PROV podcast brings history to life

It’s easy to get hooked on Public Record Office Victoria (PROV)’s award-winning podcast ‘Look history in the eye’.

The podcast takes a deep dive into Victoria’s public records to uncover details about the state’s colourful past.

Pentridge Prison main gates (VPRS 10516/P0001), the scene of Episode 5 which details the history of the Gaol’s many escapes.

In each episode, the PROV hosts put a spotlight on a fascinating piece of Victoria’s history. The podcast also features special guests, such as Victorian historians, writers, academics and more.

A love letter written in 1919 between Melbourne men Ben Morris and Harry Bruin (Criminal Trial Briefs, VPRS 30/P0000, 100). You can hear their story, as well as other queer stories from the archives, in Episode 9.

Highlights include:

• an investigation into the 1907 sighting of a mysterious creature known as the 'Kamarooka Panther'
• a discussion about the Australian Queer Archives
• an exploration of how 5 prisoners escaped Pentridge Prison in 1955.

Isabel Letham postcard (Courtesy Warringah Library). Isabel is one of the pioneering Australian women featured in Episode 15 who moved to America to make it big.

Already a fan of the podcast? You’re in luck! New episodes are now live.
Tune in to hear:

• ‘The Brookside Girls’: Award-winning journalist Erica Cervini details the dark history of the Brookside Reformatory for Girls in Ballarat.
• ‘Travelling to Tomorrow’: Historian Dr Yves Rees uncovers profiles of extraordinary Australian women in history who made it big in the United States
• ‘The case of the Sandy Point skeleton’: Forensics and historical research meet to solve the groundbreaking case of the mysterious Sandy Point skeleton.
• ‘Ghost signs of North Melbourne’: Sean Reynolds, the man behind the popular Instagram @melbourne_ghostsigns, shares the stories behind old heritage advertisements.
  

PROV host, Kate Follington, recording an episode.

The episodes, along with the archival records which inspire each episode, can be found on the Look history in the eye homepage.

You can also listen to the podcast on all major podcast platforms.

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PROV is part of the Department of Government Services.