History Or Hoarding? With Annabel Crabb

A very drunk history

History Or Hoarding? With Annabel Crabb

Show Notes

The grim history behind the NSW State Library's doors. Opened in 1826, exclusively to the rich white men who could pass a secret "blackballing" test, the doors were redesigned during World War II to depict Indigenous people. But their origin story is wild, as Annabel Crabb discovers. This episode's speakers: Damien Webb — Manager of the Indigenous Engagement Branch Richard Neville — Mitchell Librarian You can see the bronze doors at the Mitchell Library on Shakespeare Place in Sydney, or by searching for SLNSW portico doors. Presenter: Annabel Crabb Researcher: Julia O'Shea Audio Engineer: Harvey O'Sullivan Supervising Producer: Rachael Cusick Executive Producers: Eric George and Carmel Rooney Head of Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn To hear the rest of the History Or Hoarding? podcast series, or for more of the best history podcasts covering Australian history, global history, including war, politics, literature and some of the most interesting people, moments and turning points in history, go to ABC listen Australia's history tab or the ABC Australia channel or wherever you get your podcasts. To add the History Or Hoarding? podcast to your playlist, just tap 'favourite' or 'follow' on your app and you'll never miss an episode.

More from History Or Hoarding? With Annabel Crabb

Jun 9, 2026

Nestled alongside the Library's famous treasures — their First Fleet journals, Shakespeare folios, mementos of writers from Henry Lawson to Charlotte Wood – are millions of seemingly simple objects. Old menus, bus timetables, Valentine's Day cards… capturing an era, and the lives of some truly fabulous nobodies. Annabel Crabb explores the lives of the lesser-known people that curators have chosen to preserve. This episode's speakers: Margot Riley – Curator Maggie Patton — Head of Collection Acquisition & Curation Damien Webb — Manager of the Indigenous Engagement Branch Richard Neville — Mitchell Librarian This episode's treasures from the SLNSW collection: Fruit stickers collected between 26 April 2008 — 1 August 2009 in the Sydney suburb of Mona Vale Mrs G. B. Moore family notebook regarding the construction of their house in the Kogarah area of Sydney, 1913 Snuggle Bunny Frank and Princess Dorothy Valentine's Day cards are housed within the Library's Greeting Card collection as part of the overall Ephemera Collection Special thanks to Dr Caroline Butler-Bowden and everyone at the State Library of NSW who gave their time and shared their stories. Presenter: Annabel Crabb Researcher: Julia O'Shea Audio Engineer: Harvey O'Sullivan Supervising Producer: Rachael Cusick Executive Producers: Eric George and Carmel Rooney Head of Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn To hear the rest of the History Or Hoarding? podcast series, or for more of the best history podcasts covering Australian history, global history, including war, politics, literature and some of the most interesting people, moments and turning points in history, go to ABC listen Australia's history tab or the ABC Australia channel or wherever you get your podcasts. To add the History Or Hoarding? podcast to your playlist, just tap 'favourite' or 'follow' on your app and you'll never miss an episode.

Jun 2, 2026

Something is rotting, deep in the stacks of Australia's oldest library. It's microfilm. Annabel Crabb dives into the unsettling world of historical preservation in the age of digital storage, asking: Does data live forever in the cloud? How can I protect my photos? Are my emails secure? Could the hoarding of historical items be the correct solution after all? Why can't we just print it all out? This episode's speakers: Maggie Patton — Head of Collection Acquisition & Curation Matthew Burgess - Lead Digital Archivist The photo for this episode is courtesy of State Library of NSW. Presenter: Annabel Crabb Researcher: Julia O'Shea Audio Engineer: Harvey O'Sullivan Supervising Producer: Rachael Cusick Executive Producers: Eric George and Carmel Rooney Head of Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn To hear the rest of the History Or Hoarding? podcast series, or for more of the best history podcasts covering Australian history, global history including war, politics, literature and some of the most interesting people, moments and turning points in history, go to ABC listen Australia's history tab or the ABC Australia channel or wherever you get your podcasts. To add the History Or Hoarding? podcast to your playlist, just tap 'favourite' or 'follow' on your app and you'll never miss an episode.

May 26, 2026

Every hoarder's nightmare… SMASHING an irreplaceable, precious antique. Annabel Crabb pieces together the tale of prospector Bernhardt Holtermann. Gold Rush mogul. Early photography enthusiast. He found Australia's largest reef gold nugget (153kg!) and produced the world's biggest wet plate glass negative. Then something very bad happened. This episode's speakers: Margot Riley - Curator Louise Anemaat — Executive Director, Library and Information Services and Dixson Librarian The photo for this episode is courtesy of State Library of NSW. Search for the Holtermann Collection in the SLNSW online catalogue. Presenter: Annabel Crabb Researcher: Julia O'Shea Audio Engineer: Harvey O'Sullivan Supervising Producer: Rachael Cusick Executive Producers: Eric George and Carmel Rooney Head of Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn To hear the rest of the History Or Hoarding? podcast series, or for more of the best history podcasts covering Australian history, global history including war, politics, literature and some of the most interesting people, moments and turning points in history, go to ABC listen Australia's history tab or the ABC Australia channel or wherever you get your podcasts. To add the History Or Hoarding? podcast to your playlist, just tap 'favourite' or 'follow' on your app and you'll never miss an episode.

May 19, 2026

Violating the "quiet" rule. The extraordinary, hilarious, heart-warming story of two young Indigenous trainee library curators who started on the same day at the Library 35 years ago, and became best friends, found hidden stories on everything from the First Fleet to the Freedom Ride and as Annabel Crabb learns, revolutionised the State Library of NSW collections forever. This episode's speakers: Melissa Jackson - Librarian, Indigenous Engagement Branch Ronald Briggs - Senior Librarian, Indigenous Collections The photo for this episode is courtesy of photographer Daniel Boud. Presenter: Annabel Crabb Researcher: Julia O'Shea Audio Engineer: Harvey O'Sullivan Supervising Producer: Rachael Cusick Executive Producers: Eric George and Carmel Rooney Head of Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn To hear the rest of the History Or Hoarding? podcast series, or for more of the best history podcasts covering Australian history, global history, including war, politics, literature and some of the most interesting people, moments and turning points in history, go to ABC listen Australia's history tab or the ABC Australia channel or wherever you get your podcasts.

May 12, 2026

Long before the Internet introduced us to twinks and furries, the Victorian era had explored 'scandalous' gay porn via explicit love letters between men. The Library locked such filth away, lest it corrupt the people, yet curiously, simultaneously chose to preserve it. Annabel Crabb finds an erotic literary treasure, penned by Oscar Wilde's most famous and tumultuous lover, that was lost in the vaults for a century. This episode's speakers: Margot Riley — Curator Maggie Patton — Head of Collection Acquisition & Curation Richard Neville — Mitchell Librarian Damien Webb — Manager of the Indigenous Engagement Branch Search for Letter to Maurice Schwabe from Lord Alfred Douglas 1893 in the SLNSW collection. Presenter: Annabel Crabb Researcher: Julia O'Shea Audio Engineer: Harvey O'Sullivan Supervising Producer: Rachael Cusick Executive Producers: Eric George and Carmel Rooney Head of Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn To hear the rest of the History Or Hoarding? podcast series, or for more of the best history podcasts covering Australian history, global history, including war, politics, literature and some of the most interesting people, moments and turning points in history, go to ABC listen Australia's history tab or the ABC Australia channel or wherever you get your podcasts. To add the History Or Hoarding? podcast to your playlist, just tap 'favourite' or 'follow' on your app and you'll never miss an episode.

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