BGM_Stream, Smoke and a shot in the Dark: The Eastern Market & the Russell Street Bathhouse

Long before it was just another CBD intersection, the corner of Bourke and Exhibition Streets was actually home to one of Naarm - Melbourne’s most colourful as well as chaotic spaces - the long-lost Eastern Market. In this episode of Down the Yarra, we dive into the history, its hidden secrets, dodgy dealings, and greasepaint-smeared ghosts of the Eastern Market and the near-by old Russell Street Bathhouse. We also revisit the shocking 1899 shooting by Emery Gordon Medor who opened fire in the middle of the market-killing his neighbour and injuring several others-yet somehow wasn’t charged with murder. For the full deep dive into this jaw-dropping case, we highly recommend the Melbourne podcast Dead & Buried’s brilliant episode “Fortune Killer”. Trigger Warning: This episode includes themes of violence, murder and mental illness. Listeners discretion is advised. And stick around ‘til the end-we’re teasing our next stop into the heart of Naarm - Melbourne’s East End Theatre District, where the curtains never really close.