Yarns of Oz

MYTHS, MEMES AND MUCH, MUCH MORE

This time in the Yarns of Oz we’re talking about urban legends, memes, factoids and conspiracy theories – all true, of course.
Remember – unless you heard it here - don‘t believe a thing you hear!

RUM’UNS, REBELS AND RATBAGS

Who was Handkerchief Jones? And why did Tom Doyle piss on the olives? Find out all about it as we fall into conversation and catastrophe with some of Australia’s colourful folk characters.
 
Another Yarns of Oz ‘podcast, written, produced and presented by Rob Willis and Graham Seal and featuring Bob Payne singing ‘One of the Has-Beens’….

Ben Hall and the Bushranger Republic - Fact or Folklore?

Why did some bushrangers become folk heroes and why were they feared by the forces of authority? We take a look at and a listen to some of the yarns, ballads and memories of the many bushrangers of the Lachlan region during the 1860s. Come all you wild colonial boys – and girls!

CASTOR OIL, KERO AND BLUEBAGS: HOMEMADE MEDICINE

This time we’re having a listen to how people dealt with accidents and illness in the days before medical attention was easily available. Treating the everyday afflictions of colds, stings, hangovers – and piles – was often a ‘kill or cure’ experience. Definitely not to be tried at home!

Who Called the Cook a Bastard?

They were called ‘bait-layers’, ‘babbling brooks’ and much worse by the bush workers and soldiers who had to endure their offerings. The traditions of Australian cooking also include pioneering women who made do with whatever they could get from the bush and their own ingenuity. Iguana-tail curry, anyone?

SOLDIERS SINGING – FROM THE BOER WAR TO VIETNAM

The songs made by and for Australian soldiers, featuring excerpts from the collections of Rob Willis, Graham Seal and the National Library of Australia. Hear the voices of those who were there – Bill Case, Maysie Tucker, Marion Hardy, Kevin O’Connor and Brian McMaugh.

LAUGHING OFF THE SPANISH ‘FLU IN AUSTRALIA

Graham Seal and Rob Willis, together with Denis McKay and Maureen Seal  - and John Meredith - meander through a bracing concoction of memories, snake oil, home remedies, awful verse and the humour that helped Australians weather the pneumonic influenza outbreak a century ago.