Backyard Battlefields

James De Leo
  • 4.0 (1)
  • HISTORY

Backyard Battlefields is a military history program which explores historical sites throughout Australia and beyond. Backyard Battlefields gives Australia's military history a context by explaining its significance within the grander narrative of world events. Presented by James De Leo. For more information visit backyardbattlefields.com

  1. 11/06/2025

    Operation Hurricane: Britain's First Atomic Test

    On October 3, 1952 Britain detonated an atomic bomb on the MonteBello Islands, 50 miles off Western Australia's Pilbara coast. The success of the top secret test made Britain the third atomic power after the United States and Soviet Union. Author Paul Grace, has written a dramatic account of the test, 'Operation Hurricane: The Story of Britain's First Atomic Test and the Legacy that Remains' His Grandfather, Flight Lt. Ron Grace was a Royal Australian Airforce pilot who flew security patrols before the test and 'coastal monitoring' sorties in the radioactive aftermath, searching for fallout on the Australian mainland. This episode is Paul's first hand account of the test, its politics, personalities and implications for Australia.

    1h 6m

  2. 07/18/2025

    Land of the Eendracht: Dirk Hartog, 1616

    'Eendracht' means 'Concord' or 'Unity' and is taken from the motto of the Dutch republic 'Eendracht maakt macht' - 'Unity makes strength'. It was the name of a ship of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) captained by Dirk Hartog which made contact with Western Australia in 1616. The crew of the 'Eendracht' marked their visit with a pewter dish subsequently known as 'Hartog's Plate' which remains the oldest artefact of European exploration discovered in Australia.

    12 min

  3. 07/02/2025

    'Emily Taylor' & Augusta, 1830

    Today 'Emily Taylor' is a bar in the fashionable port City of Fremantle, but first it was the name of a ship built in Bombay for the British East India Company and subsequently sold to a private concern. It was chartered by the Western Australian goverment to transport settler families to establish the colony's third settlement, the town of Augusta on Cape Leeuwin in 1830. Not long after 'Emily Taylor' would forever became part of the history of WA when it was blown ashore and wrecked on its return voyage to Fremantle.

    9 min

  4. 02/13/2025

    Kimberley Incursion: Japanese Landing 1944

    In 1944 a special Japanese unit, the 'Matsu Kikan' ('Matsu' meaning Pine Tree) was tasked with gathering intelligence on bases and allied air activity in Northern Australia. Sailing from Timor in a disguised fishing vessel the 'Hiyoshi Maru', the team, all experienced in unconventional warfare, successfully made landfall in Western Australia and conducted a reconnaissance in the remote Kimberley region before returning to Koepang.

    14 min

  5. 01/16/2025

    The Koolama Incident, 1942

    The 'Koolama' was a ship of Western Australian State Shipping Service. It was built in 1936 by Harland and Wolff, ominously the same firm that built 'Titanic', for the servicing of the remote ports of the North West and Northern Territory. In 1942, bound for Darwin with a cargo of 180 passengers and war material it was attacked by Japanese bombers 35km off the Western Australian coast. Severely damaged, 'Koolama' limped into a remote bay in the Kimberley. What followed was a murky tale of bravery, malice and possible mutiny. This episode of Backyard Battlefields tells the story of 'Koolama', from it's halcyon days as the pride of the WA state ships to it's final resting place at the bottom of Wyndham harbour.

    22 min

  6. 12/04/2024

    Z SPECIAL UNIT: An Interview with Gavin Mortimer

    The 'Z Special Unit' was one of the most audacious and little known clandestine forces of WW2. It comprised Australian, British, New Zealand, Dutch, Timorese and other Allied personel. One of their most famous missions was 'Operation Jaywick'. This saw a disguised fishing vessel the 'MV Krait' sail from Exmouth Gulf to Singapore where the operatives, after paddling more than 50km, attacked Japanese ships at anchor before making their escape back to Australia. This extraordinary operation was followed by 81 other covert missions including the ill-fated Operation Rimau and Operation Semut. I had the privilege of speaking with Gavin Mortimer author of the Osprey Publication 'Z Special Unit' about the history and events surrounding this incredible force. Gavin is also the author of some other seminal books on the history of Special Forces including David Stirling: The Phony Major, The SBS in World War II and Merril's Marauders.

    51 min

  7. 10/25/2024

    LAKE MONGER - GALUP: WESTERN AUSTRALIA

    'Galup' is a Whadjuk Noongar word meaning 'Place of Fires' and refers to what is called  'Lake Monger' a remnant of the series of wetlands once known as the 'Perth Great Lakes'. In 1830 it was the site of a colonial era massacre when Redcoats of the British 63rd 'West Suffolk' Regiment and armed settlers pursued a party of Noongar from Mount Eliza to the shores of the lake. Subequently called 'Mongers Lake' after migrant John Henry Monger, who was given a land grant between the present day suburbs of Wembley and Subiaco, the Lake area underwent continual reclamation works and from the 1920s was dedicated for the purpose of 'public recreation, health and enjoyment'.

    15 min

  8. 10/15/2024

    The Lioness & Cape Leeuwin, Western Australia, 1622

    Leeuwin means 'Lioness'. A Dutch Galleon of the Dutch East India Company it charted the South coast of Western Australia in 1622. Leeuwin left Holland bound for the capital of the Dutch East Indies, Batavia (modern day Jakarta, Indonesia) blown off course, the Captain Jan Fransz would encounter Western Australia, and thereafter it would be known as T Landt Van de Leeuwin, 'The Land of the Leeuwin'.

    14 min
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About

Backyard Battlefields is a military history program which explores historical sites throughout Australia and beyond. Backyard Battlefields gives Australia's military history a context by explaining its significance within the grander narrative of world events. Presented by James De Leo. For more information visit backyardbattlefields.com

Information

  • Creator
    James De Leo
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2025
  • Episodes
    58
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright James De Leo
  • Show Website
    Backyard Battlefields