Down the Yarra Podcast

BGM_Drop Bears, Hoop Snakes & the Rebirth of the Birrarung I Down by the Birrarung - Official Trailer

Down the Yarra has evolved… welcome to Down by the Birrarung.
Join your host, Andy, as we launch a brand-new chapter exploring the strange, surprising, and yet sometimes unbelievable stories of Naarm-Melbourne & beyond.
Season one kicks off Wednesday, April 1, 2026 (yep you heard that right… April Fools Day - but this is no joke) with an absolute ripper of an episode exploring some of Australia’s most legendary creatures:
🐻 Drop Bears
🐍 Hoop Snakes
🐊 The long extinct “Drop Crocs” of Northern Queensland - which believe it or not we’re actually real.
But that’s just the beginning.
On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, we launch our brand spanking new YouTube channel, starting by remastering Down the Yarra Seasons 3 & 4 to finally give them the original show the sendoff it truly deserves.
From then on:
🎙️ New audio podcast episodes drop every Tuesday on all podcast platforms.
📺 New YouTube episodes every Tuesday and Thursday
Expect stories of history, folklore, local Legends, infrastructure, culture, & of course The odd mysteries hiding along the Banks of the mighty yet ancient Birrarung (the Yarra River) & across Victoria.
So follow, subscribe, & join us for the journey on April 1
Because the stories that are flowing down this river… anything but ordinary.
Down by the Birrarung - launching April 1.
Hosted by me, Andy.

BGM_Naarm-Melbourne’s Playground by the Bay: Luna Park’s 110-Year Ride

Seven inside the mouth of Naarm-Melbourne’s most electronic smile. For over 110 years, Saint Charles Luna Park has been in the playground for thrills screens and nostalgia. From its grand opening in 1912 to the scenic railway. - the worlds oldest continually operating rollercoaster - Nina Park has survived fire closures and Naarm-Melbourne ever change in face to remain a symbol of joy and resistance. But behind the laughter and fairy floss there are stories of daring stunts, Eban legends and the fight to keep the historic fun park alive.
Jonas, as we wrote through the history of Naarm-Melbourne Luna Park - the past the present and what the future holds for this beloved seaside treasure.
Trigger warning this episode discusses accidents and tragedies - that have occurred at Luna Park and Saint Kilda foreshore which may be distressing to some listeners. Listeners discretion is advised.
And just a quick note - we’re taking a short break after this episode. But don’t stress! Down the Yarra will be back for season five launching on Tuesday, February 24, 2026.

BGM_Carlton Brewery: How Bluestone Built A Beer Giant

From its humble beginnings on Bluestone foundations, the original Carlton brewery would rise to become a cornerstone of Australian brewing history. Jenny back the 19th century. In Old Naarm-Melbourne as we uncover how a small brewery on the corner of Victoria, Bouverie and Swanston Streets evolved into the iconic counting United breweries (CUB), shaving the drinking culture of the nation and leaving its mark on a city skyline.
Trigger warning this episode contains references to alcohol related harm and historical workplace accidents that may be distressing to some listeners. Listen discretion is advised.
And stick around - next we’re heading Bayside to explore the thrills chills and long forgotten stories of Saint Kilda’s Luna Park.

BGM_white Sheets & Dark Streets: Playing the Ghost in Old Naarm-Melbourne

Step into the Erie streets of late 1800s Naarm-Melbourne, where mischievous souls took on a spine chilling past time - playing the ghost. From the pranksters haunting lane ways to deadly serious encounters with the paranormal, we’ll uncover why ghost in person nations weren’t always innocent fun in the city griffin with suspicion, fear, and the shadows of its colonial past.
What made? Naarm-Melbourne such a fat ground those Jewish games? And how did some of those antiques end in tragedy?
Trigger warning this episode contains references to death grave rubbing in McCabe humour that may distress some listeners . Listen discretion is advised.
Stay tuned as we finish with a teaser for our next episode on the original bluestone Carlton brewery - how it rose from a tumble beginnings to become CUB, a cornerstone of Australia’s brewing Legacy.

BGM_Royal Park: The Lungs of the CBD and Shadows from the Past

Royal Park - it’s the lungs of Naarm-Melbourne, home to the zoo, hospitals, and sweeping greenery. But peel back the layers and your uncover a rich and complicated history. From its beginning as part of unceded Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung land, through colonial exploitation and botched plans for cemeteries and quarantine stations, to its role in Naarm-Melbourne growth as a global city, this precinct had stories H into every path and stone.
Join us as we explore Harrow Park went from sacred country to an urban space brimming with contradictions - we’re healing and harm intersect, and echoes of the past still linger in the wind.
Trigger warning this episode contains references to colonial violence displacement of first Nations people and his death that some listeners may find distressing. This discretion is advised.
Stay tuned until the end for a teaser on our next episode, playing the ghost in the late 1800s in old Naarm-Melbourne, where we step into the east side of the city and meet those who blurred the line between life and death.

BGM_The First Shots Fired: One Man, Two World Wars and One Fort

It’s one of history strangest coincidences: the very same man for the first shots for the British empire in both world wars - and it all happened at Victoria’s windswept Fort Nepean. In this booming episode of down the Yarra, we died into the remarkable story of Sergeant John Purdue, the warnings over their heads and how the sleepy Mornington Peninsula found itself in the history books not once but twice.
Will explore Fort Nepean vital role in coastal defence the split seconds decisions they changed lives and what remains today of this haunting military outpost.
Trigger warning this episode contains discussions of war military conflicts and violence that may be distressing to some listeners. Listeners discretion is advised.
Next stop will take you deep into Naarm Melbourne Royal Park precinct - place of wild beginnings shifting uses and secrets hidden right in the heart of the city.

BGM_William Buckley and the Sea Cave Years

What happens when a British convict escaped into the bush… and disappears for over 30 years? In this extraordinary episode of down the Yarra we trace the amazing true story of William Buckley - the man who fled the failing penal colony near Sorrento in 1803, took refuge in a sea cave near point Lonsdale, and was fully embraced by the Wathaurong people as one of their own.
Buckley lived a life between two worlds - learning language ceremony and kinship law - before remerging decades later just as colonisation began to tighten script on the region. This is a story of survival cultural exchange and a legend still echoing along the southern coast today.
Trigger warning this episode includes discussions on colonialisation survival and displacement discretion is advised.
Next time we explore Victoria’s brilliant but bonkers laws - from outlawed pink hot pants to goat in a bathtub ordinances. You don’t want to miss it.
Podcast recommendation don’t miss Melbourne Marvels multi episode deep dive on William Buckley for an even richer look at his life and legacy.

BGM_The Absolutely Brilliant, Bonkers yet utterly Bizare Lawsof Victoria

Victoria has seen it’s their share of bold ideas but some laws from its past and present take to a whole new level. From banning pink hot pants on Sundays to regulating homing pigeon during wartime, we’re diving into some of the most brilliant yet absolute bonkers laws ever passed in the Garden State. What do these laws say about the society that created them - and how many are still quietly on the books today?
Trigger warning this episode discusses laws and historical practices that may be confronting or upsetting to some sun listeners. Listeners discretion is advised.
And stick around because in our next episode we’re heading to Fort Nepean where are the same man for the first shots of both world wars. You don’t want to miss this story.

BGM_A Cup Like No Other: The Melbourne Cup Story

Every November, Naarm-Melbourne stands still for just a few minutes - but behind the glitz, the gallops, and the fascinators, the Melbourne tap carries a far deeper legacy. In this glittering episode of down the Yarra we trace the races colonial roots the myth of the archers long walk and how the cup became the symbol of both national pride and national debate. From its ties with stolen land and elite power to the rising calls of #NuptheCup, this is a story of a race that stops a notion but not its history.
Trigger warning this episode contains references to colonial invasion animal welfare concerns and gambling harms listeners. Discretion is advised.
Plus a teaser for next time: on the remarkable tail of Lillian Buckley the escaped convict who vanished from Sorrento in 1803 and remarked more than 30 years later having lived with the Wathaurong people in a sea cave near point Lonsdale.

BGM_MelbHenge: When the City Aligns With the Sun

Twice a year, something magical happens on the streets of Naarm-Melbourne. The sun in perfect alignment with the CBD’s iconic east-west grid, casting a light Down Bourke, Collins and Lonsdale Streets. It’s called MelbHenge - an unplanned yet striking solar photovoltaic phenomenon born from Robert Hoddle’s 1837 street grid design.
In this photovoltaic episode of Down the Yarra, we explore the history, the science behind it, and also the poetry of this urban solstice. From the colonial grid that destroyed ancient Country and Songlines to the accidental beauty that now draws photographers and romantics alike. MelbHenge is a moment where nature and cityscapes collide.
Trigger Warning: This episode includes brief descriptions of colonial land division and the disruption to Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country. Which maybe distressing to some listeners. Listeners discretion is advised.
Plus, stay tuned for a teaser of our next episode on the Melbourne Cup - the race that stops a nation… and divides it, too.