10 episodes
Secrets We Keep LiSTNR
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- Society & Culture
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4.8 • 435 Ratings
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Amelia Oberhardt thought she knew her Mum... until she died. It was then Amelia discovered a photo revealing her mother, a teenager, with a wedding ring, an apparent husband, cuddling an unknown baby. Determined to find out more, Amelia's journey takes her into the secrets of 1950-1970s Australia—shotgun marriages, hushed abortions, and forced adoptions. It’s the story of what happens when young women are put in impossible situations, and where this messy knot leaves families decades later.
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1. The Wake
Standing at her mother’s wake, journalist Amelia Oberhardt is confronted with a photo she’s never seen before - her mum Cecelia as a teenager wearing a wedding ring, accompanied by an unknown husband and cradling an unfamiliar baby.
Immediately, Amelia begins to ask questions. Who is this man? Who is this baby? And does this photo explain Ceceila’s untimely death?
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2. Finding Michael
In the aftermath of seeing the photo at the wake, Amelia Oberhardt is on a search to find the man in the photo. Her pursuit leads her down a rabbit hole, into the world of 1960s and 1970s Australia, and the realities of how women were treated in this era.
And then, a new avenue provides new clues in the search for Michael.
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3. Welcome to Cairns
Amelia Oberhardt flies to Cairns to meet the man in the photo, hoping to finally get the answer to a question that has haunted her for over a decade. Who is the baby in the photo?
Knowing what happened to her mum, Amelia feels more resolve than ever to tell the stories of other women from her mother’s generation.
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4. Moral danger
Young, pregnant, unwed. What happened next is one of the most shameful periods in Australian history. Amelia Oberhardt speaks to two women who experienced a forced adoption – a broad term used to describe the various ways women were coerced into giving up their baby.
Di Sheehan and Lily Arthur explain how stigma and a flawed system altered the course of their lives.
If you would like to share your story, email secretswekeep@sca.com.au
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5. In the child’s best interest
At its peak in the early 1970s, almost 200 babies per week were adopted in Australia. It’s impossible to know how many of these adoptions involved coercion, but we do know that it was a time many believed single women were incapable of looking after their children.
In this episode, Amelia Oberhardt looks at how this system was allowed to operate, and what lead to forced adoption ending.
If you would like to share your story, email secretswekeep@sca.com.au
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6. Where do I come from?
It’s a decade this year since Julia Gillard’s apology to those affected by forced adoption, but there’s still unfinished business. Now, it’s the adoptees picking up the baton and carrying on the fight for recognition, redress, and justice.
Amelia speaks to two adoptees – Jennifer McRae and Danae Witherow – about how being taken from their mothers has affected their lives, and their push for an inquiry in Western Australia. Shakira Ramsdell explains what's happening in Victoria, the one state in the process of setting up a redress scheme.
UPDATE: A spokesperson from the WA Department of Communities responded after deadline, writing 'formal integrated birth certificates [are] currently not available' but are being considered.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Customer Reviews
I’m glad we’re having these conversations.
I find myself incredibly sad but also relieved that these stories are being told and acknowledged.
And great journalism from the pod cast.
5 stars
This podcast is deeply moving, I just binged all 7 available episodes in one day. My family is also effected from the stolen generation, k am very grateful my beautiful grandmother never got taken, but it meant she lived a life in the bush to be safe. It’s really good to see a podcast finally showing a light on the dark history of Australia.
The truth of Forced Adoption
Finally a reporter has been gutsy enough to dig deeper into Australia’s dark history of forced adoption. The secrets, lies and coverups of church and State governments spanning 30+ years. Adopted adults now seeking justice and take their place in truth telling. Adopted adults never consented to adoption, nor did mothers… and fathers were never asked. This podcast finally opens the can of worms and exposes the social and legal failings of the Australian industry that has displaced thousands of families.