And they found there was a strong community intrigue into Ballarat’s “dark history” and “weird stuff”, too.

One year and six episodes into creating the podcast Tales from Rat City, the team behind the story has gradually built a dedicated following as they attempt to bring this lesser known history to life.

Journalist Tom Hodgson, who has a background in radio, said the team knew people loved to hear a good, juicy story but they have been most surprised in the listener and expert tip-offs that have sent them in new directions.

Mr Hodgson said second episode All the Mischief Ah Coon is Capable of Doing unexpectedly allowed the team to help provide some closure for ancestors in a neglected child case who had, until further digging, had seemingly disappeared in the asylum system.

“One of the most interesting we’ve done has been the story of Edward de Lacy Evans who after 31 years was committed to an asylum as a biological woman who was living as a man,” Mr Hodgson said. “People think being trans is a modern thing, but it was very much prevalent on the goldfields.”

The podcast is created in a radio play style, which Mr Hodgson said had long been a forgotten art but works well in the podcasting world.

Actor Katrina Hill draws on fellow performers to help reenact stories, drawing on real letters, newspaper articles and diaries to help find characters’ voices.

It can be a production-heavy method that, coupled with the team’s full-time job loads and research demands, means there is a wait between episodes but they feel this is worth it to ensure the telling of these true tales is done right.

Federation University folklorist and historian David Waldron said there is so much potential to take the stories further into cross-overs with history festivals and projects in the region. 

“We all work in dark history and tourism,” Mr Waldron said. “We have enough material for episodes the next few years and we’ve got some experimental stuff going on. Maybe we can start to look at city tours...it’s about making history engaging.”

The podcast has already started to attract attention from the American Skeptics’ Society and among British folklore communities.

Stay tuned within the next month for the upcoming tale of William Buckley, the convict given up for dead and found living with the Wadawarrung people and struggling to remember how to speak English.

You can find the podcast free on all podcast services or at talesfromratcity.com.

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