Share real hope with your family, friends and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au) Edith Cowan made it her mission to see women participating in every area of public life – education, religion, politics, health, the law and social justice. She founded and worked for numerous volunteer organisations that promoted the rights and welfare of women and children, including the House of Mercy for unmarried mothers, The Karrakatta Women’s Club, The Children’s Protection Society and King Edward Memorial Hospital. She was the first woman to ever sit in an Australian Parliament and today she h ..read more

Share real hope with your family, friends and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au) David Unaipon was an Aboriginal preacher, inventor, author and activist. Profoundly gifted in several fields, his achievements emphatically disproved the prejudiced preconceptions that existed about Aboriginal people at the time. He lectured publicly on science and theology and patented nine inventions, including a shear that turned circular motion into lateral motion. He collected the myths and legends of Aboriginal people and was the first indigenous Australian to be published, although his book was ..read more

Share real hope with your family, friends and community!  - Hope 103.2 (hope1032.com.au) Lt. Col Ralph Honner is a World War II hero and one of Australia’s best-known officers. He is remembered for his inspired efforts leading the exhausted men of the 39th battalion in their heroic defence at Isurava on the arduous Kokoda Track. He also inflicted a decisive defeat on the Japanese at Gona on the Northern coast of New Guinea, where he was severely wounded. After his retirement, Honner went on to serve as the ambassador to Ireland. A man of faith and a poetic soul, he was deeply respected an ..read more

Caroline Chisholm was a philanthropist, social reformer and humanitarian, who  devoted herself to helping unemployed migrants, particularly vulnerable young  women.  She set up a safehouse and employment agency for single women, and  personally escorted them to their new homes in the country. She campaigned to bring out the families of former convicts for free, so they  could be reunited with their loved ones in Australia. In 1847, she became the first woman to address the House of Lords in  Westminster. She was also the first woman, other than the Queen, to featu ..read more

A true, rags to riches story, Mary Reibey came to Australia as a teenage convict in 1792. She was just 14 years old when she was sentenced to seven years transportation. When her husband died, leaving her with seven children, she took over all his business dealings. A tough and determined businesswoman, she built a fortune as a ship-owner, trader and property developer in the early days of the colony. She erected many elegant buildings in Sydney, some of which are still standing, and was one of the founders of Westpac bank. As a philanthropist, she made a significant contribution to education ..read more

In the 1920s, Stanley and Lucy Drummond travelled together around the remote outback areas of Far Western NSW from their base in Cobar. In their travels, they met many families who had suffered unspeakable loss due to the lack of medical services. Stanley Drummond dreamed of bringing outback kids to the beach for R&R and medical care.58 kids attended the first Far West Seaside Camp in 1924. By 1935,they opened the Drumond Far West Home in Manly, known today as Royal Far West -the only charity dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of country kids.Decades later,Stanely and Lucy Dru ..read more

Content Warning: This Episode Contains The Mention Of Suicide Rev Sir Alan Walker is best known as the founder of the telephone counselling service, Lifeline. It was the first service of its kind and led the way for telephone counselling and telehealth services around the world. He ran Wesley Mission for 20 years and was quite a media personality in his day with columns in the Fairfax Press and a very popular TV show. His ethics were so highly regarded that the Governor-General, Bill Hayden called him ‘the conscience of the nation’. Lifeline 13 11 14 Further information: Tireless Crusader for ..read more

Sir Doug and Lady Gladys Nicholls had a powerful partnership.  They grew up together at Cummeragunja Mission on the Murray River.  Doug was a Yorta Yorta man who played AFL at the highest level for ten years, playing for both Northcote and Fitzroy.  Though he experienced racism, he was a popular player and today the indigenous round of the AFL is named after him.   Together with his wife Gladys, they campaigned for reconciliation, pastored a church and provided practical help to indigenous people in the Fitzroy area. They had an unusual unity of purpose with their shar ..read more

Ever heard the expression ‘telling a Furphy’?  In this episode, you’ll learn where that saying comes from.  John Furphy was the inventor of the ubiquitous Furphy water cart, seen all over rural Australia. It was during the first world war that the famous water cart let to the slang expression ‘telling a Furphy’.    His younger brother John was known for his literary talents – he's been dubbed the ‘father of the Australian novel’. As a bullock driver on the Hay plains, he would read Shakespeare and the bible, while his colleagues drank away their earnings. In 1903, he p ..read more

Charles O’Neil was the founder of Vinnies in New South Wales. An accomplished engineer and a former Parliamentarian in New Zealand, Charles was torn between his professional career and his desire to serve the poor. Charles sought a ‘more authentic vision of Christian charity that was unobtrusive, non-judgemental and respected the dignity of the poor’. At the request of the charity, he moved to Australia to establish the work of St Vincent de Paul around The Rocks area of Sydney. His energy, drive and passion took Vinnies from strength to strength and today the organisation helps 1.8 million Au ..read more