# Shortcut: The Day a Prison Escapee Kidnapped a School

An episode of [Australian True Crime](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1217681421), 27 Sep 2026, 15 min.

Audio: https://mgln.ai/e/187/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/fa326977-3de5-4283-9b8b-af3500c58607/1cee5934-fec3-4a8e-bb11-b3b6018a4ed9/953af8e5-2d7b-4aef-ac32-b4d2010a39cc/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=201b0a18-0efe-46d6-956e-b3b6018a52e0

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed. In 1977, teacher Rob Hunter and his nine students were taken hostage at a rural Victorian school by convicted kidnapper and prison escapee Edwin John Eastwood. Rob joins us to recount what happened, the people who helped bring the ordeal to an end, and how he spent the decades that followed coming to terms with the experience, as told in his book Day 9 at Wooreen. ATC Plus subscribers can listen to this episode ad free here. You can purchase your copy of Day 9 at Wooreen here. You can learn more about Rob Hunter at his website: www.kidnappedteachertalks.com You can watch our episodes by visiting our Youtube Channel here. Join our Facebook Group here. Do you have information regarding any of the cases discussed on this podcast? Please report it on the Crime Stoppers website or by calling 1800 333 000. Wanting to hear about certain kinds of crime? Check out our Spotify playlists for a curated list of our episodes. For Support: Lifeline on 13 11 14 13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples) 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 Blue Knot Helpline: 1300 657 380 CREDITS: Host: Meshel Laurie Guest: Rob Hunter Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard GET IN TOUCH: Email the show at AusTrueCrimePodcast@gmail.com Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook Got a question or comment you want played on the show? Get involved by sending us a voice message on our True Crime Hotline here.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.