meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Unravel

Barrenjoey Road 01 | Saturday night on Barrenjoey Road

Unravel

ABC Australia

True Crime, Society & Culture, Documentary

0.00 Ratings

🗓️ 8 October 2018

⏱️ 26 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A heart breaking search for the hitch-hike girl. For a free-spirited teenager, growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches in the '70s was as good as it gets. Endless perfect surf breaks, days spent lounging on the beach with mates, parties every weekend. 18-year-old Trudie Adams was typical, hanging out with her girlfriends and looking forward to a trip to Bali.

On a Saturday night out at the Newport Surf Club in June 1978, Trudie’s boyfriend watches her leave to hitch hike home. She never makes it.

The laidback community quickly realise something is wrong. The popular teenager had no reason to go missing. Suddenly, the northern beaches don’t feel so safe anymore.

Trudie’s disappearance exposes the dark underbelly of the "insular peninsula". There are drugs, crimes against women and, potentially, police corruption.

Join investigative journalist Ruby Jones as she begins to unravel what happened to Trudie Adams.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is an ABC podcast.

0:09.0

If you go north along the coastline of Sydney, you end up on Baron Joey Road. It follows the

0:15.9

shores of the northern beaches out along a peninsula to a kind of

0:20.9

clicheed Ozzy paradise with yellow sands and perfect breaks.

0:28.1

Surf is right at the back door, so yeah, pretty much enjoy that peninsula lifestyle.

0:37.0

We'd lay on the beach and then get hot, then we'd go out there in the surf and annoy the boys.

0:42.0

On the way to school, you'd go and check the surf.

0:44.0

And if the surf was good, well, you most likely wouldn't go to school. Back in the 70s, this place was its own little world. It was just a series of beachside villages.

0:57.0

You know, there's a lot crux here, it's like a country town sort of thing.

1:01.0

It was such a nice community. Life wasn't quite so serious. You look back on it. It's like you think good grief, you know, it was paradise.

1:11.0

It was and still is a kind of paradise and that's what makes this story so jarring because

1:18.9

no one here thought an 18 year old girl could just vanish.

1:24.0

It was here at a dance at the New Court,

1:27.0

served my saving club that Trudy Adams tried to hitch hike home on Baron Joey Road.

1:39.7

She hasn't been seen since.

1:43.0

She was last seen heading north towards Avalon where she lived.

1:48.0

We're always hopeful that in these types of matter that she will turn.

1:51.0

At this stage, only to the length of time and all the

1:54.4

choirs we have made, we do hold very great fears for her safety this time.

2:01.1

Something like that happens and it just changes everything unfortunately and we'll never ever get over it. This is unravel.

2:13.0

This is unravel.

2:14.0

Each. This is Unravell. Each season of this podcast follows an investigative journalist as they look into an unsolved crime.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from ABC Australia, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of ABC Australia and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.