If These Trees Could Talk

If These Trees Could Talk

With a deep-rooted passion for the forest, Shannon emotionally and hilariously guides listeners on a captivating exploration of the past, uncovering the forgotten narratives and hidden treasures buried beneath the earth’s surface. Shannon ventures into the realms of adventure, history, crime and unexplained phenomena. She pays homage to the wisdom of the land and its original custodians, honoring their deep connection to the earth and the timeless stories etched into its soil. Listen closely, for amidst the rustling leaves and whispering winds, the secrets of the past are waiting to be revealed. Welcome to ”If These Trees Could Talk.”

Episodes

August 30, 2025 42 mins

In this episode, we head to Beowa National Park, to uncover the lesser-known stories behind one of Australia’s most infamous colonial figures, Benjamin Boyd- whose dicey legacy is literally etched into the landscape. 

We explore a life of ambition, influence, and wealth—and the human cost that history has often left unrecorded. From the lives of South Sea Islanders coerced into labor to the whitewashing of...

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From defying his millionaire father to racing in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, Peter Warner lived a life that refused to follow the map. His life reads like fiction - except every word is true. In this episode, we follow the remarkable journey of the man who rescued six Tongan boys from the island of ‘Ata - a story that made headlines around the world. But that was just one part of a life spent chasing purpose acros...

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August 2, 2025 59 mins

What does it really take to live close to the land, to find strength in stillness, and resilience in simplicity?

In this episode, we are joined by Eva Angophora — a rewilding facilitator, ancestorial skills practitioner, and deep believer in nature as teacher. Eva feels most at home outdoors, immersed in the rhythms of the wild: foraging, building, tanning hides, and guiding others back to connection with ...

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Hidden deep in Tasmania’s remote west coast, Sarah Island was once one of the most feared penal settlements in the Australian colonies. Surrounded by dense wilderness and raging seas, it was a place of secondary punishment — a last stop for the resisters who refused to fall in line. In this episode, we are joined by Kiah Davey from the Round Earth Company to take a closer look at the history of Sarah Island and the rea...

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July 5, 2025 47 mins

During our recent trip to Tasmania, we had a surprising highlight.  Our hike to The Confluence — the meeting place of two rivers — and what we found was confronting. The Queen River, once flowing clear through the Tasmanian wilderness, is now known as Australia’s most polluted waterway.

 

Decades of mining in Queenstown left more than a scar on the land — they poisoned the water, stripped the hills bare, a...

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June 21, 2025 52 mins

In the vast, unforgiving landscape of outback Australia, strange lights have been appearing for over a century, hovering, following, and vanishing without a trace. 

In this episode, we head deep into the red desert to explore the legend of the Min Min lights.

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June 7, 2025 30 mins

In this episode we step into the truth of our History, tracing the events of June 1838, when 28 unarmed Wirrayaraay people were brutally murdered at Myall Creek Station. We explore what happened, how it happened, and the long shadow it cast over the nation, one that still lingers today.

This episode was recorded during Reconciliation Week. It is in our act of remembering, reckoning and honoring truth-telli...

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May 24, 2025 51 mins

In this episode, we join Anne and Renata from Newcastle Ghost Tours, legends of the Aussie paranormal scene, for an after-dark investigation of Tomago House. 

Nestled deep in the wetlands, this grand colonial homestead has seen nearly two centuries of ambition, heartbreak, resilience. Built by barrister and reformer Richard Windeyer, and kept alive by the unbreakable will of his wife Maria, Tomago House is...

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May 10, 2025 45 mins

Join us as we explore the natural beauty and charm of Patonga and then dive into the darker waters of its history. Because not far from this picture-perfect shoreline, its waters once gave up a secret it had been holding onto for years: a man strapped to a steel crucifix, known only as Rack Man. In this episode, we unravel the eerie mystery that ties this unsolved murder to the river’s depths, and to the tranquil little town we tho...

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April 26, 2025 35 mins

In every corner of history, desperation has driven women into impossible choices.

From the lonely banks of the Paterson River to the locked wards of the Newcastle Industrial School. From whispered agreements on Oakhampton Road to courtroom trials designed to shame. We trace the hidden stories of women like Ada Murray and Mary Ann Hughes.

We look back, not because history is a lesson, but becau...

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April 12, 2025 46 mins

A UNESCO World Heritage listed wonder where dramatic mountains meet turquoise lagoons, and time seems to slow down. Just 11 kilometres long and home to only a few hundred lucky residents, Lord Howe feels like stepping into another world, rich with rare wildlife, untouched beaches, and incredible coral reefs.

I share our adventures, including our brush with fame on the tarmac as well as our discovery of the...

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March 29, 2025 49 mins

In this episode, we uncover the forgotten stories of the first plague victims, the struggles of Sydney’s working poor, and the city’s sluggish response to a looming health crisis. As we look back, we ask: what has really changed? From 1900 to 2019, from the Black Death to COVID—have we learned from history, or are we doomed to repeat it?

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March 16, 2025 79 mins

For over 150 years, Manly’s Q Station served as a quarantine site for those arriving in Australia, isolating the sick to prevent deadly diseases from spreading. Thousands of people passed through its doors, many never leaving, their final moments spent in its eerie hospital wards and secluded burial sites. Today, its historic sandstone buildings and abandoned corridors stand as a chilling reminder of its haunted past, ...

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March 1, 2025 40 mins

In 1917, Harry was convicted of murdering his first wife, Annie Birkett. The case was sensationalised, his gender identity exploited for scandal, and public discourse was shaped not by justice, but by shock and misunderstanding. At a time when even the most basic conversations about gender were unheard of, Eugene’s life was a painful testament to the cost of forced secrecy.

But as we examine his life and t...

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February 15, 2025 51 mins

History often remembers its outlaws, its murderers, and its tragic figures, but it rarely asks - what could have been different? In this episode, we step back over a century to tell the story of Eugenia Falleni,  who lived a life defined by secrecy, survival, and society’s rigid boundaries. Born in Italy in 1875 and later making his way to Australia, Eugenia lived as Harry Leo Crawford, a transgender man navigating a world that had...

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February 1, 2025 57 mins

For years stories have circulated about a mysterious man who roams Victoria's High Country known only as The Button Man. In this episode we ponder is he actually the Australian version of the Boogie Man as he has often been depicted, with people trying to connect him to the many disapearences in the remote region or is he just a man who we should all really look up to. 

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In 1975, Nigel McAree was shot in the back of the head and then decapitated at Governor Game Lookout in Sydney's Royal National Park. In this powerful episode, we speak with Nigel's niece Narelle Spencer about the enduring pain of her family's loss and their unwavering hope for answers. 

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December 21, 2024 59 mins

In this episode we head to Ararat and take a look inside J Ward which began it's life as the Ararat County Gaol and later became apart of the Aradale Lunatic Asylum and was used to house the Criminally Insane. 

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December 7, 2024 32 mins

In this episode we chat with River Morris. River, a proud Wiradjuri man, shared with us some of his personal knowledge and experiences with The Hairy Man.

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November 23, 2024 53 mins

In this week's episode, we head along the Great Ocean Road to Aireys Inlet for a trip down memory lane. It's our first time back in the studio for a few weeks, so there is a little unhinged madness as we catch up, as well as ‘more than a couple’ of side quests as we revisit some of our childhood obsessions, explore Split Point Lighthouse, and take a peek into the life of convict William Buckley and how his dash to freedom left a ma...

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