Down the Yarra Podcast

BGM_The Long-Lost Weatern Market & Bathhouses: Naarm - Melbourne’s First Marketplace of Scandal & Secrets

Before the Queen Vic and long before the Eastern Market, Naarm - Melbourne’s original hub of trade, scandal, and ghost stories was the Western Market. In this episode of Down the Yarra, we’ll take you back to 1841 and into the heart of the city’s very first official marketplace - where dodgy deals were struck over crates of Apples, where a flower seller ran an illegal gambling ring, and where the whispers of Ned Kelly’s sympathisers still echo through the alley. We’ll also unearth the fiery tragedies, colourful characters, and the rise and fall of the market that shaped the city’s early soul - then disappeared without a trace.
Trigger Warning: This episode contains historical references to violence, death, and criminal activity that maybe distressing to some listeners. Listeners discretion is advised.
Teaser: Next stop, Naarm - Melbourne’s long-lost Fish Market - now buried beneath the Sea Life Aquarium
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BGM_The Ghosts of the City’s skyline: The Lost Buildings of Old Melbourne

Step into the forgotten lost buildings of Old Melbourne. In this episode of Down the Yarra, we uncover the grand buildings, we unfortunately lost to progress, greed, and the wrecking ball - think the towering Federal Coffee Palace, the bustling long-lost Eastern Market, the CBD’s first skyscraper, and even John Pascoe Fawkner’s original pub.
Hear the story of Whelan the Wrecker, Naarm - Melbourne’s most infamous demolition crew, and how their legacy led to the birth of Heritage and the NationalTrust of Victoria.
Trigger Warning: This episode discusses heritage destruction and historical neglect, which may be upsetting to some listeners.
Next Up: We go deeper underground into the Lost City of Old Melbourne - alleyways, opium dens, buried laneways, and the forgotten people who called them home.
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BGM_The Lost City of Old Melbourne

Beneath the bustling streets of modern Naarm - Melbourne lies the ghosts of a forgotten city- ornate, vibrant, and mostly vanished. In this episode of Down the Yarra, we peel back the layers of time to reveal the Lost City of Old Melbourne - a world of gaslit lanes, palatial arcades, grand hotels, and public baths that once made “Marvellous Melbourne” the envy of the world. But where did it all go?
With a swing of a wrecking ball and the promise of progress, much of that beauty was erased between the 1950s and 60s. Today, we explore what we lost, what remains, and how the city’s soul still lingers? - if you know where to look, of course
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Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to demolition, historical erasure, and colonial practices that may be distressing to some listeners.
Plus: Stay tuned for a teaser of our next episode on the wild, but true 1876 moment when Naarm - Melbourne thought it was under Russian attack. Yes - really.
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BGM_The Battle of Melbourne Panic: When Melbourne Feared the Russian

On the night of October 6, 1854, Naarm - Melbourne braced for war - against an enemy that never came. In this episode of Down the Yarra, we unpack the bizarre and chaotic day when the residents of Naarm - Melbourne panicked over a rumoured Russian invasion. With bells ringing banks locking up gold, and the citizens grabbing muskets and shovels, the city when into full defiance mode - all thanks to a mistaken ship sighting.
From the gold rush chaos to global tensions during the Crimean War, this is the wild tale of the “Battle of Melbourne Panic” - a moment in history when fear ran faster than fact.
Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to military tensions and invasion panic, that may be distressing for some listeners.
Next Stop: Naarm - Melbourne’s oldest pubs, including the Mitre Tavern and the long-lost Yorkshire Stingo. So grab a pint - we’re heading into the social heart of colonial Melbourne.

BGM_Passages: The Immigration Museum & the Old Customs House

Step inside one of Naarm - Melbourne’s most quickly powerful buildings - The Old Customs House, now home to the Immigration Museum. In this episode of Down the Yarra, we explore the building’s colonial origins as the site for control, its transformation into a space of memory and reckoning, and the hidden stories it still holds. From the harsh policies of the past to the moving personal tales pinned to the walls, today, this is the story of how people have arrived, been received - or refused - in Naarm - Melbourne.
Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of immigration trauma, racism, detention, and border control.
Next Stop? Just across the road- the story of Queensbridge, and the long-lost Yarra Falls hidden beneath it.
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BGM_The Long-Lost Fish Market

Once the beating, briny heart of early Melbourne, the long-ostrich Market once stood on the bnorth bank of the Birrarung (Yarra) - where the Sea Life Aquarium now glistens in glass. But behind the gothic arches and the early morning clamour were the stories far messier than you’ll find on any tourist plague.
In this episode of Down the Yarra, we’ll dive into it’s origins, daily chaos, dodgy deal, and slippery secrets of the Fish Market that led a booming city and bred its fair share of colourful creatures. From shifty oyster shuckers to legendary local icons, we resurface the stories long buried beneath office towers and car parks.
Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to colonial dispersion, animal cruelty, and poverty that maybe distressing to some listeners.
Next Stop: Just over the road: Naarm - Melbourne’s Old Customs House - now the Immigration Museum. You won’t want to miss what’s hidden in those old sandstone walls.
Listen now and follow Down the Yarra for more untold stories of Naarm - Melbourne and South Central Victoria

BGM_Queensbridge: Where the River Once Roared

Right where Queensbridge now stretches across the Birrarung (the Yarra), once stood a sacred waterfall that thundered - the only natural falls of its kind on the river. In this episode of Down the Yarra, we uncover the hidden history beneath Queensbridge, from the ancient Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung gatherings and the natural freshwater boundary to the expositive removal of the Yarra Falls in the name of progress. We trace the bridge’s origins, its role in Marvellous Melbourne. And the eerie remnants still resting beneath the waterline today.
Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions on the destruction of indigenous cultures sites and environmental changes that may be distressing for some listeners. Listeners discretion is advised.
For More Background, listen to Down the Yarra’s ep on the Lost Yarra Falls - available on Podbean and the video podcast on YouTube.
Teaser: And stay tuned for our special King’s Birthday Ling Weekend episode - kicking off the snow season with a frosty tale of Victoria’s alpine past and the long weekend itself.
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BGM_Black Thursday: The Great Victorian Bushfires of 1851

On Thursday, February 6, 1851, Victoria was swallowed by fire. In this special episode of Down the Yarra, I will take you back to one of the most catastrophic days in recorded Australian history - Black Thursday, With the temperatures soaring past 47 degrees c, gale - forced winds fanned the flames across the colony, turning 5 million hectares to ash. From Warrandyte to the Western District, this was the firestorm of biblical proportions.
We explore the causes, the devastation, and the forgotten voices - especially those of the First Nations peoples - whose knowledge of Country and Fire was tragically ignored. Packed with eyewitnesses accounts, hidden stories, and the haunting lessons still burning today, this episode sheds light on the day that the sky went dark at noon.
Trigger Warning: This episode contains descriptions of bushfires, death, and environmental devastation. Listeners discretion is advised.
Teaser: next time on Down the Yarra, we step inside Melbourne’s iconic Town Hall - where civic pride, cultural history, and hidden mysteries all converge.

BGM_The Old Treasury: Vaults, Ghosts & Gold

Built on gold and surrounded by secrets, Naarm - Melbourne’s Old Treasury Building is more than just a museum - it’s a Time Machine. In this episode of Down the Yarra, we dig into the building’s glittering beginnings, the underground vaults that once stored the colony’s wealth, and the ghosts that still seem to linger within its walls.
We explore the building’s many lives - government seat, public achieve, and truth - telling space - then just head outside into the leafy Treasury Gardens, to a site of a haunting mystery that still continues to divide historians to this very day.
Trigger Warning; This episode contains references to violent crime and a historical murder. Listeners discretion is advised.
Podcast Recommendation; For a deeper dive into the 1872 “Treasury Gardens Tragedy” involving Charles Marks & Edward Feeney, go and check out Forgotten Australia’s brilliant multi - part investigation.
Teaser: next stop - Fitzroy Gardens. Miniature villager, mythological cottages, and stories hiding just beneath the soil.

BGM_Where Times Stands Still: The Block Arcade

In this episode of Down the Yarra, we step into the timeless elegance of Naarm - Melbourne’s iconic Block Arcade. From the ashes of a devastating fire in 1889 rose one of the city’s most beloved heritage landmarks - an arcade that set the standard for sophistication and social life in Naarm - Melbourne.
We’ll explore its opulent past, its vibrant presen, and what lies ahead for this historic space in a changing world. Plus, we’ve got a teaser for our next spot the first episode on the Great Fire of Melbourne in 1897.
Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to fire and destruction that may be distressing for some listeners. Therefore, Listeners discretion is advised.