Who's Been Sleeping in My House?

Keith and Sherry Parker are the owners of a cottage that for many years was run as a guesthouse. During the Second World War a mysterious lodger with suspected ties to the Axis powers was captured after allegedly conducting secret reconnaissance missions in the area. While Australia's official military history refutes the notion of foreign spies operating on Australian soil during the War, Adam goes in search of eyewitness accounts to piece together this fascinating story of espionage.

Could there be a link between an unidentified body discovered at Western Australia's Garden Island and the mysterious hillside lodger? What Adam discovers could result in a rewrite of Australian wartime history.

The Parkers also set Adam the challenge of seeing whether he can determine the date and purpose behind a curious old tomahawk that was dug up from their garden. A forensic investigation and a detailed analysis of local records help Adam identify the relic and reveal where the Parker's home fits in with the colourful history of the local area.

Mark Galer and his wife Dorothy are the owners of an impressive country estate in rural Victoria. They are intrigued by a local tale that their home was once the scene of the thrilling arrest of a disgraced former British MP, John Stonehouse.

In 1974, Stonehouse was under suspicion over his business dealings. He faked his own death by leaving a pile of clothes on a Miami Beach and fled to Australia. Known as ‘The Stonehouse Affair', the story made international headlines when the fugitive MP was discovered in Victoria. But just what role did Mark and Dorothy's home play in this extraordinary story?

Adam is also challenged to investigate the story behind the massive ballroom that dominates Mark and Dorothy's home. Who built it, when and why? And what's the ingenious hidden design that holds this architectural oddity up? The search reveals compelling tales of mateship and sacrifice that are woven into the fabric of this truly unique home.

The Dolton family's prize Paddington terrace hasn't always been so pristine. For many years it remained so derelict and overgrown that the locals referred to it as ‘The Witch's House'. In fact the tale of this classic East Sydney home mirrors the evolution of the suburb itself, from early settlement, to depression and then grand gentrification.

The Doltons have heard stories that at the height of its Nineteenth Century grandeur their terrace belonged to a Chilean sea captain, who also held the post of Consul General for no less than four nations at the same time. But as Adam discovers, there was a darker side to this colourful character, whose career eventually turned to ruin.

Behind the very public highs and lows of the Chilean sea captain, Adam also discovers the secret life of a reclusive multi-millionaire who owned more than 100 homes, including the Dalton's terrace. Her frugal eccentricity inadvertently saved much of Paddington from the hands of unrestrained development.

Greg and Tina Tilden are the owners of a charming Queensland workers' cottage in Toowoomba. The house has strong links to the town's local history and serves as an intriguing insight into early health care. At a time when women gave birth at home, often without adequate professional assistance, local midwives offered up their own homes as a kind of private maternity clinic, which was seen as a safer alternative. They were known as ‘Lying-in hospitals' and as Adam's research reveals, many babies were born in the Toowoomba cottage under the direction of its owner, known as Nurse Lea.

However, the role the cottage played in community healthcare is blighted by a dark story. One day a stranger knocked on the Tildens' door and recounted a deathbed confession that described how a newborn was stolen from the nursery over 70 years ago. In an attempt to validate the claim, Adam exhausts every traditional research method and ultimately has to think outside the box.

As Adam also learns, the house itself is a survivor, fortunately escaping damage from Toowoomba's 2011 tragic floods and a history of neglect. The Tildens want to personally thank the person who pulled their home back from dilapidated ruin, and their wish is granted thanks to a strange twist of fate.

At the time of its settlement, Gunning was a frontier town, a remote rest stop on the Old Hume Highway that linked Sydney and Melbourne. The rolling hills made the area a perfect hideout for bushrangers and the highway brought wealthy travellers right to their doorstep.

Jay and Kerry Gribbin now live in Gunning's former lockup that was built in the late 1800s to help police the banditry. The original cells still remain intact underneath the building and the Gribbins are keen to learn all they can about how their home played such an important role in the town's lawless history.

But the stories of the Gunning house don't end with bushranger legends. Adjacent to the house is a grave that bears testament to one of the colony's most brutal murders. Lucretia Dunkley was convicted and sentenced to death for the slaying of her husband Henry Dunkley in 1842. Could it be that the infamous female murderess was also incarcerated under the house? The answer lies in determining the exact age of the building and Adam calls in an archaeological team to dig into the truth.

Professor of Law Jennifer Mckay and her daughter Monica invite Adam into their unique Federation mansion situated in the leafy Adelaide suburb of St Peters. They want Adam to investigate the rumour that a web of mysterious wires found in their attic was once part of a clandestine radio station that was used to track and broadcast the movements of allied ships during the Second World War. The story takes an unusual turn as Adam unearths a link to a group of Jehovah Witnesses and a compelling story about a battle for religious freedom emerges.

Adam is also asked to look into the life of wealthy wool trader R. J. Coombs, the home's original builder. Adam discovers why the enormous wealth accumulated by Coombs disappeared during the Depression, and the tragic events that brought his family to financial ruin.