The Glenlyon Mineral Springs Reserve is a shady, scenic park which features a mineral spring tap and a great picnic area. Visit for a barbecue lunch, complemented by a refreshing taste of mineral spring water from the pump tap.
A free electric barbecue stands alongside the undercover picnic area, and there are a couple of other picnic tables set beneath the shade of the trees.
Mineral spring tap at the Glenlyon Mineral Springs Reserve
The mineral spring tap is a hand powered pump in a pretty stone setting, with an information sign that displays the following text:
Glenlyon Racecourse and Recreation Reserve
In 1869, this reserve of 20.7 hectares in area, with two mineral springs, was set aside. The reserve was gazetted as a public park in 1880; by 1907 the uses were to include racing and general recreation.
By March 1913, Mr Glenn of the Glenlyon Progress Association had sunk two holes - one he equipped with a kerosene tin pump to develop the spring.
Commercial use of the mineral water began in 1980 when Taurina Spa sunk a bore to 83m. Taurina was licensed to extract 15 ML of mineral water per year. Several tanks were set up to store the water which was trucked to Melbourne for bottling. The venture did not last long - finishing in 1982.
Glenlyon's mineral water
Glenlyon has one of the highest levels of soluble salts of the Central Highlands mineral springs and is a rich source of potassium, calcium, magnesium and sodium.
In the early 1980s, concern had been expressed about the radioactivity of the water from the spring. (Radioactivity was a fashionable, if little understood, phenomenon in the 1920s.) The water lost its appeal in the market place, forcing the closure of the commercial venture.
Recent testing of the spring water shows it to be perfectly safe to drink.
Drinking Natural Mineral Water
Water from natural mineral springs is untreated. Water in mineral springs is tested regularly but its quality and safety cannot be guaranteed.
For further information:
www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au
or
DELWP general enquiries: 136 186
OTHER MINERAL SPRINGS TO CHECK OUT
- Ballan Mineral Springs, Ballan VIC
- Blackwood Mineral Springs Reserve, Blackwood VIC
- Carrol's Mineral Spring at Werribee River Camping Ground, Spargo Creek VIC
- Glenluce Mineral Spring, Glenluce VIC
- Joyces Creek Mineral Spring Steps, Joyces Creek VIC
- Jubilee Lake, Daylesford VIC
- Lithia Spring, Shepherd's Flat VIC
- Sailors Falls, near Daylesford VIC
- Taradale Mineral Springs Reserve, Taradale VIC
- Tipperary Springs, Daylesford VIC
- Vaughan Springs, Vaughan VIC
- Woolnough's Crossing Mineral Spring, Glenlyon VIC
BBQ
Glenlyon
