ARTARMON DRAIN - SYDNEY

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BALMAIN DRAIN - SYDNEY

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BLACKWATTLE DRAIN - SYDNEY

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The Blackwattle Drain is one of Sydney's iconic drains. It's a very old drainage system that used to be a combined drain and sewer overflow. The historical significance of this drain has been reflected in its inclusion into the heritage register.

The drain's age makes this drain very architecturally appealing. The drain changes shapes many times and is built from various historic building materials. One key feature of this drain is a rusted metal cylinder attached to one of the side walls which used to carry sewerage that stretches for some distance in the drain. Another key characteristic is the resident rat named Stinky who often comes out to meet urban explorers visiting his drain. STUD69 is the first explorer to have photographed the resident Stinky on his home turf in early 2005.

The Blackwattle Drain has been explored by few. It's awfully difficult to get into the drain. One entry point is a massive 30kg concrete pizza shape manhole. Without proper equipment it's impossible to use this entry point.

DARLING HARBOUR DRAIN - SYDNEY

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The Darling Harbour Drain is to Sydney what The Maze is to Melbourne. The Darling Harbour Drain is a large and historic system. It's one of Sydney's original drains with construction commencing in the 1860's. The importance and significance of this drain to the sanitary needs of Sydney's growing population cannot be overstated. The Darling Harbour Drain has been listed in the heritage register.

The Darling Harbour Drain possesses various designs, shapes and features. The system consists of balloon shaped sections, red brick, arches, junctions, rooms, sumps and many other features. What's more exciting is that the system is directly under Sydney's CBD, so the urban explorer may have literally tens of thousands of people above him, and no one is the wiser.

Surprisingly, even though the drain system is so large there are very few entry points. One main entry point is in full view of a major intersection near the centre of the city. There is no question about whether this system is worth doing. The question is whether the explorer can find the entry.

DODGE CITY CANAL - MELBOURNE

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The Dodge City Canal is as dodgy as you can get. It's a canal system that has numerous old, old drains running of it. On the left is a pic of an old arch brick drain which is about 1m in height. Consisting of a cobblestone floor, brick walls and bricked arched ceiling, this little drain is a great illustration of old skool drain architecture and design.

The Dodge City Canal has a split, with one of the splits leading to another very, very old drain - Town Hall Drain.

The canal itself is full of graffiti and littered with crud and debris and flows behind dilapidating factories, warehouses,  various underpasses, and crazed barking dogs just add to the atmosphere.

Each expo brings with it new finds. In the past explorers found money, bullets(!?!), dumped wallets, syringes, old clothes(??), mobile phones, rego plates, tools blah, blah, blah...... Dodge City!!

DOUBLE BAY DRAIN - SYDNEY

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Double Bay is one of Sydney's most prestigious and exclusive suburbs. Whilst this is true, the urban explorer can still get a piece of the action in the area at no charge. The Double Bay drain goes directly under this beautiful suburb, so whilst the rich are getting richer above ground the urban explorer can do their business below ground.

Unfortunately, the beauty of the area does not match the beauty of the drain. This is a simple drain with few features. Probably the standout is the tunnel section which has been carved through the hills of Double Bay. This section is characterised with plain concrete walls and solid blasted course rock as the ceiling.

FORTRESS DRAIN - SYDNEY

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This is Sydney's "Big One" - literally. One entry point takes you down a 2m ladder leading to a platform, or balcony type structure. This is top one of the 5 platforms that need to be scaled down. These platforms are probably 5m above each other making the distance from top to bottom about 25m. Basically, it's like a mine shaft, and yes, it has been carved through solid rock with the concrete platforms being added for safety.

The Drain itself, way, way below ground is about 2m high. It is carved through rock with a concrete base. It's like walking in a cave. The outfall is on a cliff with waves crashing into the drain through the bars. The noise at the approach is loud and very scary. An unknowing explorer would shit themselves and bolt for the exit. Near the outfall is a slide that has a rope attached to aid in getting up and down it.

The drain has a junction as well as a staircase. There are also other interesting features such as stalactites and rock pools dotted around. This drain definitely leaves an impact on the explorer.

GREAT STAIRWAY DRAIN - MELBOURNE

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The Great Stairway Drain is a classic. There are many features that will leave an impact on the explorer.

This drain is very easy to explore. Not far from the entry is a junction room that has a small tunnel leading to what is called the "courtyard". The junction room splits into the main section of the drain as well as an overflow. The overflow is a parallel tunnel to the main section which later joins up through the overflow connector. Past the connector the overflow continues to a section called "the jail", which is a room resembling a jail with bars and no hope of exit.

The main section veers around in different directions and changes shape numerous times. One key feature that leaves an impact is the impressive mummy shape. The main feature is the great stairway, after which the drain was named, which is about a kilometre into the drain. No photo has been provided here of the great stairway itself, as this feature is best experienced in a real life expedition.

KINGSWAY DRAIN - MELBOURNE

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The Kings Way Drain is little talked about and rarely explored. This is not to suggest that it's a bad drain, but rather the difficulty in finding its entry point. Without having access to the right people or the right resources, it's just not possible to find the entry point.

This is a very, very old drain. It's also quite cruddy inside in some sections due to the build up of decades of debris - perhaps even a century. However, the debris is found predominantly at the upstream section near the point where the drain splits up into a number of smaller pipes. The majority of the drain is actually quite clean.

Essentially, the drain is one long round red brick. It's comfortable to explore and navigate due to its 2m height. The far upstream part does require a little stoop mainly due to the amount of crud that has been built up.

The Kings Way Drain doesn't offer many interesting features but the main drawcard is the experience and excitement of having to explore one of Melbourne's oldest drains that is very much unknown, let alone explored.

MACQUARIE PARK DRAIN - SYDNEY

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The Macquarie Park Drain is short with no exciting features. It is, however, the gateway to the Macquarie Park Pits Drain, which is a different ball game altogether. It would be rare to find an explorer doing this drain by itself. Instead, an expo would combine this drain with its larger downstream brother - Macquarie Park Pits Drain.

When exploring this drain don't forget to say hello to the mother of all spiders. Just look at the walls and see if you can spot a spider as big as a hand protecting its egg.

MACQUARIE PARK PITS DRAIN - SYDNEY

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The Macquarie Park Pits Drain is short but has plenty of features. It consists of three levels that form pits and need to be scaled down using the ladders provided. The final pit has a waterfall feature. Further into the drain it becomes architecturally weird, in that the whole drain slants making one feel almost dizzy and disorientated. The drain ends with huge pillars which act as water breaks before entering the Lane Cove River.

Tip: make your way around the pillars and scout around a bit. Walk up the old concrete steps.

This is the drain where some bizarre lights and energy spots appeared on camera.

MARRICKVILLE DRAIN - SYDNEY

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MARRICKVILLE TRIO DRAIN - SYDNEY

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The Marrickville Trio Drain is named after the suburb under which it passes as well as its two sister drains which run separately alongside it. Overall, this drain is not really spectacular requiring only about 10 minutes to complete from end to end. The Marrickville Trio Drain is part of the Marrickville Canal system, except that the drain is the part of the canal that goes underground for about 500 or so metres.

Being part of an open canal it really has little in terms of features. Its walls consist of slightly angled brick with a covering over the top to make the roof. A little surprise comes near the end where the drain changes from a covered canal into a big, big horseshoe shaped red brick section that is easily over 5m in height.

This drain is flat, quite short, easy to access and easy to explore with enough clearance for even really tall explorers.

MAYFIELD DRAIN - NEWCASTLE

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A relatively short and uninteresting drain that takes all of about 15 minutes to explore from end to end. The Mayfield Drain spans under the suburb of Mayfield and is part of the canal system that runs through the suburb. Made of concrete, it has little in terms of features apart from a side pipe or two.

On a positive note, this is the place where Batman and his friends hang out, literally.

NORTH SYDNEY DRAIN - SYDNEY

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In terms of old skool drains, this is the best that Australia has to offer. This drain was on the URB-X Hit List for a year. Finally, as part of the MIAD Meet special event, this drain was explored and conquered. There are two known possible entry points. The outflow section is closed off and locked down and the other is extremely difficult to find. This is another of the very, very rarely explored drains and known by very few.

Once inside, however, it's like being inside a catacomb. The beauty and old skool architecture of this location is truly overwhelming. The drain changes shape and design many times over. There are numerous little slides, crevices and side pipes. Whilst there are many highlights that characterise this drain, one of them is the sandstone sections that are extremely unique in drain design. Another characteristic of this drain is its random increases in water flow which is apparently caused by water influx from a natural underground spring from which water enters the drain. Increases in water flow create a really scary experience, considering that essentially, there is no way out of this drain except for the tiny upstream entry point.

OPERA HOUSE DRAIN - SYDNEY

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ON OUR HIT LIST

RACE TRACK DRAIN - NEWCASTLE

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One of Newcastle's best drains, the Race Track Drain has a height of well over 2m and goes under the suburbs for well over a kilometre. Not many features, and made out of concrete with many side pipes entering into the main section throughout the distance of the drain. The drain exits into a major Newcastle canal.

Even though its a very large drain, there is ample evidence that during heavy rains this drain fills completely to the top, making exploring a death sentence during such times. Various pipes and other debris which span high across the drain add further dangers during flooding.

STAIRWAY DRAIN - MELBOURNE

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The Stairway Drain is The Great Stairway Drain's little, almost twin like, brother. It's located in the vicinity of The Great Stairway Drain, and leads into the same creek. It's difficult to describe this drain once a description of the The Great Stairway Drain has been provided, since it's pretty much the same, except on a smaller scale and size.

Again, this drain has a number of stairs, albeit less of them and smaller in terms of height. The drain changes shape and the mummy shape is a key and impressive feature. It's still very much worth doing this drain even if The Great Stairway Drain has just been done. The smaller scale of this drain makes it actually a cosy and more welcoming alternative. However, different explorers like different things, so exploring them both will provide the opportunity to decide on which of these two twins is the most preferable.

The advantage of this drain over its bigger brother is that if you want to see stairs but lack time, then you just need to walk in a short distance and you've got them. With The Great Stairway Drain there is a fair hike to see this key feature, perhaps 30 minutes or more.

ST LEONARD'S INTERCHANGE DRAIN - SYDNEY

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This drain is a mix of old and new. Redevelopment of the area meant that changes to the drain were required. Nevertheless, the new sections are quite interesting and make for an unusual drain. A key feature is a high concrete corridor that has ladders on a side wall that make for good viewing into the underground train station next door.

The St Leonard's Interchange Drain consists of numerous shape changes and styles. Whilst not a long or big drain it is certainly interesting and unusual. As with most of Sydney's great drains, the challenge is to find the entry point. Good luck!!

ST KILDA DRAIN - MELBOURNE

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This drain is actually a very long system, starting in St Kilda and ending in Caulfield North. The Caulfield North section is hardcore, with lots of stoop in an essentially red brick round drainage channel. This drain is over 100 years old, except for the St Kilda section which has had improvement and alterations done in the 1990's - boring concrete conversion.

As one gets closer to St Kilda the drain begins to get bigger and numerous shape and design changes occur. You could say it gets more interesting. Apart from the increase in size and shape changes, there are no other interesting features. A fun alternative is to do a float in using inflatable rafts from the St Kilda outflow. Bats and eels are common in this downstream section.

SUNSHINE DRAIN - MELBOURNE

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The Sunshine Drain has a very grand entrance - a large slide and stairs on either side. Unfortunately, they are the only features and the remainder of the drain will be disappointing.

The drain itself is a plain round concrete pipe (RCP). Nevertheless, its a very large concrete pipe probably close to 3m in diameter. Due to its size it's an easy drain to explore. Essentially, the drain is completely straight.

The drain ends with some concrete water breaks and turns into a natural creek. Only worth doing if in the area.

TAFE DRAIN - SYDNEY

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The TAFE Drain is named after the TAFE under which a fair part of it is located. The drain is relatively old and has an unusual elliptic, oviform type shape - sort of a flattened circle. However, that's not all. Additions to the drain have created sections and junctions that form numerous shapes and sizes. Even the generally boring round concrete pipe sections are not that boring since they include little rooms as well as numerous waterfalls.

The main part of the TAFE Drain is quite short, perhaps 1.5km in length. However, once you consider the various sections that connect to the main section, it would make for many, many hours of exploring. The different junctions, chambers and sections make this an interesting drain that is never boring.

TANK STREAM - SYDNEY

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ON OUR HIT LIST

THE MAZE - MELBOURNE

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The Maze is a Melbourne icon. It's a massive system that is never boring. The system, and that is what it should really be described as, consists of various shapes, sizes and building materials. There is a reason for this. The Maze had been constructed over many decades. The region in which it is located is characterised with a clay foundation meaning that rain water is not absorbed well by the ground. After heavy rains flooding was common so the drainage system had to be expanded to accommodate the needs of the growing region. As flooding continued the system was expanded, and expanded and expanded with additional overflow sections added as well as numerous diversions. The building materials used changed as building trends changed, so the various sections of the drain represent the various building approaches of the many periods in history.

The Maze is easy to explore and very interesting. This makes The Maze a great drain for new explorers to experience what draining has to offer.

THE SLIDE - MELBOURNE

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The Slide is The Maze's little brother, and is located not far away running off the same canal, so technically, it is part of the same system. The Slide is a quality drain. The drain is relatively short, but in its short section it changes shapes numerous times. The key characteristic of The Slide is an actual water slide. Due to the difficulties in getting up the slide, and in particular coming back down, this point is where most explorers stop and turn back. However, beyond the slide the system continues and becomes the Upper Slide. The sections there are more consistent and generally include red brick balloon shapes as well as round red brick sections, however, the sizes of these sections are much smaller so require the explorer to kneel down, stoop or crawl.

THREE STORY DRAIN - SYDNEY

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Another one of Sydney's bizarre drains, the Three Story Drain consists of three separate drains on three separate levels emptying out into a sump pit with any overflow ending up in a large catchment basin.

Whilst certainly interesting and intriguing based on its design, this concrete drain complex is let down by the height of each individual drain. Not all levels are of equal height, each one, nevertheless, requires considerable stoop to explore as the heights range from about 1.2m  - 1.5m. Funnily enough, each level of drain veers off into a different direction, implying different catchment areas for each drain and explains why only the second level drain had water running through it when explored, whilst the other two levels were relatively dry.

TOWN HALL DRAIN - MELBOURNE

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The Town Hall Drain is another secret little gem that few explorers have had the opportunity to experience. The Town Hall Drain is well over 100 years old. It's age is evident by the materials and construction which consists of cobblestone and red brick in one of its main sections. Arched ceilings make up one section, but this drain changes shapes many times. Different sections have their own character. One section is a dumping ground for stolen wallets and merchandise. Another section is very similar to, but a micro version, of the Chamber of Anzac Drain.

When exploring this drain remember to be a well mannered explorer and say hello to the cafe patrons that may be staring down at you from their coffee tables in one particular section of this drain.

URB-X DRAIN - SYDNEY

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This is the URB-X group's home away from home. Located around the corner from the Sydney home base, this drain is more of a hang spot than a drain. As a drain it is very unusual. It is definitely contemporary in design with smooth lines and simple architecture. Essentially, it's made of concrete, has a large waterfall and grilles on the walls that allow for a view of the outside world.

It's a very small drain, with a section that makes it perfect to sit down, chat and share a few drinks whilst watching the traffic go past.

WEST MELBOURNE (CRABWALK) DRAIN - MELBOURNE

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The West Melbourne or Crabwalk Drain is little talked about and relatively unknown in urbex circles. It's a very historic drain but in the past has had alterations done to it due to the reconstruction of a road that needed to be realigned because of a train overpass. The reconstructed part of the drain is the actual crabwalk. This is a boring section spanning about 200m in length. It is made of concrete and is rectangular in shape. The height is very, very low forcing explorers to crabwalk their way through. This makes very hard going and makes this a hardcore drain. Reaching beyond the crabwalk makes the effort worthwhile. The drain changes shape and structure to its original round redbrick design. There are a number of junction rooms that resemble underground mines with more soil and wooden barricades than anything that resembles a drain. The main section of the drain continues for another kilometre or so. It is a round red brick section with a height of more than 2m.

WOOLLOOMOOLOO DRAIN - SYDNEY

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Another URB-X Hit List drain that was done as part of the MIAD Meet special event. Old and weird, this drain is a disappointment when compared with other heritage registered drains in Sydney. Nevertheless, it is unusual. The entry point is tucked away deep under a wharf. The drain is tidal and at the beginning has a strong sea-life aroma. It's not a very high drain, so some stoop is required. Barnacles line the drain walls, but these slowly disappear further into the drain. A number of low height side tunnels veer off the main section, but these are explorable for the hardcore.

The tidal nature of this drain as well as the sharp barnacles and various smells in the drain make this a relatively dangerous drain to explore. The lack of features and stoop reduce the pleasure of exploring it. The main drawcard of this drain is its age, uniqueness and the fact that it's a heritage listed location.

WOLLSTONECRAFT WATERSLIDE - SYDNEY

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There are so many slides in this drain that it's hard to keep count. Luckily they all have ropes which allows explorers to abseil their way through.

This is definitely a Sydney classic. It's a fairly long drain with numerous areas to explore. Shapes change frequently and, as mentioned, consists of many dips that need to be abseiled down. Initially there is a bit of stoop in the drain, which begins quite innocently. The further one goes the more interesting the drain gets. The height also increases.

Development in the area has meant that the drain has be realigned. However, there is a small entry pipe into the old section which provides a good example of the materials that were used many years ago in Sydney drain development. It's a dirty section but definitely worth a look. It is in this section where a bizarre anomaly appeared on camera.

WOMBARRA DRAIN - WOLLONGONG

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This is one bizarre drain.  Built in the mid 1990's and made of concrete its strangeness stems from its huge, huge size. The heart of the drain consists of a basin that has a massive 15m overflow slide at one end. Let's call it the death slide. A shorter 10m waterfall (pictured) leads into it from another end. On the opposite side is another waterfall that is also about 10m above the bottom of this pit, but this is grilled and is the end of an open canal that leads into the basin. There are pillars in the middle of the basin and water flows between these and past two sets of grills that lead towards the outfall. The strangeness doesn't stop there. The outfall itself is on the beach, but forget about penetrating it to enter the drain. The outfall is high up on rocks, and consists of a concrete chamber with tiny, tiny plastic PVC pipes that let water exit the 10m high chamber and run off between the rocks and onto the beach. On top of the chamber are grilles that allow the explorer to look into it from above. The top of the chamber has a railing around it enabling explorers to walk around the top of the walls of the chamber for a better view inside.

It's a big drain with big features, and this is strange. Why so? Mainly because this drain is in a pissy little outer suburb of Wollongong that only has about 10 side streets. The drain itself is very short. However, there is a reason for its existence and size. Wombarra is positioned on steeply rising land from the coast to the Illawarra escarpment. The huge escarpment consists of steep creeks that are prone to flash flooding that drain the area. The nearby railway line includes numerous drainage culverts which cross the creeks, creating an unofficial type of flood mitigation. However, whilst these reduced the level of common floods, issues arose during times of extremely heavy rains where more severe floods washed over the embankments and caused mud slides in the area. The Wombarra Drain, with its huge size was built to overcome this.

DISUSED SEWER (WORMHOLE) - MELBOURNE

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The disused Wormhole is just plain spooky. It is also very dangerous. In the past this cavity was used as Melbourne's main trunk sewer system. The Wormhole is very old and very long, worming and weavings its way below Melbourne's western suburbs.

The area of one entry point is characterised with a very strange, almost a sickening, smell. The whole area, as one approaches the Wormhole is spooky and creepy, particularly at night. Once inside the Wormhole the atmosphere does not improve. Inside the Wormhole, near the entry point, was the body of a decomposed dog. The air inside Wormhole is misty due to the fact that it consists of shit particles floating around. This would probably be very damaging to an explorer's respiratory system so entry without proper respirators would be silly to say the least. Another health hazard in the Wormhole is the existence of Tiger snakes. Tiger snakes are very aggressive and deadly. Add this to the fact that they are black in colour, there is poor visibility in the cavity and it becomes clear that the Wormhole is fraught with dangers.

NEW SEWER - MELBOURNE

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The New Sewer is actually located quite close (walking distance) to the spooky Wormhole. Finding the entry point, and then actually opening are serious challenges. Sewers are always dangerous places due to toxic gases and lack of ventilation. Whilst no one from the group actually "explored" this location as such, we did actually get an opportunity to get a little peep inside. And what a sight it was.

The New Sewer is actually very impressive. It's awfully deep and consists of three separate levels. It can be assumed that the different levels act as overflow sections which lead to different outfalls, one of which is a last resort outfall into a creek.

Having seen someone actually scale down the ladder was a sight to behold. The New Sewer is characterised with a very strong breeze and plenty of mist. So strong in fact that it was enough to cause hair to fly around and the T-Shirt to flap around vigorously. The experience inside the New Sewer is a dirty one as the breeze consists of a massive amount of shit particles. Again, not taking proper respiratory apparatus is really playing with death.

MIDDLE HEAD BUNKERS - SYDNEY

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Funnily enough, the Middle Head Bunkers are a tourist attraction and entry into some parts are easy and legal. As with most urbex locations, the good parts are actually a little harder to get into.

The pic on the left illustrates only one part of the massive bunker system that is sprinkled around Middle Head in Sydney. The pic shows the infamous "Cages". This room is secured from the public and includes some very old rusted cages. These cages were used as training facilities for SAS soldiers during the Vietnam War. The Cages were a secret until information was leaked to the media during the times of the war. Soldiers were kept inside the cages for weeks on end in varying levels of water depending on rain, which filled the underground bunkers. This was meant to be a form of conditioning in case the soldiers were caught in Vietnam and placed under similar conditions there. As news spread of this "torture" being committed on Australian soil the use of the cages as training facilities discontinued and they were abandoned and left to rust as can be seen here. The pic shows the various water levels and the damage that was caused over many decades. The higher up the "Cages", the more intact they remain.

Be prepared to spend many, many hours looking for and exploring the various bunkers located all over Middle Head. Some are harder to find than others.

HILL 60 BUNKERS - WOLLONGONG

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The Hill 60 Bunkers consist of two large passageways that penetrate a hill - Hill 60. The passageways slope down into the hill and eventually level off near the outlook into the sea. The sloping passageways have stairs to walk down and a slide that has a disused railway track imbedded in it. The two parallel passageways are joined by a corridor. Many rooms and chambers can be entered from the main passageways throughout the bunker system. There are also little corridors that loop around the various rooms.

The main difference between the Middle Head Bunkers and the Hill 60 Bunkers is that the Middle Head Bunkers consist of numerous small bunkers dotted around Middle Head. The Hill 60 Bunkers, however, are larger and have many rooms coming off the main bunker complex. There are also numerous smaller bunkers and lookouts in the area, but not nearly as many as on Middle Head. The Hill 60 Bunkers are also heavily vandalised and often explored by the locals.

ARAB WORKSHOP - SYDNEY

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The Arab Workshop has been named after the predominantly Arab area in which it is located. It's quite hard to detail what kind of location this is since the remains are pretty much just a shell. Nevertheless, this location is far from boring. The inner walls of this location are lined with heaps and heaps of various pipes, gadgets, gauges and other old skool pieces of equipment. Any fans of old skool industrial equipment will love this place.

The actual location  is quite large. Even with a very strong torch it is difficult to see across to the other side. The place is quite empty but the main hall is split into two by some metal sheeting and small rooms that are entered using step ladders. Two smaller halls are located at one end to the long main section. One of the halls has pretty much nothing in it and the wooden floor which is built on stilts has been pretty well pulled out. The second hall has additional remains of old, old industrial equipment.

Entering this location is no easy feat. One needs to scale fences, walk through canals, jungle through bushes and shrubs, and cross over freight rail lines. This could be a potentially dangerous location, if only for the dodgy area that it's in and the risks associated with bumping into Arab gangs. A cautionary note has been left by one of the local gangs which was sprayed on the metal sheeting partition. It read:

"DON'T FUCK WITH THE BELFIELD BOYS.

WE WILL BURY YOU UNDER YOUR HOUSE AND RAPE YOUR MOTHER AND SISTERS"

Three cheers for Australia's immigration policy!!!

ARMY BARRACKS - SYDNEY

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Apart from the time effect due to abandonment, the Army Barracks are actually in pristine condition. There is absolutely no trace of vandalism or graffiti. Not one window was smashed. In some rooms the carpet looks new.

The abandoned Army Barracks are a huge complex. There are heaps and heaps of general purpose rooms, a couple of workshops, garages, offices, toilets, blah, blah, blah. They are all relatively empty, but the scope and size of this place makes it a really enjoyable experience. The outside consists of massive overgrowth of plants. Cobwebs and spiders line most doors and exteriors. Inside some rooms pealing paint shows the age of the facility.

Unfortunately, the Army Barracks will be undergoing redevelopment very soon. It's a pity really.

BETHANY - MELBOURNE

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This location was doable for less than a week, and now long gone. Fully opened and unsecured, this location was not only massive, but it was in pristine condition - no graffiti, no damage, no vandalism. We even beat the copper cutters to it by 3 hours.

Bethany was an aged care facility that consisted of 3 wings each being 3 stories high. There were countless dorms complete with toilets, bathing facilities and kitchenettes. Sprinkled throughout the location where bathrooms complete with full set up baths (designed with old people in mind), bathroom facilities and laundries. Some rooms were used as storage including a "museum room" that was filled with portraits and paintings created by the residents which were placed against the walls and lying on the floor. Mirrors, wash basins and toilets were in tip top shape. Nothing was smashed, not even dusty. Another room had cardboard boxes with photo albums of patients and staff. Dorms even had detailed data sheets about next of kin information of each patient. This location gets top marks for quality, size and features.

BRAMBLES - NEWCASTLE

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This location was a derelict part of a used factory/warehouse.  The derelict Brambles part seems to be used as a storage facility for various metals and machine components. As a storage facility it's a little strange since there are many entry points and squatter presence was clearly evident by the sleeping bag and toilet rolls hidden behind a couch in an upstairs office.

The location consisted of three main sections - active warehouse/factory, derelict warehouse and derelict admin building. Both derelict sections were visibly vandalised with graffiti as well as had smashed windows and other structural damage to the property. Nevertheless, the various rooms and bits and pieces lying around make this location quite interesting to explore.

BRICKWORKS - MELBOURNE

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Seriously, this place was like from an old mining town section of a theme park. Although the Brickworks have been abandoned for ages, heaps and heaps of really old and interesting brickwork equipment remains. Not really able to be stolen or vandalised due to the size and weight, the scattered components and equipment really added character to this location. Equipment and machinery was one thing, but the various little passage ways and catwalks really turned this place into a little maze just waiting to be explored. The combination of wooden flooring in some sections, old boards, corrugated iron, planks,  dirt floors, iron and steel ladders and catwalks make this place almost surreal.

A bonus find were the furnace tunnels under a separate second section of this location.

BUTTER FACTORY - SYDNEY

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The Butter Factory takes over from Bethany as the find of 2008. Accidently found, this location is pure bliss for industrial explorers. Not damaged in anyway, not even by copper cutters, this disused factory has all the machines and equipment still in place.

The Butter Factory consists of two main floors, although the second floor is about 3 storeys high. The cream of the goodies is on the second floor, with the centrepiece being a 10m high machine slap bang in the middle of the floor. This machine has many catwalks and stairs. On this machine alone, there are more gauges than one wishes to count. Pipes, leads and cords run all over the place, probably due to there being about 10 different machines on this one floor, many of which are interconnected. The newer machines are in pristine condition. A particularly interesting one is purple in colour.

For the best view, one needs to climb a 3 story high catwalk that provides a birds eye view of the whole section.

Security is extremely tight on this location. Very few explorers have made it in and out without police intervention. As at June 30th 2008, it seems that URB-X explorers are the only ones that have this location documented in photo format.  Previously unlucky non URB-X explorers have had to erase their cameras on police orders when caught.

CEMENT WORKS - GEELONG

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The cement works has been pulled down and demolished to a large extent. However, there are still numerous little reminders of the old facility, in particular, various old machines, pipes and infrastructure.

The problem with completely flattening the old cement works lies in the fact that the massive silos are filled with hardened cement. Smashing them down is a real issue considering there are houses just across the road.

One part of the cement works includes a section that resembles tunnels and chambers, even though these are not underground. Cement dust lines all parts of these walkways and numerous rooms lead off from the main tunnel. It is in these rooms that one discovers numerous old and antique machines. There are also hatches that lead underground.

DERELICT HOUSE - MELBOURNE

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Derelict houses are all pretty much the same. The explorer will find damage, graffiti and perhaps a squatter, or definitely signs of a squatter living there.

Derelict houses can be dangerous as one never knows who could be inside. Some squatters can be aggressive and dangerous.

Exploring alone is always a dumb idea. This is even more so when trying to explore a derelict house.

DERELICT OUTHOUSE - MELBOURNE

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This here is also a derelict house, however, it seems to be an outhouse of a factory in a very, very dodgy part of the Western suburbs. From the outside it looked like any other derelict house full of graffiti, smashed windows and the like, entry was easy - just walk straight in. Inside, was quite a different story. Sure, it was rundown and heavily damaged, but each room, including the toilets, were crammed with wire chicken fencing and other similar types of fencing. This find would be a farmer's wet dream.

This place really makes one wonder. What is it? Why is it here? And what's the go with all the soiled, dusty and probably long forgotten fencing?

Three sides of this place have windows that are grilled. This is good as a security feature, but the fourth side of the premises lets the security down a bit as it doesn't have a large section of wall, let alone a door!?

DERELICT SHOP - SYDNEY

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Nothing special about this location really. It's just a combined shop with upstairs accommodation on a corner block that is probably going to get pulled down and converted into apartments or something similar.

The shop itself used to be a dry cleaning business. It's old and worn. It consists of the main shop area as well as a number of smaller sections at the back. On the outside at the back of the premises is an outside toilet. The upstairs was not explored since the stairs had been pulled down so there was no way to access. All up, it took about 5 minutes to explore this place inside and out.

DERELICT WORKSHOP - GIPPSLAND

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This location was an accidental find on a tour of Gippsland. Certainly nothing of major interest except a few old petrol pumps and the very old pump featured in the pic.

Essentially, this location is an abandoned petrol station workshop. There are remains of the petrol pumps outside, but the little glass gauges are smashed. One of the pumps had the casing taken off, so it was interesting to see the internal workings of the pump.

The building itself consisted of an office, garage and workshop. The whole place was very small and empty, pretty much just a shell, really. Exploring it took all of about 5 minutes, and about 5 pix sums up the whole place.

FURNITURE FACTORY - SYDNEY

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What remains of the Furniture Factory is a very large double story shell. Looking around it seems that this place caught on fire and as a result was written off. This place is a little bit of a mystery bag since it's not really clear wether this place was a combined factory and showroom or just a showroom by itself.

The place was fully gutted. Nothing really remained except for a few pieces of electrical equipment and the remains of a lift. The roof leaked, one side of the wall was completely missing, only the concrete skeleton of the the stairs remained. The walls were charred and black. There were puddles of water on both floors. The huge empty carpark was nice and clean though.

Judging by the construction around this location, it seems like it will soon be flattened and apartments built in its place.

GLUE FACTORY - MELBOURNE

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Not much time left for this place. The Glue Factory is actually very interesting. Not only does it consist of numerous external sections, but the main building is huge with many rooms coming of it. There are plenty of weird and wonderful artefacts that still remain. Three examples include the burnt out body of a very old ute, the remains of an arcade game as well as a lovely switchboard with very complex electrics, fuses and gauges.

The surroundings of this location have been converted into apartments. It seems that the developers have redeveloped what used to be industrial properties by flattening them and building new apartments. The glue factory is one of the last elements of the industrial complex to remain. Certain parts of the Glue Factory property have been used as a piling dump for scrap metal and other building debris.

GYM - MELBOURNE

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Being an ex Gym meant that there was little in terms of interesting features. The location consisted of numerous rooms large and small which were relatively bare, as these would have been the places where fitness classes were held as well as being used as weight rooms. Large, but well made and interesting graffiti lined many of the wide walls. One of the bathrooms was burnt and charred, obviously a result of some loser trying to set fire to the place. There was a kitchen with little remaining as well as evidence of people using the location as a squat.

The Gym consisted of two levels with a courtyard. There was a sauna and spa and remains of sauna and spa equipment/chemicals were found hidden in a little room. There was also a large balcony on the second level which provided for a good view of the passing traffic of cars outside on the busy road.

Considerable damage was done to the bathrooms and the fixtures and fittings, which made the experience a little disappointing. Nevertheless, there were plenty of little rooms, hallways and passages that could be explored. It's not a location that an explorer would want to do more than a couple of times.

INSULATOR FACTORY - MELBOURNE

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This location was quite a find. It was also very mysterious in many ways. The insulator factor was in very good condition with minimal damage and graffiti. One of the attic rooms had some copper left in a pile which indicated that the copper cutters must be been busted or scared off. This was one of the numerous little clues that indicated that the place must have been patrolled or pretty well guarded. The general feeling that the URB-X explorers had whilst exploring this place that busts would be pretty common. This was based on intuition resulting from numerous clues found whilst exploring.

The insulator factory is the place where an unknown explorer was, ironically, electrocuted in mid 2007.

There was not much left in the old factory, but the mother of all insulators certainly stood out. This was an insulator that would have been at least 2.5m high. It is also very rare to find machines with gauges where the gauge glass is not broken (see pic).

MALTERY - MELBOURNE

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The Maltery was easily the best find of 2007. This is because it was in relatively good condition. One of the highlights was a laboratory filled with scientific/chemical equipment. Apart from being dusty all the stuff was in perfect condition. The amount and variety of equipment in the lab would make many chemists envious.

The Maltery consisted of many sections. Apart from the laboratory there were offices, the silos, courtyard and workshops. It was possible to access all areas including the roof.

The Workshop consisted of many massive vats. There was also plenty of other industrial equipment and machines.

The offices still had many books and journals lying around in very good, original condition, except for the dust.

The silos made for a great view of the city and the surrounding areas. It was possible to climb all the way to the top. The bottom of the silos consisted of a labyrinth of rooms which at times caused a feeling of confusion as the rooms were all the same and there were so many of them linked together.

MENTAL ASYLUM - GIPPSLAND

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This place would have made so much more of an impact if one had not done Bethany previously. The Mental Asylum was actually a really kick arse location. It is very, very big and to do properly would take many hours. The Mental Asylum consists of numerous sections and buildings with multiple floors. One building remains in use, is alarmed and security regularly do patrols. Nevertheless, this place is just waaaayyy to big for security to patrol properly.

The Mental Asylum has been abandoned for many years now. However, it's relatively remote location has saved it from serious vandalism and damage. Many parts still have various weird goodies and treasures. The URB-X explorers stumbled on what we called the urbex room, since it had bolt cutters, heaps of batteries, torches and other equipment that urban explorers usually use. Officially, this was the cleaners room. There was a stack of porn in there too. No wonder the cleaner always kept the door locked.

The solitary confinement rooms were particularly interesting. Also, the decomposing skeletal remains of a bat and another animal added a bit of eeriness to this place.

MONASH UNIVERSITY - MELBOURNE

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If you have ever been to university, then it will be very easy for you to imagine this location. Yes, it's just like the uni that you used to, or currently go to except abandoned. There were lecture theatres, toilets and shower areas, corridors, big hall which was probably the gym but also used for examinations and so forth.

One of the highlights of this location was the engine room. A massive turbine type thing was the centre piece of the room. A ladder led to a manhole in the ceiling that allowed entry into the roof. Great view of the city, especially considering the distance between this location and the city.

There were quite a lot of items remaining here. Books, obviously, but not so obvious was the find of blank university degrees (!?!?).

NEWCASTLE APARTMENTS - NEWCASTLE

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The apartment complex consists of 6 storeys of general apartments as well as two penthouses on the rooftop. Also on the rooftop is a courtyard, complete with bathtub right in the middle, and metal ladder leading 5m higher to the engine room of the lift. Each of the first 6 floors has four 2 & 3 bedroom apartments, lift and emergency fire escape in the hallway. The apartment complex is art deco in design with fantastic ocean views from all floors.

It seems that the apartments were vacated relatively quickly. Most apartments still had bits and pieces left by previous tenants. All the kitchens generally had ovens and other utilities still in place. The apartments themselves were not really vandalised, but the emergency exit stairs were filled with murals, graffiti and other writings on the walls, stairs and floor. Some stuff was actually quite funny and/or artistic. Unfortunately this place is in the process of being knocked down, so not much exploring time left for this little gem - the squatters aren't happy about this either.

POWER STATION - GEELONG

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The Power Station was nothing more than literally a shell of its former glory, but what a shell it was. Being at the top of the five or six story staircase provided the best perspective of the enormity of the place. The construction of the whole location was of very thick and solid concrete. There were numerous rooms, but again they were relatively empty.

Overall, there was nothing much to get excited about with the Power Station, except for the overwhelming feeling of size and enormity. Still, it's good to say that you've been there and done that.

More recent attention by security meant that entry was quite difficult, furthermore, any new entry points that explorers made were quickly taken care of by security as they uncovered them.

POWER STATION (ACTIVE) - GIPPSLAND

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This place was and continues to be active, but is included in this gallery for interest sake only. It's not often that one can see from close up the HUGE chimneys that spew smoke into the sky. The adjoining open pit coal mine is a sight to behold. Quoted at being 8km wide and, let's just say, very deep, it makes the massive bucket wheel excavators look like small little Tonka toys from a distance.

Clearly this location cannot be explored, and even trying to do so can result in serious, serious legal consequences for the explorer if caught, afterall, this place provides almost half of Victoria's electricity. The good news is that the power station runs regular tours of the place for tourists at no charge. Tours include the buildings as well as the mine itself. This is an offer which should be taken up.

RETIREMENT VILLAGE - MELBOURNE

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Entry into the Retirement Village was as simple as walking off the street. This was the location's downfall. This would have probably been the most trashed location that any URB-X explorers have ever encountered. This was a real pity as the Retirement Village had great potential as an urbex location.

The location consisted of a parish, courtyards, dorms, hallways, admin areas plus, plus, plus. It was actually quite descent in size and offered a fair bit to explore, except for the fact that things were smashed and there was graffiti everywhere. No part of the location was untouched by vandalism.

Exploring the location required a high degree of stealth, as the place was surrounded by housing. Smashing the place up required a hell of a lot of balls or just incomprehensible stupidity.

The highlight, if there was any, was the parish. This gave some insight into its former glory with the high ceiling and arched gothic style architecture. Unfortunately, half of the floor was ripped out!?!

SILOS - MELBOURNE

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Some locations just keep drawing explorers back to them. The Silos is one of those locations. Some of the members have been back to the silos 5 times or more, and that's still not enough. The location is huge and an urbex feast for any explorer. There is so much to do and see. What's more, this location has been abandoned for over 4 years now. Unfortunately, as with the Retirement Village, certain sections of the Silos have been severely vandalised, in particular the admin areas, which in itself is huge.

There are many highlights to this location. One of them is the top of the silos. Here explorers feel "on top of the world". Getting up there is another experience in itself. Another adrenalin rush is being inside the actual silos. Picture yourself being in the middle of a massive, massive unlit cylinder where even with a powerful torch seeing the ceiling is very difficult.

This place must have been gold just after being abandoned. Now with so much time having passed and so much damage being done, it is only a speck of its former glory, but that speck is still large enough to attract explorers for regular revisits.

SQUATTER MOTEL -NEWCASTLE

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Come in and welcome to the Squatter Motel. Here you will find many, many things to see and do. First, please check in. We have a credit card machine and lots of admin papers and stationery lying around. One sec, let me get something from one of the file cabinets. Here you are, take this bundle of keys and look around.

Perhaps you would like to go to the bar. At your disposal are the drink taps that have the numerous drink labels on them. There are plenty of glasses and other bar paraphernalia too. Maybe you would like to visit the restaurant. Grab a seat and a table. I recommend the one near the marble statue in the corner under the plate-glass roof with the hanging flower pots. We have a shopping trolley full of plates and other glassware that needs to be cleaned. Once that's done then start working on the other glassware lying on the cupboard next to the trolley. When you finish we'll give you a room - free of charge. We have plenty of them, perhaps 50 on three floors. Most come with mattresses, fans and furniture. Some have TV's - one even has 2. Just  watch your step on the third floor passage as the carpet is the only thing that will hold you up due to small issue with dampness that ate through the floor boards. Some rooms are already taken, you'll know which ones when you see bongs, empty cans of drink, ashtrays full of ciggies and clothes hung around. Enjoy your stay.

WEIRD PIPE - MELBOURNE

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This is a real mystery bag. There are more questions with this weird structure than answers. Whilst many explorers have speculated as to what these weird pipes are, what they were used for and why they are still around, there are no definite answers. One thing that is certain is that these are just weird pipes.

Basically, these structures may or may not be attached to an underground source. They may have been used for gas transportation as they are located on the premises of that used to be a Gas & Fuel depot and Gasworks.

There are grilles that allow one to see inside, but the shafts are bent so it's not possible to see too far in. These structures aren't actually explorable, but are located within the premises of the Weird Thing.  Nevertheless, their industrial look, feel and size make this one structure that is of interest to urban explorers and industrial photographers.

WEIRD THING - MELBOURNE

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What initially began as a mystery, answers were uncovered when this place was actually explored. The Weird Thing is actually a very unusual underground car park. Historically, the Weird Thing was a massive gas holding cylinder. After this was dismantled the base and underground part was converted into a car park, albeit a cylindrical one. Currently, the walls of the car park have been made into one massive graffiti gallery.

The Weird Thing has a limited life left - for two reasons. The main reason is that the location is going to be developed. A secondary reason is that the Weird Thing is actually slowly flooding. Because there is insufficient drainage any rainfall accumulates within the location and, apart from evaporation, remains there. An increasing amount of the lower level section is under water. Still....the Weird Thing would make a great location for a party, a movie night or any other event that requires heaps of space and privacy.

GREAT WHITE BAY POWER STATION - SYDNEY

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Hmmmmm. A true Sydney urbex icon is probably the best way to describe the Great White Bay Power Station. The sheer size of the location is overwhelming. It's old, it's big, it's weathered, it's dirty, it's amazing. It's also guarded like the Australian Mint. There is security on-site 24/7. Furthermore, the security actually earn their keep. Whenever a new entry point is created it gets sealed within 24 hours. On the positive side, this location is here to stay. It's heritage listed so cannot be damaged or demolished. On the negative side, penetrating the exterior is only one of the issues. The location is actually sealed off from the inside as well. In the past a member actually managed to get in after a few hours of strategic planning, only to find that the room that was entered was sealed shut from the rest of the location and no further penetration was possible. Nevertheless, this is one location where just getting inside is something that will stay with the explorer forever, even if it means being in one little empty room. A final positive is that even being outside this marvel and trying to work out how to get in provides just as much enjoyment as would be the case if one was to explore it. Some things are just too sacred to conquer. This is one of them.

TEAL STREET BRIDGE ROOM - NEWCASTLE

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The Teal Street Bridge had two chambers on each side of the road - one went to the left, the other to the right. As with most bridge rooms, this one was simple and small. There was a small amount of water that had seeped into the rooms over time which required gumboots in order to keep the feet dry. The bridge room consisted of numerous sections that were very small and empty. From the outside the bridge room looked long and complex, but this was very deceiving. Each section was empty, except for the water, and it took all of one minute to explore the bridge room in detail. The furthest section from the entrance had a manhole high in the bridge room ceiling as well as a pipe, perhaps gas or water that went from the floor of the bridge room straight up to the roadway above.

MUSIC NIGHT - MELBOURNE

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SPECIAL EVENT

MUSIC NIGHT (MELBOURNE)

The Maze was turned into a concert hall with musicians coming from all over with their various musical instruments. Various sections and rooms of The Maze hosted numerous styles of music and played host to musicians specialising in their particular musical instruments.

One highlight was the techno room, where the whole set up was hooked up to a car battery. That was enough to pump the techno long and loud throughout the night.

The pic on the left shows the set up in progress.

SPECIAL EVENT

MIAD MEET: June 13th - June 27th 2008

The URB-X group is no mothers club, but this special event takes the cake. When most others hibernated under their winter blankets with their teddy bears during mid winter, URB-X explorers came together from various parts of Australia to take part in an exploration extravaganza.

Called the MIAD Meet this event was put together with the aim of meeting up with a top gun Newcastle explorer - MIAD. There was a special appearance by Panic who came from Canberra to Sydney to join the boys for the weekend. Explorers came from Melbourne, Canberra, the Central Coast and Newcastle to explore topside and underground locations throughout Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong.

The intensity of exploration on this event is evidenced by the fact that over a period of 12 nights a total of 32 locations were explored in detail. The busiest night saw 6 locations covered. Sleep and food were often neglected, but this was made up by the adrenalin and energy provided by locations. A Melbourne location, Bethany, has been replaced by Sydney's Butter Factory as the best find of 2008. Another top find on the trip was the Squatter Motel in Newcastle. North Sydney Drain has been taken off the URB-X Hit List. Entry was found and the drain explored. This is the best old skool drain in Australia that has been explored by URB-X explorers so far.

EXPO DURATION: 12 nights

TOTAL LOCATIONS DONE: 32

BRIDGE ROOMS: 1

BUNKERS: 2

DRAINS: 19

TOPSIDES: 10

HIT LIST LOCATIONS DONE: 2

MOST LOCATIONS IN ONE NIGHT: 6

MIAD MEET - NEWCASTLE/SYDNEY/WOLLONGONG

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