd find a 10-pound pom or a refugee from some war or someone like that. I was soon amazed to discover that all 16 of my great-great-grandparents and some earlier generations came out to Oz between 1824 and 1869. It means that all family lines have been in this great land for at least 150 years and some came here 200 years ago. My family lines came from England, Scotland and Ireland. The different families disembarked at colonial ports all over Australia, except in the west, where no family line apparently wanted to go. Most of them then went off to live in rural areas. I became absolutely intrigued. Why did they come here, how did they get here, what did they do when they arrived and how did I end up at the end of all these family lines?

Speaker 1:

Now we've got no training in genealogy, history, sociology or any other field that might have given us a head start in our searching.

Speaker 2:

No, my professional career included a lot of academic research in physical sciences, admittedly, but I knew how to start a research project. I followed an old axiom we used for good research, the ABC method Assume nothing, believe no one. Check everything. That means, wherever possible, go back to original source material. Don't use stories that were passed down via the grapevine. Sometimes, over time, the truth gets a bit lost in translation, and it didn't take too long before extended family members knew what I was up to Soon. Every time an old suitcase or wardrobe was emptied, my Relly sent unwanted family heirlooms to me Photos, diaries, bibles, all that sort of stuff. But this was still not enough. I wanted to get some insight into the lives of my ancestors and how that may have eventually affected me and the community that I live in. I wanted to bring these people to life.

Speaker 2:

Fortunately, australia is blessed with a fantastic resource. The website Trove Trove is the place to explore all things Australian. It's a single point of entry to a massive treasure trove of artifacts, curiosities and stories from Australia's cultural community and research institutions, and it is so easy you can just sit down on the couch with your laptop and search for the arrival of details of that ancestor that you're currently researching while you're watching the Aussies thump the poms in the ashes or the mighty blues thrash the pies. That, coupled with family heirlooms and an occasional visit to a state library or archive, gave me the answers I was looking for. I am still amazed with what I found In the branches of my tree.

Speaker 2:

My ancestors include three who were part of the original immigrants who set up the colony of South Australia. An ex-army officer from British India who took part in the Black War in Tasmania. An early squatter on the Darling Downs. A few hardy souls who tried their luck on the goldfields of Bendigo. A politician who was in the first Queensland Parliament and who was a staunch supporter of the Queensland native police.

Speaker 2:

A shearer who sat down under the tree of knowledge during the great shearer strikes and was an early member of the AWU. A couple of grazier's families who were crushed by the Federation drought. Two diggers who were on the beach landing at Gallipoli and a few more who served on the Western Front. An early pilot for Qantas served on the Western Front. An early pilot for Qantas when Qantas was just a bush airline bouncing around routes across Queensland. Several families who survived the hardships of the Great Depression, a navigator who flew many missions in a Lancaster bomber over Germany and a Padre who died in a Lancaster bomber over Germany and a padre who died in a Japanese POW camp and a Vietnam vet who served on HMS Voyager.

Speaker 1:

Wow, that covers a bit of ground. Although my lineage is not as well documented as Peter's, it's not surprising that it mirrors some of Peter's in that all of my ancestors were in Australia by the 1880s. There are no known convicts, transported or otherwise, and no particularly well-known figures. I can claim a great aunt who became the first female registered architect in Australia in 1916. Female registered architect in Australia in 1916. And as she made clear to one and all, she was not the first female architect in Australia. There were several in New South Wales. It was just that the chaps in Sydney refused to register the early practitioners and once Queensland admitted her, the men in New South Wales relented and opened up the profession.

Speaker 1:

I can trace back to a soldier in William the Conqueror's army who settled in England. Some of his descendants travelled to Australia in the 1820s. Initially they settled in Van Diemen's Land but after some setbacks returned to England In a familiar story to many. They then realised the error of their ways and chartered the ship and returned to Australia. By the late 1830s they were well established in the Dungog area and some family members still lived there. The last arrivals were also from England and settled in central Queensland and one of their original farms is still in the family. Other relatives came from Ireland, both the north and the south, and some came from Scotland, in at least two branches of the family. Up until about 1950, the older members were still in contact with family who had remained in England. Alas, those ties have now withered.

Speaker 2:

Few, if any of our ancestors can be found in history books, but their story is a story of Australia. What we discovered was that, while we were finding out about our ancestors and what they did, we were also learning a lot of Australian history, and this was a history we hadn't been taught in school. We soon became aware that a spin had been put on a lot of our history by family members, the media, teachers, politicians and others. We found massive shades of grey in a world that had been simply painted black and white. Sometimes this is the consequence of simplifying a complex series of events down to a short story. Other times it is a good intentioned attempt to tell the story as seen through rose-tinted glasses, but sometimes it is an intentional attempt to rewrite history to suit some agenda.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, now just to be clear, we love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, of ragged mountain ranges, of drought and flooding rains.

Speaker 2:

So this podcast tells a history of Australia the one we love at least where and when our ancestors were involved, plus a few other interesting characters and events along the way. Involved, plus a few other interesting characters and events along the way. It includes all the shades of grey that are necessary to understand the full story and it includes the full pantheon of people involved, not just the famous folk from the history books. There are some ripping yarns and some stories that are difficult to tell. As much as possible we'll tell the story through the words of those who lived it.

Speaker 3:

Someone much wiser than me said of Australian history it does not read like history, but like the most beautiful lies, and all of a fresh, new sort, no moldy, old, stale ones. It is full of surprises and adventures and incongruities and contradictions and incredibilities, but they are all true, they all happened.

Speaker 2:

So said Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, following his visit to Oz in 1895. Visit to us in 1895.

Speaker 1:

In many episodes we'll include a short history lesson where we'll talk about what was happening somewhere else in the world when our story was taking place.

Speaker 2:

So, with my old mate Greg, we'll tell you stories about Australia. You can believe them or not. Please listen. Enjoy and learn. You can believe them or not?

Speaker 1:

Please listen enjoy and learn. You can find us on Spotify or your favourite podcast site To find the stories on Facebook or YouTube. Search for Today's Stories from our past. To get in touch, email us at todaysstories101 at gmailcom. Our website, todaystoriescomau has all this information.

Speaker 2:

So it's goodbye from me.

Speaker 1:

And it's goodbye from me, thank you.