Waking up in Geelong

There is one peril to being the number one hit on Google for an obscure topic – radio producers looking for a talking head will try and chase you down to get you onto the air.

The story started on May 25, when somebody on Reddit posted a photo titled “I want to go down the forbidden ramp at Southern Cross Station. I’ve got no idea what’s down there, but I’m assuming dragons?” over at /r/Melbourne.

Now I’ve got a lot of photos online showing the old underpass beneath the station, so it wasn’t long before someone shared them to the thread.

Setting off the hits on my photo gallery.

By July 2021 piece on the remains of the Spencer Street Station subway also got a run, alongside my follow up piece Building the Spencer Street Station subway – a history.

Victorian Railways annual report 1961-62

Then the next morning something different – messages via various channels from a producer at ABC Radio Melbourne.

Hey Marcus

Is there a number I can call you on?

Love to chat to you about the Southern cross tunnels…

Anyway, I gave them a ring, and later that day I was on the radio blabbering on about the tunnels at Southern Cross Station.

Which was then followed by a handful of text messages and emails from friends and family who listen to ABC Radio and heard me on air. 😂

You can listen to it at the ABC Radio website, or below.

Footnote

I even managed in to slip in a bonus piece into the interview – why the Western Ring Road takes a kink around Ardeer.

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