Your say

I JUST read the front page [regarding the old Butter Factory Well] and find that wonderful discovery amazing.

It would be nice to think it could be a place for the public to fill up their water bottles!

Leisa Gunton

I HAVE just been reading your article on the Butter Factory “Well” that has recently been opened and found to contain a pump system to draw water.

I know of three other wells that have been capped and now lie under a ton of cement.

There is one at the back of Cooroy Motors’ old garage, and another at the back of Wimmers Cordial Factory.

The well at the garage was used for cleaning the building and also, Harry Spring used the water to make his medicines.

Jack Wimmer of course used water from his well to make his soft drinks.

The banter between these two local fellows was well known around town.

The story goes that our pharmacist made a passing remark to Jack that he only coloured the water.

Jack answered, saying “At least I add sugar to my drinks, however, what you add is questionable.”

The factory would pump the water up, and it would pass through a candle filter to a high storage tank before it was used.

The third well was situated at the back of “Oak Bonnell” house and supplied the town and surrounding areas with water during summer and droughts.

I believe that Adam Emmerson was the water diviner of these wells.

All these wells are situated on the same underground stream.

Just a bit more knowledge to add to the debate.

Amy Dwyer

THE Butter Factory well...

One - a construction built over the well site, using a four-post design with a hip tin roof and signage to show some history about how the water was used mainly for washing butter to remove buttermilk in the process of making butter.

It was also used for making ice and in the wood-fired boiler to provide steam to run the steam engine and for other factory usages.

Two - install a pump and power to enable water to be drawn from the well mainly for the out of town residents in dry times as they rely on rainwater for their tanks.

A reasonable cost could be charged to cover power etc. and the water could be free.

Another great tourist attraction for our town of Cooroy.

Alan Kenzler

IN regards to the water in the Apex Park Well, I would like to see it used in the playground being built in Cooroy, opposite the Library.

As this water has no added chlorine to it, it would be ideal for the creeks and ponds for wildlife such as frogs.

Natural spring water would be perfect for their environment.

This water could also be used to run the ablution block and the drinking fountains.

You would not have to run a pipe across the road.

Instead, you could run a trench alongside the footpath to the bridge, go under the bridge and you are at the park. Little cost involved.

If a trench isn’t suitable, a pipe could run along the fence when it is re-erected after the completion of the car park.

FREE I Phone: 5442 6699 I Email: editorial@cooroyrag.com.au I August 2021

Well, well, well...liquid gold in Cooroy

By ALEX PURCELL

THE lid has been lifted on a decades old Cooroy mystery with ‘’liquid gold’’ discovered under a sewerage cap in the heart of town.

For years, long-time local and owner of Cooroy Hire Service, Max Arbuthnot, has been telling anyone who’d listen that the mouldy concrete tank in Apex Park with ‘’SANSEW’’ stamped on the heavy metal lid is not waste, rather the ‘’best tasting water ever’’.

“Well, one day a few years ago, a guy was in the park testing the water and I told him about the well and he said after he’d finished that he’d lift the lid,’’ Max told the Cooroy Rag.

“For 40 years everyone has thought it was sewage but he lifted that lid and it was liquid gold. I drank a bottle of it and it was the best tasting water I’ve ever had.”

Max said he was told the well was capped with a sewerage tank storage lid because there were no water lids available at that time.

But now the Cooroy Rag has established a century-old link, which confirms the concrete tank is in fact a well, which supplied water to the old Butter Factory.

The Butter Factory well was first sunk in 1914 by the Wide Bay Co Butter Factory and used during its years of operation from 1931 to 1975.

Alan Kenzler moved to Cooroy in 1949 and worked at the Cooroy Butter Factory from 1950 to 1966. He told the Cooroy Rag it is indeed the well from which they used to pump water to the factory to wash the butter.

“There was only one well in my time and that was the one in Apex Park,’’ he said. ‘’We had two-inch galvanised piping that ran under the road to the Butter Factory in order to pump the water up to the holding tanks at the side of the factory. “We used the water from the well to wash the butter and make ice in summer for the people of Cooroy. The water was very good quality, quite soft. For our use, we had to chlorinate it.”

Cooroy-raised man, Rob Jeffs, remembers the day that the well was capped, sealing a chapter of Cooroy’s dairy production past with it.

“It was probably a year after the Butter Factory closed and I remember council had a crane in to put on the lid,” he told the Cooroy Rag. A spokesperson for Noosa Council said they are “convinced” the tank is part of local sewerage infrastructure and could not shed any light on its historical connection to the town.

A search of UnityWater’s mapping shows the infrastructure is neither connected to the sewerage or reticulated mains and a spokesperson confirmed it is “not on their infrastructure map” nor associated with UnityWater’s sampling tap at Apex Park.

UnityWater said they were unable to investigate any further, because their crews were “currently limiting any interactions with the public due to Queensland Health’s COVID-19 advice”.

A sample water test by a local company for the Rag confirmed the Apex Park water is clear with a good pH and no traces of chlorine.

But the ultimate ‘’test’’ was left to Alan, Max and Rob as they lifted the lid on a piece of local history.

“Yes, that’s the well, alright,” Alan said, looking in. “Originally, a water diviner picked the spot and they sunk the well down but they abandoned it for a while because it wasn’t making enough water. In 1930, a Mr Munroe sank a bore down in the base of that well to get a better stream and they got beautiful water.”

Holding up a glass of crystal clear water, Alan said: “Look at this beautiful water.”

“No sewage in that,” Max said.

Cooroy is renowned for its subterranean water with a spring at the foot of Cooroy Mountain that supplies water for thousands of bottles each year as the sought-after Cooroy Mountain Spring Water. That water has been described as so pure that it needs almost no processing before it is bottled at the source.

Natural springs are formed when an aquifer - an underground layer of permeable rock or loose materials such as gravel - transmits water to the surface. *Tell us what you think. What should be done with the old Butter Factory well? Email the Rag editorial@ cooroyrag.com.au

A trio with a well of local knowledge: Alan Kenzler, Max Arbuthnot and Rob Jeffs. Photo: Travis Macfarlane.

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with Rebecca Moore’s suggestion to use the well [Cooroy Rag 15 September 2021].

When travelling in Italy in the 70s, a little seaside town on the mainland near the Straits of Messina revolved around its perpetually flowing spring.

The townspeople used it for their freshwater needs, gossiping, laughing and connecting.

I still picture it in my mind. 1

Deborah Radunz

Cooroy Rag, August 2021 - Page

Max Arbuthnot

Infrastructure upgrades bring new life to pedestrian and cycling routes

Joe Jurisevic

Councillor

NEW and upgraded infrastructure continues to be the focus of Noosa Council’s Capital Works Program. Work continues to progress on the Cooroy Hinterland Adventure Playground project.

The water play area is nearly completed, while the amenities block and picnic shelter buildings are underway.

A specialist play equipment builder has arrived on-site to commence installing the various climbing structures including timber frames, central climbing tower and flying fox.

Council have commenced planting some of the mature trees which eventually will cover most of the site.

Meanwhile, the car parks and new pedestrian crossing in Maple Street are nearly complete, with construction of the new car parks in the Lower Mill area underway.

Council’s Cycling and Walking Strategy Implementation Plan was finalised this year and adopted in July.

It has identified around 450 new and upgraded pathway and cycleway projects across the Shire, including numerous missing links and route refinements, to improve the connectivity of our walking and cycling networks.

It includes a list of projects proposed over the next 10 years.

In this year’s Capital Works Plan, Council has allocated $1.25 million for the construction of pathways and cycleways including the following Hinterland connections: • Cooroy Tewantin Road - missing pathway link • 100m of 3m wide pathway

from Olivine St to Miva St • Cooroy - Maple Street, 145m of new 3m wide pathway from Overlander

Avenue to the Bruce Hwy

Overpass • Cooroy - Maple Street - 132m of new and upgraded pathways and a cycle lane from Marara St to Lower

Mill Rd • Cooroy Gumtree Drive - Pedestrian Bridge Construction

Replacement of walkway bridge link to Lions Park on

Noosa Cooroy Rd • Pomona Stan Topper Park north pathway- 20m of new 2m wide pathway from Memorial Ave • Noosa Hinterland recreation trails upgrade (Pomona

Section)

Currently, it is estimated that over 80% of travel across Noosa is undertaken by car, with 12% of those trips less than 2km, and 20% less than 4km.

Yet walking, jogging, running, cycling and bushwalking are the top 10 recreational activities for Queenslanders.

Riding or walking short distances each day could help make savings to a household budget and reduce emissions.

It will take a new approach if we want to create a change and see more people riding for health, transport and tourism, thereby easing travel and parking congestion.

The Noosa Cycling and Walking Strategy aim to deliver a better connected, higher quality and safer cycle and walking network for our community.

Over the next 10 years, the construction of new and upgraded walking and cycling infrastructure projects are estimated at $22.68 million, with available funding estimated at $1.45million annually.

Project delivery will be subject to consideration each year as part of Council’s annual budget process and to additional funding from other sources, such as grants, in order to complete future projects sooner.

Further information on the Noosa Cycling and Walking Strategy Implementation Plan can be found on Council’s website: https:// noosacouncil.s3-ap-southeast-2. amazonaws.com/public/CyclingFlipBook/NCWSIP%20FLIP.html