Australian history holds a rich but largely untapped trove of extraordinary women: women who ran brothels, practised witchcraft, survived slavery, birthed children in the heat of the goldfields, or led tribes in resistance.
Maiden Australia uncovers these lives, bringing to light the realities of women’s experiences in Australia before it became the nation we know today.
Madame Monnier – A Short History of Sex Work in Australia (Part Two)
During and after World War I, pubs closed early, and returned Australian soldiers routinely moved on to brothels in the early hours of the morning. But one night in Perth, one of them arrived with a loaded gun.He demanded to be let in, raised his fist and pushed the gun through the peephole.In a time when it was unsafe to call for help, Marie Monnier was shot. And what happened next reveals a lot about the era and how women in her line of work were treated.
Learn her name. Share her story.
Speakers:
Professor Leigh Straw
April Eva S
Julie Bates
Produced, edited and written by Dr Corey Martin.
IG: @coreystories_
Contact: coreymartin@swin.edu.au
Post-production Assistance
Seth Delfin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethdelfin?originalSubdomain=au)
The Petticoat Parade
Available for purchase here (https://www.amazon.com.au/Petticoat-Parade-Monnier-Street-Brothels-ebook/dp/B0977JNKDR)
Artwork by Gemma Yeomans (https://www.behance.net/gemmayeomans)
Maiden Australia is recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I’m grateful to be able to connect through stories and to learn and share histories on land that is home to one of the oldest storytelling cultures in the world. Always was, always will be.
This episode explores events that took place on Roe Street, Perth, located on Whadjuk Noongar Country.
23 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
Madame Monnier – A Short History of Sex Work in Australia
Sex work is one of the oldest occupations in the world, and in early twentieth-century Australia, it was one of the few pathways to financial independence for women. It was risky and fraught with corruption, but for many, it was worth it to have a life of their own.
One of those women was Marie Monnier, aka Josie De Bray.
In 1902, she migrates to Australia from Paris without speaking English and with very little money. Within a few years, she owns multiple properties and is known as one of Perth’s most notorious brothel madams.
Learn her name. Share her story.
Speakers:
Professor Leigh Straw
April Eva S
Julie Bates
Produced, edited and written by Dr Corey Martin.
IG: @coreystories_
Contact: coreymartin@swin.edu.au
Post-production Assistance
Seth Delfin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethdelfin?originalSubdomain=au)
The Petticoat Parade
Available for purchase here (https://www.amazon.com.au/Petticoat-Parade-Monnier-Street-Brothels-ebook/dp/B0977JNKDR)
Artwork by Gemma Yeomans (https://www.behance.net/gemmayeomans)
Maiden Australia is recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I’m grateful to be able to connect through stories and to learn and share histories on land that is home to one of the oldest storytelling cultures in the world. Always was, always will be.
This episode explores events that took place on Roe Street, Perth, located on Whadjuk Noongar Country.
31 Mar 2025
Margaret Tucker – The First Aboriginal to Publish an Autobiography
It’s the 1950s in Melbourne: under the Moreton Bay fig in Carlton Gardens, a woman stands before a crowd—poised, powerful, and calm. The woman’s name is Margaret Tucker. A singer. A writer. An advocate for Aboriginal people. She spoke of justice, dignity, and truth—and people listened. Her story is one of unimaginable hardship, and one every Australian must acknowledge. Learn her name. Share her story.
Speakers:
Tania Rossi
Associate Professor Sadie Heckenberg
Associate Professor Jennifer Jones
Produced, edited and written by Dr Corey Martin.
Contact: coreymartin@swin.edu.au
IG: @coremartin
If Everyone Cared Enough
Available for purchase here (https://www.library.gov.au/discover/nla-publishing/if-everyone-cared-enough)
Artwork by Gemma Yeomans (https://www.behance.net/gemmayeomans)
16 Mar 2025
Fanny Finch – The Woman Who Voted Illegally
In 1856, on the Australian Goldfields of Castlemaine, hundreds of rugged miners in dirt-streaked trousers gathered to cast their votes. But among them stood an outlier—Fanny Finch. A business owner. A single mother. A woman of colour. Draped in blue silk with flowers in her hair, Fanny Finch was a strong and defiant character—she stood up for herself and other women. And that made her a target. Learn her name. Share her story.
Speakers:
Kacey Sinclair
Dr Catherine Gay
Lauren Starr @laurenstarrartist
Produced, edited and written by Dr Corey Martin.
Contact: coreymartin@swin.edu.au
IG: @coremartin
Artwork by Gemma Yeomans (https://www.behance.net/gemmayeomans)
3 Mar 2025
Rosaleen Norton – The Witch of Kings Cross
Imagine the 1960s: a woman sits in the gutter, a cigarette between her fingers, eyes burning. Rosaleen Norton—Witch, artist, and outsider. To the media and authorities, she was a 'Devil-Worshipper,' a dangerous woman who had to be stopped. She was silenced, ridiculed, and hunted—but not completely forgotten. Learn her name. Share her story.
Speakers:
Professor Marguerite Johnson: Sexuality in Greek and Roman Society and Literature (https://www.routledge.com/Sexuality-in-Greek-and-Roman-Society-and-Literature-A-Sourcebook/Johnson/p/book/9781138200418?srsltid=AfmBOorI_MOCBbEqc6ovoQcYqd7c7dIH0aZfmmbEZNOyuykk1fc-HGgm)
Sonia Bible: The Witch of Kings Cross (https://www.primevideo.com/dp/amzn1.dv.gti.df47c15f-10b7-49b3-9cd8-e78f809b9c2b?autoplay=0&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb)
Tree Carr: @tree_carr A Spell a Day: 365 Easy Spells, Rituals and Magics for Every Day (https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=22cf9685d21097a9&rlz=1C5CHFA_enAU1120AU1124&sxsrf=AHTn8zo1mTQXbVgktpRIGwNmLXe291qkDQ:1740965537938&q=A+Spell+a+Day:+365+Easy+Spells,+Rituals+and+Magics+for+Every+Day+Tree+Carr&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgFuLSz9U3MKlMLzPPVeLVT9c3NCxJq0jPqKos1JLKTrbST8rPz9ZPLC3JyC-yArGLFfLzcioXsXo5KgQXpObkKCQquCRWWikYm5kquCYWV0JEi3UUgjJLShNzihUS81IUfBPTM5OLFdLyixRcy1KLKkFaFEKKUlMVnBOLinawMgIA-NvCc4kAAAA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjU1NGD4uyLAxUjd2wGHTwjBYQQgOQBegQIOBAG&biw=1619&bih=1090&dpr=2)
Produced, edited and written by Dr Corey Martin.
Contact: coreymartin@swin.edu.au
IG: @coremartin
Artwork by Gemma Yeomans (https://www.behance.net/gemmayeomans)
17 Feb 2025
INTRODUCING – Maiden Australia
History has a habit of favouring some stories while neglecting others—and Australia’s history has its fair share of missing names and stories, especially those of women.
Maiden Australia digs them up.
Rebels, trailblazers, rule-breakers—women who defied the system and challenged the status quo, only to be silenced, forgotten, or overlooked.
These are the stories they didn’t tell you in school—and once you hear them, you won’t forget them.
Inside a recent episode
Madame Monnier – A Short History of Sex Work in Australia (Part Two)
Published 1 Feb 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] That's the option Marie Monnier chose. Let's rewind. A woman travels from Paris to Australia with no money and no English. Within a few years she's learnt the language. She's running multiple brothels in Perth, Western Australia. She owns several properties. She employs other women and she takes care of them. She's wealthy, but more unusually she's a woman who is independent. But when women don't conform to traditional roles, that freedom often comes with caveats. Marie is centre court again and again. She's blamed for STIs, blamed for drunkenness, and blamed for the behaviour of returned soldiers after the war. […]
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