Northcote Tunnel
A team in Melbourne led by Mark Rawson is excavating a tunnel at Northcote in Merri Creek which was used by the military during WW2. The tunnel was sealed and filled in after the war with dirt and rock. During WW2 a sentry was posted on the Merri Creek entrance to the tunnel.
It has been reported that there was apparently a boat moored near Swanston Street on the Yarra River during WW2, and in the event of an air raid, the occupants of the War Room at Victoria Barracks would be whisked away up the Yarra to a large bunker at Dights Falls at Abbotsford. This is not far from the Merri Creek tunnel. Could there be some connection between the two locations?
By late November the team were 165 feet in from the entrance of the tunnel. So far all they have found is lots and lots of dirt and rocks! The project team have installed extensive timber-shoring inside the tunnel. By early December 2002 they believed that they were close, only a matter of 6 to 12 feet from finding something interesting. They believe they have also now found the entrance to the right hand tunnel. It is also packed with rock.
There was some suggestion of the main tunnel doors being in nearby Short Street.