VI. Carlton, Fitzroy and Brunswick: The stomping grounds of the 'ndrangheta

The first official 'ndrangheta murder was in 1945 in Fitzroy and twenty years later the Queen Victoria Market was rocked by a mafia war. But it was on Lygon Street, Carlton's main thoroughfare and the cradle of the Italian community, that the bosses gathered: not only to plot the murder of a rival, but also to eat, socialise, and be seen.

Lygon street is one of Melbourne's main arteries, running from Carlton to Brunswick.

lygon street's long history of crime

• Lygon Street is one of Melbourne's most famous streets and is considered the cradle of Italian immigration.
• Some of the families implicated in the Mafia started out on Lygon Street, running restaurants, bars and other businesses.
• In the 1990s, the so-called Carlton Crew was forming. The clash with the previous generation resulted in dozens of deaths.

Lygon Street, Carlton's main street, is a great place to better understand the evolution of organised crime in Melbourne.

Here, the 'ndrangheta of Calabrian origin came into contact with a multicultural Melbourne, giving rise to hybrid criminal associations.

This led to the emergence of the so-called "Carlton Crew", made famous by the television series "Underbelly".

And the showdown between the old and the new guard was bloody, with more than 30 people killed in the 2000's.

The Melbourne scene in the late 90s and early 2000s was very much about party drugs, ecstasy, amphetamines, that sort of stuff. And the new players decided to displace the old players, and there was a lot of violence as a result.

The Age journalist Chris Vedelago

Carlo and Anna meet The Age Journalist Chris Vedelago, who takes them around Lygon Street to discover its most famous landmarks and hear its stories.

They follow in the footsteps of characters who have entered 'ndrangheta folklore with memorable nicknames, from "The Pope" to "The Black Prince of Lygon Street."

Dr Anna Sergi, Carlo Oreglia and The Age journalist Chris Vedelago exploring Lygon street's secrets.

“My Australian Mafia Roadtrip” is an SBS Audio podcast about the history and the psychology of the ‘ndrangheta Down Under. Find it in your podcast app such as the SBS Audio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or LiSTNR.

Host: Carlo Oreglia

Special Guests: Anna Sergi, Chris Vedelago

Commissioning Editor: Joel Supple

Sound designer: Max Gosford

Tile Art: 50sVintageDame/illustrationroom.com.au