History

History Or Hoarding? With Annabel Crabb

by ABC Australia

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Australia · History

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About the show

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

Latest episodes

Fabulous nobodies

June 9, 2026 · 24 min

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…
Vinegar syndrome

June 2, 2026 · 25 min

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?…
The unfortunate incident

May 26, 2026 · 25 min

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…
The giggle twins

May 19, 2026 · 27 min

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…
The strong room

May 12, 2026 · 29 min

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…
Australia’s greatest coin heist

May 5, 2026 · 27 min

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…
A very drunk history

April 28, 2026 · 27 min

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…
I found a hair in my library

April 21, 2026 · 26 min

Plagued by the question "Am I a hoarder?" journalist Annabel Crabb visits Australia's oldest library and learns that her own issues with 'collecting' historical items are MINOR. The State Library of NSW is known for books, but its…