sulphur spring

Sulphur Spring

Sulphur is located beside a rustic stone bridge in the gorgeous Hepburn Springs Reserve, a short stroll from the Hepburn Bathhouse and only 120m from Locarno Spring.

Upstream from Sulphur, the valley of Welshmans Gully narrows slightly, and mineral water may be seen seeping through the cracks along the pathway between Sulphur and Wyuna bores.

Major failures of the Hepburn springs have occurred in the past. Deep underground mining between 1870 and 1920 withdrew enormous volumes of water from the bedrock aquifer, reducing or stopping the flow of the springs.

In 1930 the spring was 5m deep. In 2006 a new bore was drilled and it is 28.5m deep

A major event occurred between 1910–14 when several mines located within two kilometres from Hepburn Spring, dewatered the spring. Frenchman’s Reef mine, only 1.2 km south and more than 350m deep, was largely responsible. The Government compensated one of the mines for its closure but was hesitant to continue the practice. The spring recovered once mine dewatering activities ceased.

A comparison of the levels of minerals in the springs can be found here.