Until the 1930's Daylesford and Hepburn Springs flourished. The local authorities boasted that their naturally radioactive mineral water could work miracles. Among other things it could restore youth, help jaded appetites, was a tonic for the blood and dispelled acute pain.
An advertisement from the late 1920's reads: "Warm in winter, yet with invigorating, bracing mountain air, and cool in summer, with restful nights peculiar to the district, the climate leaves nothing to be desired. The Hepburn Mineral Springs are famous throughout the State for their health giving properties."
Everybody went for their health, for the annual family holiday and above all for their honeymoon. The nightly dances at the pavilions at Hepburn Springs, Central Springs and Tipperary Springs were characteristic of the lively atmosphere enjoyed by visitors in an era of no television and few cars.