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Imagine a network of secret Cold War bunkers, underground spy headquarters, and hidden corridors large enough to drive through sitting right beneath Australia’s capital city. In this episode of The DownUnder Mystery Club, authors AJ Blythe and Ava Ness travel down into the urban legends of Canberra to unpack the persistent myths surrounding secret underground tunnels running beneath the city's most iconic institutions. Listen in as we separate fact from decades of local folklore—exploring mysterious subterranean networks beneath the Australian National University (ANU), the Department of Defence in Russell, and Old Parliament House, alongside a wonderfully weird conspiracy theory about the foundations of the Treasury building being layered with thousands of leftover meat pies from 1927. Then we head into the Mystery Book Club segment to chat about the best mystery novels this underground case brings to mind! Do you think government officials are navigating hidden subterranean shortcuts beneath the capital, or are these just the pipedreams of a purpose-built capital? Drop us a comment with your favourite conspiracy tales and current reading recommendations! Book Links: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes The Secret of the Lost Tunnel by Franklin W. Dixon Swamp Spirit by Jana DeLeon The Italian Secret by Tara Moss Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman How to use psychology to write a best seller with Jennifer Lynn Barnes Leave a review or drop your thoughts in the comments wherever you’re listening. Subscribe so you never miss a weekly dive into Australia's most curious cases and cracking good reads. For the full reference list visit The DownUnder Mystery Club website at ajblythe.com/podcast
Imagine a massive luxury liner so hauntingly similar to the Titanic that it featured the exact same "unsinkable" design, yet vanished without a single trace three years before the famous disaster even happened. In this episode of The DownUnder Mystery Club, authors AJ Blythe and Ava Ness chart a course back to 1909 to unpack the baffling disappearance of the SS Waratah and discuss how Australia’s premier steamship completely disappeared into the ocean along with everyone on board. Listen in as we trace the liner's final steps through the eyes of the last sailors to see her alive, exploring a chaotic mix of hurricane-force waves, chilling unconfirmed accounts of mid-ocean explosions and a mysterious final lamp signal cut short by the dark. Then, we head into our Mystery Book Club segment to chat about the best mystery novels this eerie cold case brings to mind! Do you think the Waratah was swallowed by a freak wave, or did fatal engineering flaws doom her to the deep? We want to hear your theories. Make sure you share your current mystery reading list! Book Links: Wake by Shelley Burr Vanish by Shelley Burr Deep Six by Clive Cussler Scend of the Sea by Geoffrey Jenkins Brewing Up a Storm by Amanda M. Lee The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton Lady Clues and the Mystery of the Vanishing Valet by Ava Ness The Lost Ship SS Waratah: Searching for the Titanic of the South by PJ Smith S.S. Waratah – a Maritime Mystery (facebook group) Leave a review or drop your thoughts in the comments wherever you’re listening. Subscribe so you never miss a weekly dive into Australia's most curious cases and cracking good reads. For the full reference list visit The DownUnder Mystery Club website at ajblythe.com/podcast
Imagine a bank heist so perfect, the thieves didn't break a single lock and the town ran entirely out of cash by Monday morning. In this episode of The DownUnder Mystery Club, authors AJ Blythe and Ava Ness travel back to 1932 to unpack the legendary, unsolved Cloncurry bank robberies and discuss how the robbers hit two major banks in one night using the ultimate security oversight. Listen in as we separate the hard historical facts from 90 years of beer-soaked folklore—including a wild river party, a duped bank manager, and a secret wax impression. Then we head into the Mystery Book Club segment to chat about the best mystery novels this wild outback case brings to mind! Do you think it was an inside job, or did a group of local larrikins actually pull off the ultimate heist? We want to hear your theories and your reading lists! Book Links: Can't Buy Me Love by Dan McNeil Everyone in the Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson Nemesis by Joe Nesbo The Cryptic Clue by Amanda Hampson The Locked Room by Holly Hepburn Six Keys: The Cloncurry Bank Robberies by John Williamson The Bank Manager (short film) Leave a review or drop your thoughts in the comments wherever you’re listening. Subscribe so you never miss a weekly dive into Australia's most curious cases and cracking good reads. For the full reference list visit The DownUnder Mystery Club website at ajblythe.com/podcast
Each week, we explore an Australian real-life mystery — then trace its echoes into fiction, and the mystery novels that are just as puzzling, complex, or gripping. Series 1 launches September 1st, 2026. Follow so you don't miss an episode. Settle in, grab a cuppa, and join the club. The DownUnder Mystery Club.