Musk - Leitches Creek Mineral Spring
On 25 April 1881, two years after having been set aside for protection, Leitches Creek Spring was formally made a reservation. Mr John Harrington of Musk Creek was granted permission, in 1905, for the "extraction of mineral water", provided the public still had access to the spring, and that the mineral water extracted could not be sold within a radius of fifteen miles (24.2km) from the spring. The suggested rent 30 pounds for seven years was approximately 1/20th of the rent paid at Hepburn Springs. In 1929 the reserve was declared a tourist resort under a special act of parliament, and the Jenkins Brothers were given a permit for mineral water extraction, which continued until the mid 1950's.
Mineral water is delivered by a semi-rotary hand pump and a small piped trench.
Facilities include parking, tables and seats.
How To Get There
From Daylesford, head due east towards Trentham, past the old Daylesford railway station on the right (the locale of the Sunday Market and the Tourist Railway). Past the cemetery on the left, just as the main road starts to veer to the right, turn left into Leitches Creek Rd. After crossing Musk Creek, follow Leitches Creek Rd as it veers to the right. After approximately 2 km watch out for a signpost to Leitches Creek Mineral Spring on the left.
From Lyonville/Trentham: Approximately 4km past Bullarto General Store, turn into Leitches Creek Spring Rd on the right. After approximately 2 km the spring reserve is a signposted turn-off to the right. The spring is located in a little park with Leitches Creek flowing along one side of the reserve.
Access for Dogs:
Dogs are permitted on leash.
Interpretative Signage
Delivered to your door…
Leitches Creek was once known as Wallaby Creek. In 1880 a mineral spring reserve of 0.4 Ha was set aside, and then in 1881 the reserve was enlarged to 1.2 Ha.
The spring was found to be in a large pool of water in a naturally swampy part of the creek. According to the Department of Mining (Baragwanath, 1906), the swamp was dug out and drained each year.
A licence to extract mineral water from the reserve was granted to the Jenkins Brothers in 1905. The brothers bottled mineral water here up until the 1950s, delivering it to homes in the area.
The pump house, shown above, was built over the eye of the spring. The remains of the bottling cellar can still be seen.
Public access to the spring eye was improved in about 1960 when the spring’s flow was diverted by pipe to a concrete tank.
The mineral water
The water from Leitches Creek mineral spring is a sodium calcium magnesium bicarbonate water. The water from the pump is quite similar to that from the pit, the major difference being the higher levels of total inorganic carbon from the pump.
The water contains around 1900 mg/L total soluble salts, 1500 mg/L bicarbonate and only 17 mg/L chloride. The low level of chloride is about one-third that of the springs at Hepburn.
In 1920, the spring flow was measured at 0.21 litres per sec (L/s). In 1978, when Laing measured the flow, it was 0.03 L/s – considerably less. In 2000, the bore and hand pump were replaced.
For more information about mineral springs in Victoria, see "From The Spa Country, A Field Guide to 65 Mineral Springs of the Central Highlands, Victoria", published by Edward and Maura Wishart
Photos:
Location
Springs Road, Musk 3461 View Map
