1 week ago
13
Updated June 14, 2026 — 2:58pm,first published 2:02pm
Children and dog walkers were cleared from a popular park in Melbourne’s inner north after police were called to deal with a stash of dynamite found in a nearby property on Sunday afternoon.
Footage obtained by The Age shows the explosives being detonated near trees at Merri Park, behind Northcote High School, as part of a controlled operation just before 1pm.
A bomb response robot can be seen near the site, as the explosion sends hay and dirt flying. SES volunteers had been called earlier in the day to provide assistance with sand bags.
A second detonation followed just before 3pm.
The explosives were allegedly located in the shed of a deceased estate in Northcote, where they had been in storage for several decades.
Police confirmed they were at a St Georges Road address and their Bomb Response Unit (BRU) was continuing to detonate explosives found in storage.
“Police responded to reports of dynamite located in the shed of a deceased estate in the vicinity of St Georges Road,” police said in a statement on Sunday.
“There is no threat to the community nor criminality and police activity will conclude shortly.
“It is estimated the items had been in storage for many decades,” police said.
“BRU are in attendance as per standard procedure, having relocated the items to open parkland and performed detonation in a safe and controlled environment.
“Victoria Police thanks the community for observing and adhering to road closures in the area.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
