Walgett Artesian Bore Baths

Walgett sits near the junction of the Barwon and Namoi rivers in north-west New South Wales, on Kamilaroi country, where residents have soaked in Great Artesian Basin bore water since the 1930s. The current Walgett Memorial Artesian Baths, on Montkeila Street, were built in 1988 to mark Australia's Bicentenary, replacing earlier bathing infrastructure with a purpose-built facility. The water — mineral-rich in sulphur, calcium and magnesium, and, like all Great Artesian Basin water, roughly two million years old by the time it reaches the surface — flows naturally to around 38-41°C without any artificial heating. The baths remain a genuinely local amenity rather than a tourist resort, valued as much for their role in outback community life as for their therapeutic reputation.