Backyard Battlefields
The Brig 'Amity' was the ship which carried Major Edmund Lockyer and a contingent of troops to form the first European settlement in King George Sound, Western Australia. It was initally called 'Frederick Town' after Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (King George IIIs favourite son) and was later renamed 'Albany'. The local Menang people call it 'Kinjarling' said to mean 'Place of Rain'. Today there is a replica of 'Amity' which forms part of the Museum of the Great Southern.
info_outline South West Sentinels: Cape Naturaliste Radar Station and LighthouseBackyard Battlefields
Cape Naturaliste was named for a ship of the French Baudin Expedition of 1800. It's a prominent location, overlooking Geographe Bay on one side and the vastness of the Indian Ocean on the other. The high ground made it the perfect location for a lighthouse, guiding ships through the sometimes treacherous waters surrounding the Cape. During WW2 it was the operational position for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) 33rd Radar station, a link in the air defence chain protecting the South West Sector of Western Australia.
info_outline The 'Diamond Dakota Mystery' and the Bombing of BroomeBackyard Battlefields
In March 1942 terrified refugees are fleeing the Dutch East Indies as Japanese forces march South. One of the last planes out, destined for Broome, Western Australia is a Dakota DC-3 piloted by Russian WW1 Ace Captain Ivan 'Turc' Smirnoff. Unbeknownst to those on board it's carrying a mysterious package filled with a fortune in Diamonds. Attacked by Japanese aircraft, the Dakota crashes on a remote beach and the diamonds disappear. This episode is an interview with Juliet Wills, author of 'The Diamond Dakota Mystery' an incredible tale of the 1942 Broome attack and the missing Dutch diamonds.
info_outline Coral Coast and Kormoran: Red Bluff, Western AustraliaBackyard Battlefields
In 1941 sailors from a German merchant raider HSK Kormoran came ashore at Red Bluff, Western Australia following a battle with the Australian Cruiser HMAS Sydney. Before they reached the beach they disposed of any items which could complicate their capture. This episode recounts a unique 2007 discovery at Red Bluff and the key events of the engagement between Sydney and Kormoran.
info_outline Sun, Surf and Submarines: Garden Island, Western AustraliaBackyard Battlefields
Garden Island is a thin limestone sliver, 5km off the coast of Western Australia. It was an idyllic holiday destination until it became an important part of the defence of Fremantle during World War 2, protecting the Cockburn Sound and Southern approaches to the port. It was also the training ground of the famous 'Z' Special Unit, who paddled their kayaks into Singapore harbour to attack Japanese shipping. Today it is home to HMAS Stirling and the Royal Australian Navy's Fleet Base West.
info_outline Pirate, Explorer, Travel Writer: The Life of William DampierBackyard Battlefields
William Dampier was a Pirate, Author and Explorer. He published numerous books including 'A New Voyage Around the World (1697) which was a unique blend of adventure and natural history which made him a popular sensation. He was the first English person to explore the coast of Western Australia in the ship HMS Roebuck which was the first Royal Navy expedition solely dedicated to science and exploration.
info_outline Murder on the Dancefloor: The Trial of Audrey JacobBackyard Battlefields
In 1925 during a charity ball at Perth's Government House, in front of hundreded of witnesses, Cyril Gidley was shot in the chest at point blank range and killed. The assailant was his 20 year old former fiance Audrey Jacob. It was one of the more dramatic trials which took place at Perth's Old Courthouse. What appeared to be an open and shut case became a legal and media sensation.
info_outline Law & Order in the Swan River Colony: The Perth CourthouseBackyard Battlefields
The Old Perth Courthouse is the city's oldest surviving building. It was built in 1836 to assert the supremacy of British law in the Swan River Colony and soon became integral to legal and civic life. It was designed in a classical 19th century Greek revival style and is one of two remaining examples of the work of Colonial Engineer Henry Revelly. It was also the scene of the infamous 1925 'Murder on the Dancefloor' trial of Audrey Jacob.
info_outline Gunships at the Darwin Tip: The Sandline Affair 1997Backyard Battlefields
In 2016 two Russian MI-24 attack helicopters were buried at the Darwin tip. The story of how they came to be there is a tale involving spies, diplomats, mutineers and mercenaries in a scandal that came to be known as 'The Sandline Affair'.
info_outline Built by Convicts: Perth Town Hall, 1870Backyard Battlefields
Built in 1870 in a Victorian Gothic and French Second Empire Architectural style the Perth Town Hall was designed by Architect Richard Roach Jewell and James Manning. It is the only Town Hall in Australia built primarily by convict labour.
info_outlineThe Brig 'Amity' was the ship which carried Major Edmund Lockyer and a contingent of troops to form the first European settlement in King George Sound, Western Australia. It was initally called 'Frederick Town' after Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (King George IIIs favourite son) and was later renamed 'Albany'. The local Menang people call it 'Kinjarling' said to mean 'Place of Rain'. Today there is a replica of 'Amity' which forms part of the Museum of the Great Southern.