Helidon Spa, Queensland

Bain, Jack (1926) Helidon Spa, Queensland. [Image]

Abstract

For a time in the 1960s, a natural spring at the foot of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland was home to Australia's largest swimming pool, and legendary concerts featuring the Bee Gees.

Nicknamed 'the Gold Coast of Toowoomba', the natural cold springs at Helidon were a popular swimming spot for people who did not want to travel hours to the beach.

The Helidon mineral waters had a place in the Dreamtime. Traditional owners called the mineral water Gooneel Goong, meaning "water from the moon".

In the late 1800s, entrepreneurs thought to bottle the water, sending it as far as London and San Francisco, where it won medals for its drinking quality.

But in the 1960s, the focus moved to recreation.

Owners of the land charged a shilling entrance fee for swimming in the natural springs.

The Helidon Spa was advertised as the nation's largest swimming pool, bigger than three Olympic-sized pools, holding 3.4 million litres of bubbling spa water

Additional Information

Item Type: Image
Source Media: B & W Photograph
Collection: Bain/O'Gorman
Sub-Collection Title:

Australia - Queensland - Toowoomba Region

Date: 1926
Keywords: Helidon - Queensland; Helidon spa - Queensland
Related URLs:
Date Deposited: 28 Aug 2024 04:21
Last Modified: 28 Aug 2024 04:45
Copyright Owner: Out of copyright
Copyright Statement: You are free to use this image without permission. Please attribute Queensland University of Technology
Location:
CountryState or RegionCity or TownPlace
AustraliaQueenslandHelidonHelidon Spa
Location -27.5469, 152.0969
URI: https://digitalcollections.qut.edu.au/id/eprint/7947
Share:
Admin: item control page [repository staff only]