Friday, October 05, 2007

FRIDAY'S HISTORY POST: SAILOR'S FALLS.


Today my cousin met up with me at Sailor's Falls. This is where we exchanged kids...you know, Tomas went to her place up the bush and her little girl who is my Nicholas' age came to stay and entertain my other three kiddies.
This place is just such a hidden treasure. If you were not truly searching for it you would all but drive right by it.
Situated about 50 minutes drive out of Melbourne, towards the lovely Mineral Springs area of Dayelsford is Sailor's Falls. 5 kilometres shy of Dayelsford to be exact. Sailor' Falls was originally known as Tunnel Falls(More about that later).
The story behind the name of this magical place is that there was once a group of sailors who jumped ship in the 1850's. They had come to Australia to seek their fortune in the Gold Rush. They discovered this lovely creek an tried their fortune at mining the stream. What they did discover was that this creek ran into a 15metre drop water fall, and that the area was indeed rich in minerals.
Sodium Bicarbonate waters can be found in the Northern Spring Outlet.
In the 1850's, Miners tunneled in beneath the waterfalls for the rich content of the various rock formations. Sub-basaltic deep lead alluvial sediments to be exact. The tunnel and trestle supports were still present below the falls up until the 1920's.

Now, the place i a lovely picnic place and a loos top. You can walk right down to the falls and there are many tracks to go for long all day walks from the picnic area itself.
See, the magic is in the eyes of the beholder...and the smell..... naturally glorious!

16 comments:

Mom said...

I must come and see more of Australia! You make it sound so enticing.

Jay said...

That looks like a great place to just go and hang out and spend the day wandering around.

Steph said...

That place looks awesome! Looks like somewhere you'd dig for buried treasure.

Memphis said...

We don't even have small hills here in Memphis. I want to come there and see waterfalls!

phishez said...

I love the Aussie bush. Some gorgeous photos there.

Lucy said...

That place looks very calm. And you have nice kids and couisn.

eric1313 said...

Paradise takes many forms.

That's one of them! How idealic and serene.

You must be having a gorgeous weekend.

Take care, and peace out.

Molly said...

As usual, you have written a fabulous history post. Sailor's Falls looks like an intriguing place to visit.

M said...

stunning!!

Rosanna said...

Gosh that is so beautiful! I have never been before - but it looks like the kind of place where fairies would hide.

Stace said...

That looks absolutely gorgeous. I wonder if I can get up there without a car? I have my scooter, but I'm a bit nervous about freeways. Oh well, maybe it'll have to wait...

AspergantuS said...

I love your history Fridays. One day I'd like to go there and see some of these things in person.

Ginnie said...

Once again I've learned about a new place, thanks to your blog. I wish I weren't so far away and would love to visit there. Oh, well, I guess I can dream.

Cazzie!!! said...

I'm so glad everyone enjoyed this post, I loved the place and wil be sure to go back there again with the kids :)

Middle Child said...

Australia has its own beauty... the big skies, the light, the colours...and not a lot of water falls... I love waterfalls...

Gledwood said...

O this is sublime!
Reminds me of where I grew up in Wales...
We had a place called Cenarth Falls which was a lot wider than that... but all the same magic, the same greenery...

Hey if you come to my blog today I've got some Aussie Animal Bloopers up... including an errant redback spider... you will find it really entertaining!

See you there hopefully...
... all the best 2u
...from

Gledwood
"Vol 2"...