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

November 8, 2025 36 mins

Part two of this shocking story is about the brutal murder of John Price — a killing so gruesome it shocked even the most seasoned investigators. We trace the final, terrifying days leading up to his death, when obsession turned to rage and love curdled into violence. Through police reports, witness accounts, and psychological insights, we reconstruct the night Katherine Knight crossed the final line.

It’s a descent into unimagina...

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Before she became Australia’s most infamous female killer, Katherine Knight was a child shaped by chaos, violence, and neglect. Part one of this 3 part series dives deep into her early years — from a brutal and scandalous family history to a childhood marked by trauma and cruelty. We explore the people, places, and patterns that molded her: the violent home she grew up in, her disturbing fascination with death and dominance, and ho...

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October 11, 2025 59 mins

In this episode, we’re pulling up a seat around the campfire to share some of Australia’s eeriest stretches of asphalt.

From the ghostly lights that chase drivers along Lemon Tree Passage Road, to the whispered tales of the Street with No Name in Glebe, and the long, lonely expanse of the Newell Highway where travellers have reported seeing things that defy explanation, these are the roads where the living...

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High in the Blue Mountains, the road at Mount Victoria Pass twists steep and narrow through rock and mist. By day, it’s breathtaking. But by night, it carries a darker reputation. Travelers whisper of a woman’s ghost drifting through the fog. Her story etched into the stones of the pass nearly two centuries ago.

This is the story of Caroline Collits. A child of the early colony whose short life was marked ...

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In honour of World Suicide Prevention Day, we share the story of Don Ritchie, the “Angel of The Gap,” whose quiet compassion saved hundreds of lives. We explore what it really means to be present for someone in crisis, and how connection can be life-saving.

We also look at the real-life Patch Adams, the man behind the movie and why he challenged Hollywood’s portrayal of mental illness. Along the way, we re...

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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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