‘Taking the Waters’: Mineral Springs, Artesian Bores and Health Tourism in Queensland, 1870–1950

‘Taking the Waters’: Mineral Springs, Artesian Bores and Health Tourism in Queensland, 1870–1950

In late 1907, Charles Fraser, the Victorian government entomologist, travelled to North Queensland. His observations of the flora and fauna in this part of Australia were later published in the Victorian Naturalist. However, this journey was not motivated entirely by his desire to study natural history. As a sufferer of ‘rhematic [sic] troubles’, he spent a few days soaking in the mineral-impre...

"Taking the waters"--springs, wells, and spas.

[O]ne of the deepest and most enduring preoccupations, both of the sick and of the medical profession, from the baths of antiquity through to the Victorian deluge of “hydros,” has been water. . . . the pernicious potential of standing waters, humid vapors, excessive rainfall, pestilential miasmatic fogs, and subterranean aqueous abysses . . . the curative powers of water . . . engendering feroc...

Desert Springs of the Australian Great Artesian Basin

The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) underlies about one fifth of mainland Australia. Much of this area is arid or semiarid and often artesian water is the only reliable source of potable water, historically via springs. Prior to the 1870s, there were around 3,000 flowing springs ringing the GAB. The springs were a vital source of water for Aborigines as well as early explorers, workers and pastorali...

Sulphurous Mineral Waters: New Applications for Health

Sulphurous mineral waters have been traditionally used in medical hydrology as treatment for skin, respiratory, and musculoskeletal disorders. However, driven by recent intense research efforts, topical treatments are starting to show benefits for pulmonary hypertension, arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, ischemia-reperfusion injury, heart failure, peptic ulcer, and acute and chronic infla...

The Mineral Waters and Health Resorts of Europe