Hunt’s Soak

Hunt’s Soak is one of the many remarkable wells which provided the entire Eastern Goldfields region with water until C.Y. O’Connor built his famous water pipeline. Hunt’s Soak, built in 1865, is located just 7km north of Southern Cross and is one of many watering holes along Hunt’s Track (later called Old York Road).

  • Bushwalking tracks
  • Picnic & BBQ facilities
  • Wildflowers & Wildlife
  • Camping
  • Photo opportunities

Hunts Soak Well

History

Explorer Charles Cooke Hunt located a number of Aboriginal watering holes and native springs. While these watering places were well known to Aboriginal people, explorers would have never reached these remote areas without the assistance of their Aboriginal guides.

Hunt built the wells with a workforce of pensioner soldiers, probationary convicts and a native guide. The excavation of some wells took hundreds of man hours and up to a month at a time to complete. They were carefully lined with slabs of granite each fitting neatly into position, with no cement used. Water was then able to seep in from the surrounding granite crop.

Address

Turkey Hill Road, Southern Cross, 6426