Abstract

Australia’s mound springs, or artesian springs as they are more generically known, are natural outlets for the pressurised ground waters of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) and occur in the far north of South Australia, north-western New South Wales, and western and south-western inland regions of Queensland. The springs in South Australia are aligned in a great arc around the southern and south-western margins of the GAB and are particularly well developed near Lake Eyre and at Dalhousie Springs north-east of Oodnadatta. It has been my good fortune to have been closely associated with the South Australian springs for five decades, both professionally and in a personal capacity, and in this paper I reflect on those five decades and what they might offer in terms of managing the springs more effectively into the future.