Episode description

In PX45, Jess Noonan and Peter Jewell interview author David Sornig about his new book 'Blue Lake'. David has researched the history and stories of the former 'Blue Lake', so named for its beauty by early colonists, through the area's spoilation and re-use. Known as 'Dudley Flats' the area adjacent the Melbourne CBD was for many years an 'outside' area with various squatter camps and lower end activities such as rubbish dumps, freight yards and docks. Very different to 'respectable Melbourne' the area gained a certain reputation as an area outside control and representing 'the other'. David weaves amongst the historical narrative the stories of three very different 'fringe dwellers'. This book is likely to win many awards for its moving description of the place and its people. A 'psycho-geographic' journey through a strange land. Podcast released 24 January 2019. Technical production by Zak Willsallen of Complete Podcast Services. For more information go to www.planningxchange.org