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Last Stop to Nowhere archive

Australian history podcast
from archive.org

Last Stop to Nowhere was a podcast hosted by Michael Sloan & Kyle Sherer and at least initially produced by Hookturn Media, with the first episode released on January 15, 2014 and the 24th and unexpectedly final episode released on June 11, 2015. It covered "The Australian history you never learnt at school. Hear about the complications of Australia's past: the unsavory, the humorous and the downright perplexing".
As I write this in late 2018, the podcast is no longer available on the podcast's website laststoptonowhere.com or, as far as I could tell, anywhere else outside saved copies in the Archive's Wayback Machine. For convenience and posterity, I've collected the 24 episodes in a single location so that others can still enjoy it. [Update: literally days after I finally put this together, the old episodes started reappearing on the original website, but it's still fairly incomplete for now.]
Useful links if you're interested in more information, like the full episode descriptions:
Old website copy on the Wayback MachinePrevious website copy on the Wayback Machine (only partially saved)Old podcast RSS feed which still has useful metadata, although the publishing dates for some episodes are not the 'original' datesSocial media accounts: Facebook, TwitterEpisodes

Descriptions are from the podcasts, mostly. Early dates are from the Hookturn Media website and twitter account (@hookturnmedia).
Season 1

1 - The New Guard, Part 1 (15 Jan 2014)

A tale of passion and politics in a time of global financial crisis. The rise and fall of Eric Campbell's New Guard: the fascist army that gatecrashed the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and plotted to overthrow the NSW premier in a military coup. [57:12]
2 - The New Guard, Part 2 (29 Jan 2014)
Continued. [58:02]

3 - Wreck of the Batavia, Part 1 (11 Feb 2014)

How the most sophisticated ship in the Dutch East India Company wrecked off the West Australian coast and the murder and mayhem that ensued. [1:08:33]
4 - Wreck of the Batavia, Part 2 (26 Feb 2014)
Continued. [56:38]

5 - New Australia (12 Mar 2014)

Failures, misfits and malcontents try to start a new utopia in Paraguay called "New Australia" at the lead up to the 20th century. [1:12:38]
6 - Odd Wars (26 Mar 2014)

A close look at three unusual, lesser known conflicts that Australian soldiers have fought in. (note: Emu War, Sudan, Palestine) [1:08:00]
7 - Cloak & Dagger 1: Aum Shinrikyo (9 April 2014)

How a Japanese doomsday cult, infamous for Sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway, established a manufacturing base in Western Australia to feed their terrorism. Did they also explode a nuclear weapon in the Australian desert? [58:43]
8 - Cloak & Dagger 2: Jack the Ripper (23 April 2014)

Jack the Ripper brutally murdered five people in 1888 before disappearing. Could he have washed up on Australian shores? [1:18:51]
9 - The Somerton Man (7 May 2014)

A man killed by an undetectable poison, an uncrackable code in a book of Persian poetry and a doomed love affair all feature in this Australian Cold War cold case. [56:25]
10 - The Ides of March, Part 1 (21 May 2014)

Australia's first political assassination attempt was against Prince Alfred during his tour in 1868. Why him, why then and what does it have to do with a hospital? [1:13:32]
11 - The Ides of March, Part 2 (4 Jun 2014)
Continued. [44:47]

12 - The Ides of March, Part 3(18 Jun 2014)
Continued. [58:53]

Season 2

13 - Frontier Wars, Part 1 (13 Aug 2014)

A naval veteran named Arthur Phillip, a warrior named Pemulwuy, and a fisherman named Bennelong find themselves uneasily sharing an area of Sydney. But what no one expects is that the first shots are fired not by the British, or the Aboriginals, but rather the French. [1:31:14]
14 - Frontier Wars, Part 2 (29 Aug 2014)
Continued. [1:37:22]

15 - Frontier Wars, Part 3 (10 Sep 2014)
Continued. [1:23:10]

16 - Charles Cousens and Tokyo Rose (29 Oct 2014)

Australian 2GB presenter Charles Cousens is captured in WWII and spirited to Radio Tokyo, where he is forced to broadcast radio propaganda for the Japanese under the threat of death. [2:07:25]
17 - Rum Rebellion, Part 1: That Bounty Bastard (22 Apr 2015)

Later known as the Rum Rebellion, the overthrow of Governor William Bligh marked Australia's first and only military coup. After Bligh's forced banishment, the colony would be run as a dictatorship by a junta of military officers and plutocrats for two years.
In part one of our series on the Rum Rebellion, we follow the early career of the cantankerous and emotionally volatile William Bligh, which culminates with his appointment as governor of NSW, setting him on a collision course with the entrenched interests of John MacArthur and the NSW Rum Corps. [41:25]
18 - Rum Rebellion, Part 2: The Condemned Regiment (30 Apr 2015)

Sent out to safeguard the colony against a French invasion that never comes, the men of the 'Rum Corps' quickly turned from protectors to predators. [38:11]
19 - Rum Rebellion, Part 3: The Viper (7 May 2015)

In this episode we track Macarthur's meteoric ascent in NSW as he manipulates, intimidates and duels a succession of dumbfounded Governors and commanding officers. [53:11]
20 - Rum Rebellion, Part 4: An Unprincipled Sheepmonger (14 May 2015)

After shooting his commanding officer in a duel, John MacArthur is shipped off back to London to face disciplinary action. Landing in an England wracked by Napoleonic war fervour, Macarthur gambles everything on an audacious business proposal to the British government. [41:37]
21 - Rum Rebellion, Part 5: A Perfect Hell (21 May 2015)

Governor William Bligh arrives in Sydney in 1806 with instructions from the English government to crack down on John MacArthur and the NSW Corps. Using a combination of insults, tantrums and home demolitions, Bligh harnesses his volcanic temper to take on the Rum Corps in earnest, and it's not long before the colony is turned into a battlefield and Macarthur is trapped inside a 'perfect hell'. [59:39]
22 - Rum Rebellion, Part 6: Day of Retribution (28 May 2015)

When a legal case brought on by Bligh and the colony's Judge Advocate threatens to destroy everything he's built, MacArthur retaliates by orchestrating what would later become known as the Rum Rebellion: a military coup that places MacArthur in power and Bligh in prison. [1:47:01]
23 - Rum Rebellion, Part 7: Rebel Republic (4 Jun 2015)

Imprisoned inside government house, Bligh watches on and bides his time as the rebel leadership starts fighting amongst themselves, before making an audacious bid for freedom on the high seas. [1:01:09]
24 - Rum Rebellion, Part 8: Wayward Child (11 Jun 2015)

In our closing episode on the Rum Rebellion we detail the final showdown between Bligh, Johnston and Macarthur in a London courtroom as the British government struggles to get to the bottom of "Captain Bligh's extraordinary business." [1:32:15]
Later episodes

The Facebook post for episode 24 mentioned that "We'll be back in a few weeks with a sequel to Odd Wars" and a tweet in November 2015 said new episodes were being edited, but nothing else ever came out :'(


Note: I've altered some of the metadata to be more consistent and informative, and renamed/renumbered some files to make sure everything stays in the right order, but the content is just as it was originally (or, to be extremely pedantic, as it was when a copy of the site was made on March 24, 2016).

  1. The New Guard, Part 1 (26.2Mb)
  2. The New Guard, Part 2 (26.6Mb)
  3. Wreck of the Batavia, Part 1 (31.4Mb)
  4. Wreck of the Batavia, Part 2 (25.9Mb)
  5. New Australia (33.3Mb)
  6. Odd Wars (31.2Mb)
  7. Cloak & Dagger 1: Aum Shinrikyo (26.9Mb)
  8. Cloak & Dagger 2: Jack the Ripper (36.1Mb)
  9. The Somerton Man (25.9Mb)
  10. The Ides of March, Part 1 (33.7Mb)
  11. The Ides of March, Part 2 (20.5Mb)
  12. The Ides of March, Part 3 (27Mb)
  13. Frontier Wars, Part 1 (62.7Mb)
  14. Frontier Wars, Part 2 (44.6Mb)
  15. Frontier Wars, Part 3 (38.1Mb)
  16. Charles Cousens and Tokyo Rose (58.3Mb)
  17. Rum Rebellion, Part 1: That Bounty Bastard (28.5Mb)
  18. Rum Rebellion, Part 2: The Condemned Regiment (35Mb)
  19. Rum Rebellion, Part 3: The Viper (48.7Mb)
  20. Rum Rebellion, Part 4: An Unprincipled Sheepmonger (38.1Mb)
  21. Rum Rebellion, Part 5: A Perfect Hell (41Mb)
  22. Rum Rebellion, Part 6: Day of Retribution (49Mb)
  23. Rum Rebellion, Part 7: Rebel Republic (42Mb)
  24. Rum Rebellion, Part 8: Wayward Child (63.4Mb)

MP3 files hosted by archive.org.