This is Australian True Crime with Michelle Laurie.

Brendan James Abbott is one of Australia's most notorious bank robbers.

A figure whose crimes, repeated prison escapes and years spent evading capture throughout the 1990s,

turned him into something of an outlaw legend.

It was during this time on the run that the media released photos cementing his nickname,

The Postcard Bandit.

As his image spread widely and his story took on a mythological quality that blurred the line

between criminal and folk anti-hero.

To unpack the story behind both the legend and the reality, we're joined by Abe Madison,

author of the Postcard Bandit, an authorised biography of Brendan Abbott.

Abe wrote the book under the name Derek Pedley, and we begin this episode with the story behind the name change.

This is Australian True Crime. We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created,

the Wurundri Woiwurang people of the Koolin Nation.

And a warning, this episode of the podcast contains graphic descriptions of violence.

Abraham Madison is the name that I was given when I was born.

About three months after I was born, I was adopted, and I was given the name Derek Petley, and that's the name that I was given when I was born, about three months after I was born, I was

adopted, and I was given the name Derek Petley, and that's the name I grew up with.

I found my adoption papers when I was about 15, and struggled with that a little for quite a number

of years. And look, the reason I ended up spending decades, really,

researching Brendan Abbott's story is that one of the symptoms of my adoptee trauma was

obsession. And Brendan Abbott became my obsession for several decades.

Brendan Abbott turned out to be your healthy outlet. Well, thank you so much for explaining

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