Imagine grappling with the pain of losing a parent, only to find out at their funeral that they may have led a double life.
This is exactly what happened to journalist Amelia Oberhardt.
After her Mum’s death, Amelia went to her mother’s home in Brisbane to collect some photos for the funeral. Still grieving and feeling overwhelmed, Amelia handed the task over to her best friend.
The Wake
It wasn’t until she was at her mother’s funeral, watching a slideshow of images that something strange stood out to her.
“The sort of photos you’d expect to see filled the screen – mum as a kid, mum with her many friends, us as family in the early years… and then a photo I’d never seen before flashed on the screen,” Amelia said.
“Mum, a silver ring on her wedding finger, cuddling a newborn baby with a young man standing next to her, a hand across her back… it looked like a family portrait.”
Turns out, Amelia’s friend thought the image was of Amelia, her mother and her father.
“I said ‘that’s not my dad, and that’s not me.”
This conversation opened up a big can of worms which would lead to the discovery of more questions than answers, and opens up a chapter of Australia’s dark history.
In a new podcast ‘The Secrets We Keep’, Amelia takes us along with her during her 12 year long investigation into her mother’s life, which leads Amelia to uncover the secrets of 1950’s – 1970’s Australia—shotgun marriages, hushed abortions, and forced adoptions.
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