Strewth - Australian True Crime and Mystery Podcast

Mark

Welcome to Strewth, where we uncover Australia's most captivating tales of true crime and mysterious happenings. Yarns so extraordinary they'll make you stop and say, "Strewth!" From the sun-scorched outback to the seedy underbelly of our biggest cities, Australia harbours some of the world's most perplexing mysteries. Stories so bizarre that even hardened detectives could only mutter that distinctly Australian expression of disbelief. Each episode takes you deep into extraordinary cases through atmospheric storytelling and meticulous research. You'll walk alongside the detectives, feel the frustration of families seeking answers, and experience the shock of communities torn apart by inexplicable events. Strewth reveals how these cases shaped Australian society and exposes the dark undercurrents flowing beneath the nation's beautiful facade. From colonial-era crimes to modern forensic breakthroughs, these are the stories that made headlines and left investigators scratching their heads. New episodes weekly. Because some stories are too strange not to tell.

  1. The Murwillumbah Heist

    1 HR AGO

    The Murwillumbah Heist

    November 24th, 1978. Bank employees, locksmiths, vault experts and finally council workers in Murwillumbah spend nine hours trying to open a bank vault. When they finally broke through, Chief Inspector Frank Charleton looked around the empty space and said three words: "They got the lot." One point seven million dollars. Vanished. Taken by professionals who used an electromagnetic drill, a medical cystoscope, and surgical precision to crack a vault that was supposed to be impregnable. Right across from a pub. One hundred metres from the police station. Forty-six years later, it's still unsolved. Australia's perfect crime. This week on Strewth, the podcast exploring Australia's most baffling mysteries, we examine the robbery, the suspects and the enduring legend of the Murwillumbah Heist. Sources: Sydney Morning Herald, "Bank Robbers 'Got the Lot' - $1.7m Haul," November 25, 1978 Tweed Regional Museum, Murwillumbah - Permanent collection Kidd, Robert "Bertie," memoirs (2022) Bullamakanka, "Murwillumbah Bank Job" (1979) Title Music: by Jesse Frank from Pixabay Strewth Social Media Links: https://linktr.ee/strewthpodcast  Contact us: strewthpodcast@gmail.com

    30 min
  2. Red Eyes in the Mist - Australian Mystery

    27 JAN

    Red Eyes in the Mist - Australian Mystery

    On August 7-8, 1993. Kelly Cahill is driving home through Victoria's misty Dandenong Ranges when her car was surrounded by seven-foot tall beings with eyes that glowed burning red through the darkness. One hour of her life vanished. Within weeks, she discovered triangular burns on her body and was hospitalised with infections doctors couldn't explain. Then came the breakthrough that should have changed everything. This was the holy grail of UFO cases. Multiple independent witnesses. Physical evidence on multiple bodies. Medical documentation. Everything needed to be definitive. But there was a problem. This week on Strewth, the story of a terrifying encounter on a dark road, a woman who risked everything to tell her truth, and the evidence that could have proven her claims. When the investigation becomes the mystery, the questions matter more than the answers. Sources: Cahill, Kelly: Encounter. HarperCollins Australia, 1996. Chalker, Bill. "The Kelly Cahill Abduction." International UFO Reporter, Vol. 19, No. 5, September/October 1994. Chalker, Bill. Blog posts and case updates, 2002, 2016. Available through Australian UFO research archives. Phenomena Research Australia (PRA) statements through John Auchettl ABC Australia retrospective. "The Kelly Cahill UFO Encounter: 27 Years On." September 2020. Ferntree Gully Star Mail. "Kelly Cahill UFO Case Revisited." March 2022. Title Music: by Jesse Frank from Pixabay Strewth Social Media Links:  https://linktr.ee/strewthpodcast  Contact us:  strewthpodcast@gmail.com

    26 min
  3. A Murderer Takes Tea - Australian True Crime

    20 JAN

    A Murderer Takes Tea - Australian True Crime

    October 15, 1977. Two police officers discover the body of Florence Broadhurst, a 78-year-old wallpaper designer whose patterns hung in palaces and penthouses around the world, beaten to death in her Paddington studio. The crime scene tells multiple stories and the investigation has spanned decades producing a mix of theories and suspects as eclectic as Florence's celebrated wallpaper designs. This week on Strewth, we analyse the crime, the suspects and celebrate the amazing life of Australia's wallpaper queen, Florence Broadhurst. Sources: Thomson, Katherine: Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460427/  Shand Adam: Australian Crime Stories (Season 2, Episode 4) "Killing Florence"  O'Neill, Helen. The Laughing Hangman: The True Story Behind the Florence Broadhurst Murder. Sydney: Random House Australia, 2006. Title Music: by Jesse Frank from Pixabay Strewth Social Media Links: https://linktr.ee/strewthpodcast  Contact us: strewthpodcast@gmail.com

    35 min
  4. Fisher's Ghost - Australian Mystery

    13 JAN

    Fisher's Ghost - Australian Mystery

    On June 17, 1826, Frederick Fisher, a convict-turned-successful farmer, vanished from his Campbelltown property. His neighbour George Worrall claimed Fisher had sailed back to England, but there was a problem. Fisher was still a convict, bound to the colony. Returning to England would mean hanging. Three months later, Worrall sat in gaol, arrested on suspicion of murder. But without a body, he couldn't be charged. Then, in October 1826, a farmer named John Farley reported seeing Frederick Fisher's ghost. The apparition sat on a fence rail, blood streaming from its head, pointing toward a creek. Following that direction, authorities found Fisher's body, skull crushed, buried in a shallow grave exactly where the ghost had pointed. It's Australia's most famous ghost story. A tale of supernatural justice. An apparition refusing to let murder go unpunished. This episode explores one of Australia's most enduring mysteries. We'll examine the meticulously documented murder trial, the brilliant tracking skills of Namut Gilbert and the dark possibilities surrounding John Farley's role in the case. Content warning: This episode discusses murder and contains descriptions of violence. Sources:  Supreme Criminal Court transcripts, February 2, 1827  Chief Justice Forbes' original court notes (examined by Andrew Lang, 1903) The Sydney Gazette, September-November 1826  The Australian, November 1, 1826  The Monitor, November 3, 1826  Riley, James. "The Sprite of the Creek!" Hill's Life in New South Wales, August 1832 Title Music: by Jesse Frank from Pixabay Strewth Social Media Links: https://linktr.ee/strewthpodcast Contact us: strewthpodcast@gmail.com

    36 min
  5. Highway of Death Part 2: One Killer, or Many? - Australian True Crime

    7 JAN

    Highway of Death Part 2: One Killer, or Many? - Australian True Crime

    This is Part Two of our Highway of Death investigation. After hearing the victims' stories in Part 1, we now examine the hunt for justice, or rather, the spectacular failures of justice. The confessions that led nowhere. The corruption exposed by the Fitzgerald Inquiry that destroyed investigations and let killers walk free. The suspects who died before facing trial. The families who've waited fifty years for answers. And at the center of it all, one haunting question. Were these ten murders the work of a single serial killer who stalked the Flinders Highway for decades? Or multiple predators who independently discovered that isolation makes the perfect hunting ground? After fifty years, over $1.25 million in rewards, and hundreds of thousands of investigative hours, these cases remain unsolved. Content Warning: This episode discusses police corruption, systemic failures of justice, and the ongoing impact on families of unsolved murders.   Sources: Fitzgerald Inquiry Report (1987-1989): "Report of a Commission of Inquiry Pursuant to Orders in Council" "The Hunters" - Channel 7 documentary (March 2025) Fisher, Ian (Coroner). (2002, February). Inquest into the disappearance of Anthony "Tony" Jones. Queensland Coroner's Court.  Wilson, Nerida (Coroner). (2021). Inquest into the death of Jayden Penno-Tompsett. Queensland Coroner's Court.  R v Arthur Stanley Brown (1999). Queensland Supreme Court. Trial transcript, October 1999.  Title Music: by Jesse Frank from Pixabay Strewth Social Media Links: https://linktr.ee/strewthpodcast  Contact us: strewthpodcast@gmail.com

    34 min
  6. Highway of Death Part 1: The Disappeared - Australian True Crime

    6 JAN

    Highway of Death Part 1: The Disappeared - Australian True Crime

    Between 1970 and 2017, at least ten people were murdered or vanished along the Flinders Highway, a 776-kilometer stretch of isolated Queensland outback. This episode tells their stories: two schoolgirls who walked to the bus stop and never came home. Hitchhiking art students one found with bullets in her head, one still missing. An 18-year-old who made a terrified phone call to her mother. Three motorcycle adventurers found executed in the spinifex grass. A young man who called home and then disappeared so completely his case changed how Australia handles missing persons. Ten names across forty-seven years. Bodies found in dry creek beds. Families left with questions that have no answers. This is Part One of our investigation into Australia's Highway of Death. Before we examine the suspects and the failures of justice, we remember the victims. Content Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence against children and adults, sexual assault, and murder. Listener discretion is strongly advised.   Sources: Fitzgerald Inquiry Report (1987-1989): "Report of a Commission of Inquiry Pursuant to Orders in Council" "The Hunters" - Channel 7 documentary (March 2025) Fisher, Ian (Coroner). (2002, February). Inquest into the disappearance of Anthony "Tony" Jones. Queensland Coroner's Court.  Wilson, Nerida (Coroner). (2021). Inquest into the death of Jayden Penno-Tompsett. Queensland Coroner's Court. R v Arthur Stanley Brown (1999). Queensland Supreme Court. Trial transcript, October 1999.  Title Music: by Jesse Frank from Pixabay Strewth Social Media Links: https://linktr.ee/strewthpodcast  Contact us: strewthpodcast@gmail.com

    35 min
  7. Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler - Australian True Crime

    30/12/2025

    Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler - Australian True Crime

    New Year's Day, 1963. Two bodies are discovered on the banks of Sydney's Lane Cove River. Dr. Gilbert Stanley Bogle, a brilliant physicist. Margaret Chandler, a young mother of two. Both dead. Both half-dressed. No detectable poison in their systems. The FBI is consulted. Scotland Yard investigates. Over a thousand theories tested. The wronged husband. The jealous mistress. Soviet spies. LSD experiments. All dead ends. For forty years, Australia's most baffling mystery remains unsolved. Then a documentary filmmaker asks a question nobody thought to ask. What he discovers is an invisible killer hiding in plain sight. An answer that just might explain everything but can never be proven. This is Strewth. Join us for Australia's most baffling New Years mystery. Sources: Who Killed Dr Bogle & Mrs Chandler?: Podcast series, Peter Butt https://open.spotify.com/show/7C1naUe8jUEzWiWFzhftfS?si=825754256bb14594  Geoffrey Chandler, So You Think I Did It, Sydney: Sun Books, 1969 Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler?, Film Australia in association with Blackwattle Films, 2006 DR. BOGLE AND MRS CHANDLER - DID HYDROGEN SULPHIDE REALLY KILL THEM? ABC Catalyst Story Archive, 23 November 2006, http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1795448.htm Peter Butt, Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler?, Sydney: New Holland, 2012 Tracey Bowden,Two women may hold answer to how Dr Gilbert Bogle and Margaret Chandler died in 1963, ABC News, 2 September 2016: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-02/two-women-may-hold-answer-to-bogle-chandler-case/7808820 The Dictionary of Sydney: The Bogle-Chandler Mystery (2018) https://dictionaryofsydney.org/blog/the_bogle_chandler_mystery  Title Music: by Jesse Frank from Pixabay Strewth Social Media Links: https://linktr.ee/strewthpodcast  Contact us: strewthpodcast@gmail.com

    43 min
  8. Three Witnesses: A Strewth Christmas Special - Australian Mysteries

    23/12/2025

    Three Witnesses: A Strewth Christmas Special - Australian Mysteries

    This Christmas, we're doing something different on Strewth. The Victorian English had a tradition of telling ghost stories around the fire on Christmas night, long before it became all tinsel and shopping, it was a time for sharing tales of the unexplained. We're reviving that tradition with three spooky Australian accounts that never made it into our regular episodes. Over the past year, I've collected dozens of firsthand testimonies while researching cases, witness statements and personal experiences that didn't quite fit into the main episodes, but are no less fascinating for it. Tonight, you'll hear dramatised versions of three of these accounts: a teacher's terrifying encounter during a school hiking trip in the Victorian Alps, spiritualist Ben Davey's hair-raising experience at the infamous 1921 Guyra séance, and Bongo's disturbing radio call about what happened to him in the Pilliga Scrub in 1978. Three witnesses. Three encounters with the inexplicable. Three stories that'll remind you the Australian bush holds more mysteries than we like to admit.   Sources: Bongo's radio call - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUjtoXMAvKs Haunts of Brisbane - Ben Davey seance report - https://hauntsofbrisbane.blogspot.com/2012/05/guyra-ghost-australias-very-own.html  The teachers report - https://www.reddit.com/r/melbourne/comments/vl306f/does_anyone_have_any_stories_about_the_button_man/    Title Music: by Jesse Frank from Pixabay Strewth Social Media Links: https://linktr.ee/strewthpodcast  Contact us: strewthpodcast@gmail.com

    29 min
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About

Welcome to Strewth, where we uncover Australia's most captivating tales of true crime and mysterious happenings. Yarns so extraordinary they'll make you stop and say, "Strewth!" From the sun-scorched outback to the seedy underbelly of our biggest cities, Australia harbours some of the world's most perplexing mysteries. Stories so bizarre that even hardened detectives could only mutter that distinctly Australian expression of disbelief. Each episode takes you deep into extraordinary cases through atmospheric storytelling and meticulous research. You'll walk alongside the detectives, feel the frustration of families seeking answers, and experience the shock of communities torn apart by inexplicable events. Strewth reveals how these cases shaped Australian society and exposes the dark undercurrents flowing beneath the nation's beautiful facade. From colonial-era crimes to modern forensic breakthroughs, these are the stories that made headlines and left investigators scratching their heads. New episodes weekly. Because some stories are too strange not to tell.

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