Freaky Friday Files: Australian Scandals
- ashey9111
- Aug 1
- 4 min read
DISCLAIMER: Some information in this blog post may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
Hi friends! Happy Friday!
For this week's edition of Freaky Friday Files, I thought we could take a look at some Australian Scandals. I came across a post in the AskAnAustralian subreddit on Reddit asking, "What Australian scandals and news stories stick out the most to you?" And from there, I was inspired to write this post. Some of the things discussed in this blog post may have been mentioned on asheycakes previously, but I do hope you enjoy this edition of FFF, as some of it is just quite interesting.
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Australian Scandals
Harold Holt's Disappearance - The 17th Prime Minister of Australia, Harold Holt, disappeared when he was swimming at the beach one day in 1967. He convinced the people he was with to stop for a swim at Cheviot Beach, Victoria. Holt claimed to know the beach like "the back of his hand". The swimming conditions at the beach weren't great that day, and so only Holt and one other person got into the water. Holt went out too far and may have gotten caught in a rip. His body has never been recovered. Ironically, there is a swimming pool named after him.
Democracy Manifest/Succulent Chinese Meal - In 1991, there was a news segment about an Australian man, Jack Karlson, who was arrested by Queensland Police at a Chinese Restaurant. It was believed that he was a serial "dine and dasher" and had been followed by an American Express Investigator. When arrested, he said, "Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest!", "What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?", "Get your hand off my p*nis!" It wasn't until 2020 that the man in the video revealed himself to the public. Jack passed away in 2024.
Malcolm Fraser's Pants Debacle - Another previous Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, went to Memphis in 1986 and stayed in what was claimed as a "seedy" hotel. He was in Memphis to give a speech at a country club, and the next morning, he was found without his pants. After his speech, he had gone out for drinks, and the next day, he went down to the lobby of the hotel in a towel and a tiny shirt with no recollection of what had happened to him. He had lost his pants, passport, watch, and cash. Fraser believed that someone may have dr*gged his drink as his memory was very hazy. There were a lot of conspiracy theories about what happened that night, but it was most likely that a Texan woman who was known to police had committed this crime. Fraser never made a report. This is a good reminder that anyone's drink can get spiked, no matter what gender or sex you are.
Belle Gibson - If you're unfamiliar with who Belle Gibson is, I'd recommend checking out Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix (I still need to watch it). But Belle Gibson is an Australian health fraudster, former influencer, and advocate for pseudoscience. Gibson claimed to have been diagnosed with multiple forms of cancer, including brain cancer, and claimed that she was treating it through diet and lifestyle. Legal action has occurred, but the fines she owes have not been paid. The worst part about Gibson and what she did is that SOOO many people believed her and put themselves in danger because of it.
Runaway Train - The band Soul Asylum had a hit song called Runaway Train and they made a few versions of the music video that went along with the song. Some videos included missing people, some included victims of Ivan Milat, and they also had a number you could call with any information. I believe they made different versions for different countries and had the missing persons from each country.
The Somerton Man - On the 1st December, 1948, an unidentified man was found on the beach in Somerton in Adelaide. In the man's pocket was a scrap of paper that said tamám shud, meaning "It is over" or "It is finished". Authorities found the book that the paper had been torn from, and in that book, they found a local phone number, another random number, and a coded message. In 2022, he may have been identified as a man called Carl "Charles" Webb, who was an electrical engineer born in 1905. However, forensics has not verified this.
The Coogee Bay Hotel Poo Scandal - In 2008, there were two families who complained about not being able to hear a rugby league final due to the pub's music. Both families were given a free dessert of ice cream. The ice cream tested positive for faecal matter. I saw a comment that said the families did it themselves, but I can't be 100% sure on that. Very odd.
The Robodebt Scheme - An automated, unlawful debt assessment scheme that was implemented under the Liberal-National Coalition as part of Centrelink's payment compliance program. It went from 2016 - 2020, and I believe it did auto-assessments and had at least 470,000 wrongly issued debts. In 2022, for those still under review, Albo's government forgave all of them and issued a formal apology. What a weird f*cking scheme to implement in the first place.
Frank Sinatra - Allegedly, Frank Sinatra called all of Australia's female journalists prostitutes. This led to a union ban on travel and support for his tour in Australia. His hotel was also besieged, and he negotiated to get out of the country.
Pete Evans, in general - A chef who used to be on My Kitchen Rules but then went down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole and pushed things like feeding infants bone broth as formula and saying that specific products will cure COVID. WTF is wrong with you? He may also be a Neo-N*zi. UGH.
And obviously, the mushroom case that's been going on this year. I don't really want to give much credit to it because it's just UUUUUGH. You can read about it "here".
There are sooo many more, but I'll leave it at that for now. Do you have any scandals from your country that you'd like to share? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading,
Stay safe!
Ash xx
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