To mark Anzac Day, we hear the story of Hobart teacher Captain Ivor Margetts, who led his men into battle at Gallipoli during WWI, surviving the whole campaign in the Dardanelles Strait, only to be killed at the very start of the Battle of Pozieres.

Known as Margo to his mates and Captain Ivor to his descendants, Ivor Margetts was a teacher and AFL player living in Hobart when Australia joined the war in 1914.

Eager to do his bit for his country, Ivor set sail, first for training in Egypt, then for Gallipoli. He was in the 12th Battalion, made up of soldiers from Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. They were some of the first troops to land at Anzac Cove in Turkey at 4am on April 25, 1915, and Ivor, amazingly, managed to survive many close calls throughout the entire Gallipoli campaign.

He kept a diary of his experiences, but it was his detailed letters home, full of tales of horror and triumph and told with a typical Aussie larrikinism, that give a first-hand glimpse into what life at Gallipoli was like.

In this special Anzac Day episode, I tell his story, and read excerpts from his letters, many which have never been heard before.

Hosted by Marion Langford. Follow on Instagram or check out the website at ratbagsandroustabouts.com. Do you know a story that the history books forgot? Let us know about it!

In 1832, when a group of indentured servants ran off from their jobs with the Van Diemen’s Land Company in northwest Tasmania, the ramifications would be severe — both for them and for their former master, Edward Curr.

At the fledgling settlement of Circular Head in March 1832, the Forth ship brought a group of indentured servants from England, ready to get to work for a set number of years in the service of the Van Diemen’s Land Company.

But when they set foot on land, the cold, leaky tents and ramshackle housing they were given for their accommodations, the sub-standard rations and the poor overall treatment made many regret their decision to uproot their families to move to the other side of the world.

So unhappy were they, that a large number of the workers decided to risk the wilds of Tassie’s untouched north and run away.

What happened next was a David and Goliath battle between the chief agent of the VDL Company’s Circular Head settlement and the disgruntled workers.

It would see some of the absconders jailed — but would also not end happily for their stubborn and belligerent boss.

Hosted by Marion Langford. Follow on Instagram or check out the website at ratbagsandroustabouts.com. Do you know a story that the history books forgot? Let us know about it!

In 1883, Kelly Gang wannabes James Sutherland and James Ogden carried out their brief but bloody bushranging careers near Epping Forest, Tasmania. But they never achieved the same infamy as their hero Ned Kelly.

In the middle of the night, William Wilson and his wife Theresa were woken by the sound of stones hitting the roof of their small house in the north midlands of Tasmaina. But when William went outside to see what it was, he was shot. And so began a night of terror for the family as bushrangers James Sutherland and James Ogden shot at them, set their house on fire and dragged off their 11-year-old daughter.

Just two days later, they repeated their violent actions when they shot, then scalped, coachman Alfred Holman as he drove his lemonade cart along the main road.

But it was a short-lived career as outlaws. They were arrested and sentenced to death.

While awaiting execution, the pair sang ballads about their idols, the Kelly Gang, and newspapers reported that it was their desire for the same kind of notoriety as Ned Kelly that had set them on the path to criminality.

But was that the only reason?

Hosted by Marion Langford. Follow on Instagram or check out the website at ratbagsandroustabouts.com. Do you know a story that the history books forgot? Let us know about it!