Strewth - Australian Mystery Podcast - Series 1, Episode 4

Deep in Far North Queensland rises a dark anomaly that has claimed lives for over 150 years. The Kuku Yalanji people call it Kalkajaka "the place of the spear" and have warned for forty thousand years that the mountain keeps its dead.

When Charles Grayner vanished while tracking his horse into the granite boulder maze in 1872, it began a pattern of mysterious disappearances that would earn this geological formation a reputation as Australia's Bermuda Triangle. Ten years later, Harry Owens disappeared under strikingly similar circumstances. Then George Hawkins followed his own safety rope into the mountain's heart... and simply ceased to exist.

Recent research by historian Bev Shay offers compelling explanations rooted in the harsh realities of frontier life. But questions linger. Why do the documented cases share such eerie similarities? What explains the mountain's persistent effects on visitors even today?

Join us as we explore the documented disappearances, the rich traditional stories of the Kuku Yalanji people, and the ongoing mystery of a place where rational explanation meets enduring enigma. Sometimes the most honest answer is that we still don't know everything.

Content note: This episode discusses historical disappearances and respects the cultural significance of Kalkajaka to traditional owners, the Kuku Yalanji. The site is protected and access is restricted for safety and cultural reasons.

Title Music - by Jesse Frank from Pixabay