Sparks fly on an underground adventure in Brisbane

DEEP in the bowels of Brisbane, sparks of life appear.

FW: TWAM 140607 Heart of the Nation Picture: Josh Bakkum

IT took Josh Bakkum a year to find the secret portal that led to this place, deep in the bowels of Brisbane.

A year of piecing together clues gleaned from internet forums; of poring over old maps of the stormwater drain network, narrowing down his search. One day, following a trail of manhole covers in the city — he won’t say where — he finally discovered that portal: a nondescript, hinged metal grate, with no lock.

Bakkum and a mate slipped in under cover of darkness that night, descended a fixed ladder and sloshed along a stormwater tunnel for 15 minutes, torches in hand, until it suddenly opened out into this large cavern. Known as the Bridge Room, it’s a hallowed place among the so-called “urban explorers” who venture into the city’s deep, dark underbelly.

Bakkum celebrated with this self-portrait, lighting a wad of steel wool on the end of a chain and whirling it around his head, the shower of sparks captured with a long exposure. “Finding these secret spots through your own efforts is a big part of the game,” explains the 35-year-old father of three. “It’s not as rewarding if you’re just shown them.” Being underground is a thrill, he says — “All your senses are heightened … you’re definitely on edge” — but he is sensible about the risks: he always checks weather forecasts and tides, carries several torches (imagine the horror of a single torch dying down there in the pitch black) and never goes alone.

Bakkum is in the final year of a nursing degree at Griffith Uni, and hopes to work in Emergency. Ironically, he ended up in A & E on his birthday last year, after the police spotted him entering a drain and gave chase. Bakkum panicked and ran — straight into a concrete post. He copped 45 stitches in his head, but at least the officers let him off. “They were really nice when they realised I was taking photos, not planting a bomb,” he says.