History Or Hoarding? With Annabel Crabb
History Or Hoarding? With Annabel Crabb

History Or Hoarding? With Annabel Crabb

ABC Australia

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Annabel Crabb — who personally struggles to declutter, just ask her husband — visits Australia's oldest library and immediately feels better about her own habits. Above ground, this place is all books. But below? There are letters, maps, old restaurant menus, military antiques, coin collections, stamps, walking sticks, an upsetting amount of HUMAN HAIR and — most importantly — some incredible stories that capture our history in unique ways. Join Annabel as she dives into the secret stacks and collections of Australia's oldest library, State Library of NSW, uncovering strange, forgotten and fascinating National treasures. Episode 1 of the podcast will be available from 22 April 2026, tap 'favourite' or 'follow' now to add it to your podcast playlist on the ABC listen app, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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

Recent Episodes

Australia’s greatest coin heist
MAY 5, 2026
Australia’s greatest coin heist
A charming restaurateur, ballroom dancer, coin collector and porn aficionado. A closely-guarded trove of colonial gold coins in the William Dixson collection. A daring heist! Annabel Crabb dives into the obsessive world of numismatics and finds the history of Australian currency is full of crooks. This episode's speakers: Jim Noble - Numismatist Julia O'Shea - ABC Researcher Oral History Librarian Rosie Block interviews librarian Joy Storie, 2005 What happened to the coins? The 23 coins and dies allegedly stolen by David Gee were discovered in 1982 by a caretaker cleaning out a storeroom at an apartment block where Gee had lived. They were returned to the Library in December 1982 under armed escort. A detailed listing of the Sir William Dixson numismatic collection is available 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.
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27 MIN