Red Dust Tapes

John Francis
Fortnightly podcast. Next episode on Sunday, April 12.

OVER 55 YEARS AGO  multi-award-winning journalist John Francis interviewed ageing Australian Outback characters, before their voices were lost in the red dust.
THIS IS UNIQUE Aussie history. 
NEARLY ALL lived largely solitary lives, in the harsh and lonely inland, on the edge of deserts, in a world of searing droughts, and occasional fierce floods. 
THEY WERE prospectors, sheep and cattle men, boundary riders, drovers, railway workers, truck drivers, Aboriginal groups, and isolated but hardy women.
AUSTRALIA'S AVIATION HISTORY also started in the red dust. You'll hear interviews with some of Australia's most famous pioneer airmen (many of whom started flying in the First World War), who used aircraft to make the Outback a little less lonely.
JOHN ALSO interviews  the descendants of other unique characters, reads fascinating tales from Australia's Outback past, and spins tales of his own red dust adventures.

WEBSITE: www.reddusttapes.au

22 episodes  •  0 archived  •  
S2 E8·
February 27
February 27
30 mins
S2 E7·
February 16
February 16
1h 1m
S2 E6·
February 1
February 1
23 mins
S2 E3·
Dec 18, 2025
Dec 18, 2025
41 mins
S2 E1·
Nov 20, 2025
Nov 20, 2025
28 mins