Bubbling up from below
IT was interesting to see an article in the Geelong Advertiser last week about plans to build a $20 million mineral spa and wellness centre at the site of the Eastern Beach mineral springs.
A 2015 business case found the project was viable and is seen as a chance for Geelong to get its share of the huge global spa and wellness industry.
The mineral springs, which are about 250 metres to the east of the Eastern Beach promenade, were discovered by a group of schoolboys in 1882.
One of the boys, Albert ‘Snowy’ Pontin, noticed water bubbling up from the base of the cliff.
The Geelong Progress Association later boasted that the spring waters had curative properties in cases of rheumatism, indigestion and liver complaints.
Walter Randolph Brownhill, in his History of Geelong and Corio Bay, described the springs as being beyond Garden St.
Brownhill said an analyst, GF Link, had studied the mineral water in 1885 and found it was charged with “carbonic acid gas”.
“In many respects they much resemble the water of the celebrated Seltzer Spa in Nassau … but they are much richer in magnesia,” Brownhill quoted. In the decades following the discovery there were plans for a bathing facility at the site, but an application to the Geelong Town Council was opposed because of a lack of detail. Eventually a kiosk, fences and timber access steps were erected.
By 1913 the Geelong Harbour Trust had fitted each spring with a pipe and covered it with cement to separate them from sea water.
By 1959 the springs were declared contaminated, but they were resurrected in 1999 with the drilling of a 35-metre bore to reach the underground spring. A tap was installed on the lower Hearne Parade walkway 2.5 metres above high tide, operated by a hand pump to allow visitors to fill their water bottles.
Remnants of the much earlier springs can be seen about three metres out from the path, where the ruins of a brick turret can be seen. There are also the remains of a rounded concrete dipping pool. Contact: peterjohnbegg@gmail.com