Marc Finnell
speaker
240 appearances
2 recordings
1 series
first heard Jun 2026
last heard 28 Jun
Marc Finnell’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 2 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 2.
Appearances
But its medicinal quality really comes from its leaves, because in those leaves is a substance known as hyacinth, which has a very curious effect on the human body.
So the Indigenous people up along the East Coast, they've known about this plant for, you know, forever.
But then European colonists arrive and pretty soon they start to take notice of it too.
In the 1800s, you find a man travelling up along the east coast of Australia with a fabulous beard, a three-piece suit and a truly amazing name.
And he too stumbles across this corkwood tree.
His name was Ferdinand von Mühle.
Actually, sorry, Baron von Mueller.
Von Mueller takes note of the uses of the corkwood tree, that it's got anti-nausea, sedative properties, and those notes are shared mostly in botanical and medical circles.
But for years, that's kind of it.
They just sort of sit there on a shelf.
Until about a century later, the world is at war.
The Allies in desperate need of medicine.
So remember, at this point, we are nearly five years into the Second World War.
The fate of Western Europe is hinging on this incredibly important mission.
The Allied campaign to liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation was codenamed Operation Overlord.
It was a huge, immense air, sea and ground force from 13 nations, including Australia, that were getting ready to invade Normandy and France.
This operation took over a year to prepare,
But one of the most unexpected dangers to the soldiers expected to make this invasion work was just the English Channel itself.
The supplies in the Northern Hemisphere had run very thin, and so the Allies turned to each other and say, well, what else can we use?
And that is when, of all places, Australia spoke up and said, you know, we might have something.
Showing 41–60 of 240 · page 3 of 12
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