
Crime, punishment and reporting
True crime stories have never been more popular. They offer morality plays with heroes, villains – and occasionally, clean resolutions. A deep-dive of the NFSA’s collection shows the evolution of media reporting on some of the most infamous crimes of the last century – stories that have influenced public sentiment, our behaviour, and our collective fears.
‘Often in true crime, we meet people during the darkest days of their lives and ask them to tell us their story.’Rachael Brown Journalist
Rachael Brown’s work uncovering buried information in the Maria James murder began long before she recorded her first podcast episode of Trace. While the crime remains unsolved, the injection of fresh information has led to some major wins, most notably a million-dollar push for information.
‘I'm doing the podcasts to try to get a result that's been denied the families of the victims and others for a very long time.’Hedley Thomas Journalist
Hedley Thomas has to be satisfied that a cold case has potential to be solved before he’ll take on what will ultimately be a months-long investigation. But another crucial element is feeling a connection to the victim’s story.
Three curious unsolved mysteries now available to stream on demand on NFSA Player.
Cold War assassination? An overdose of LSD? Or something more sinister? When the bodies of brilliant physicist Dr Gilbert Bogle and his lover Mrs Margaret Chandler were found in bizarre circumstances on a Sydney riverbank in 1963, the case captured the public imagination, launching an unprecedented murder investigation.
This explosive documentary from our Film Australia collection, by writer and director Peter Butt, shares startling evidence in one of Australia’s most baffling cases as it asks: Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler?
Florence Broadhurst, known internationally for her bold wallpaper designs, was murdered in her Sydney studio in 1977. To this day, the case remains unsolved. In Unfolding Florence, acclaimed director Gillian Armstrong reveals the the many lives of the glamorous, complicated and unconventional Florence Broadhurst.
On 17 December 1967, on a deserted beach in Victoria, Prime Minister Harold Holt went swimming – then disappeared without a trace. The incident has puzzled citizens and historians ever since. Why did the nation's leader enter such turbulent surf that day? What did the police investigation overlook? Can declassified documents offer any new clues to solving the mystery? The documentary The Prime Minister is Missing (Peter Butt, 2008) seeks to address these questions and more.
Stream now on NFSA Player
Six dramatised stories exploring some of Australia’s most high-profile crimes, criminals and police investigations, offering gripping narratives and compelling performances.
Animal Kingdom (David Michôd, 2010) is loosely based on the murder of two young Victorian police constables, known as the ‘Walsh Street Police Shootings.’ The film features an A-list cast, including Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, and Jacki Weaver. Weaver plays the crime family matriarch ‘Smurf,’ a role that earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 83rd Academy Awards.
Nitram (Justin Kurzel, 2022) examines the months leading up to the devastating 1996 Port Arthur massacre and features American actor Caleb Landry Jones in the role of the killer.
Snowtown (Justin Kurzel, 2010) is a chilling account of the infamous ‘Bodies in the Barrels’, murders, named after the discovery of eight bodies in an empty bank vault in the South Australian town of Snowtown in May 1999.
Catching Milat (Peter Andrikidis, 2014) is a two-part, fictionalised account of the investigation by police Task Force Air into the 1990s backpacker murders in NSW.
The first series of Underbelly (Tony Tilse, 2008) is a 13-part crime drama based on the Melbourne gangland wars from 1994 to 2004. Although highly acclaimed with an all-star cast, it did receive criticism for glamorising real-life underworld figures.
Evil Angels (Fred Schepisi, 1988) is based on events following the death of nine-week-old Azaria Chamberlain in 1980.
Four of the more bizarre Australian crime stories from the NFSA's collection.
On 26 May 1971, Peter Macari, alias Mr Brown, and his accomplice Raymond Poynting, executed an elaborate robbery. Macari demanded money from Qantas officials, threatening to detonate a bomb hidden on a flight from Sydney carrying 128 passengers and crew.
In 1935, a captured shark near Coogee Beach regurgitated a man's tattooed arm, igniting a series of events leading to two murder investigations. The case inspired the 1960 teleplay The Grey Nurse Said Nothing, written by Sumner Locke Elliott and broadcast live on Channel 7.
In 1984, Brisbane horse racing was rocked by the 'Fine Cotton Affair,' a scam involving horse substitution. A betting syndicate, including many of the racing elite, orchestrated this infamously hare-brained scheme.
On 21 April 1976 a gang of armed robbers stole around $16 million from bookmakers at Melbourne's Victoria Club. It was one of the biggest heists in Australian history. How did they get away with it?
Read more and watch a clip from Crime Investigation Australia.
The ‘Pyjama Girl’ case of the 1930s and '40s and the 1960 kidnapping and murder of Graeme Thorne offer insights into the evolving science of forensic investigation.
The 'Pyjama Girl' Mystery
On 1 September 1934, the body of an unidentified young woman was found in a culvert on the side of a road near Albury, NSW, dressed only in silk pyjamas. Until 1944, her murder was considered one of the most baffling unsolved murder cases in Australian criminal history.
The kidnap of Graeme Thorne
In 1960, eight-year-old Graeme Thorne was kidnapped on his way to school in Bondi. Shortly after, the boy’s mother received a ransom demand for his return. The case was history-making and used groundbreaking forensic work to bring Graeme's murderer to justice.
One of the most shocking and violent attacks on Victorian police was the orchestrated murder of two young constables in the early hours of 12 October 1988. Read about the Walsh Street police shootings.
Ronald Ryan was the last man hanged in Australia, on 3 February 1967. What were the events leading from Ryan's escape from prison through to the day of his execution? Find out more about Ronald Ryan.
Prime Minister Harold Holt entered the surf at Cheviot Beach, Victoria on the afternoon of 17 December 1967 and was never seen again. Read about the many theories, allegations and rumours surrounding his disappearance.
In this collection of Australian unsolved crimes and mysteries you'll discover bizarre, sinister and heartbreaking stories from Australia's criminal past.
These clips show how the cases were reported at the time and how cold cases were often reinvestigated through fresh eyes many years, or even decades, after the tragic events.
We also see the lasting effects that unsolved cases have on those left behind.
View the Australian True Crime Mysteries curated collection.
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.