Tamar Valley Tales Interview with ABC’s Mel Bush: Talking Tasmanian Ghosts, Folklore and Hidden Histories

On Saturday 29 November 2025, I joined Mel Bush from ABC Hobart and ABC Northern Tasmania to chat about Tamar Valley Tales, Tasmanian folklore, ghost stories, penguins who briefly became British subjects, chaotic pigeon post, overflowing bread, Count McHugo and how I came to love history.

This was my first-ever radio interview and I had a mixture of nerves, excitement, and not-so-mild terror! But Mel made it feel warm, welcoming and strangely… fun.

If you’d like to listen to the interview, you can find it here:

👉 Listen to the ABC Hobart Interview with Mel Bush

My segment begins at 4:39:24.

A very warm thank-you to Mel Bush and ABC Radio Hobart and Northern Tasmania for the opportunity to share a few favourite stories.

WHAT WE SPOKE ABOUT

How Tamar Valley Tales Began
Family photo albums, my Nan’s stories and falling accidentally into a world of Tasmanian history through an ancestor called Ellen McCarron.

👉 Read Ellen McCarron’s Story Here

Penguins Becoming British Subjects
The 19** proclamation on Heard Island; issued to no-one except several thousand unimpressed penguins.

Pigeon Post on Maatsuyker Island
How lighthouse keepers kept in touch with mainland Tasmania (and even requested urgent medical help) by sending messages by pigeon.

The Great Bread Disaster of 1951
When the wives of the Maatsuyker Island lighthouse keepers went to the mainland and the men tried baking… with explosive, kitchen conquering results.

The Hearthstone Seance of 1893
Footsteps, whispers, a darkened room, a seance, a bricked-up fireplace, and the later police investigation.

Count McHugo – Tasmania’s Strangest Pretender
A flamboyant imposter who fooled Launceston in 1811, charmed half the colony, almost seized military control, and was exposed only because a young officer returning from leave noticed something was badly wrong.

FURTHER READING
Interested in reading the stories I discussed with Mel?

Researched and Written by Tamar Valley Tales