Turpins Falls, Kyneton

Swimming Hole Heaven in Victoria

Turpins Falls is a large waterfall pool with a high rock wall on three sides. The pool itself is larger than an Olympic swimming pool, and archives show that it was home to the Turpins Falls swimming club back in the 1930s (e.g. The Argus, 2/4/1935) before municipal swimming pools came into vogue. It has also been a popular cliff diving location, but after a spate of recent deaths and severe head/spinal injuries, Parks Victoria have prohibited the practice. Above: View of the pool from the water's edge (Order this image)

Low visibility in the water means that it is impossible to see underwater hazards and further deaths and injuries from jumping/diving would be difficult to prevent. The most recent incident that I'm aware of was in February 2016, when a woman was airlifted to hospital after injuring herself after jumping into the water (see Bendigo Advertiser, 23/2/16).

With better access, the falls could easily be a significant tourist attraction in the region, such is the impressive size of the rock ledge over which the falls flow. Even if you do not feel like a swim, it is worth a visit just to view the falls. However, road access and signage is poor, and the quality of water in the Campaspe River can also be poor at times. The upside of this is that outside of hot summer weekends, you can usually enjoy your swim here in peace. Above: The pool at Turpins Falls (Order this image)

The steps down to the falls are quite steep, and there are also some rocks to scramble over to reach the water. Best entry for swimming is at the river outlet of the pool, where entry is shallow and gradual. Entry off the rocks can be hazardous because the water gets deep quickly, and there are patches of cold water. On my swim here, I also came across a snake in the water, on its way across the pool to sun itself on the rocks on the opposite side. Whilst snakes will generally avoid rather than confront people, and this one avoided me despite being quite close, I'd suggest wearing enclosed footwear on the way down the steps and to the water.

Here is a video that I took when visiting the falls. There was only a thin stream running down the falls but plenty of water in the pool below.

Note: As of early 2023, access to Turpins Falls was closed by the managing authority due to damage done to the steps during recent heavy rain, and will be subject to an engineering assessment. This advice is current on last checking in October 2024. If you notice that the site has been re-opened, please let me know via the comment box below, but past history in a similar situation at Sailors Falls suggests it might be a several year process to re-open access. Before you head out, make sure to read the swimming safety information and check with the managing authority for any current change of conditions. Specific to this site, jumping off the cliffs is prohibited and history says it involves significant risk of injury. According to local man Ian from Langley (29/7/17), the cold water was also a factor in previous drownings at this site, so make sure you acclimatise to the water gradually. On my most recent visit, which was actually in winter, there was a blue green algae warning notice on site, recommending that you do not swim or play in the water, recommending not to let your dog swim in the water, and recommending not to drink the water. It was unclear how often the water is tested, but I would imagine that high blue green algae counts are a frequent occurrence at this site. The marker indicates the location of the car park at the falls. If the map is not zoomed in locally, as can occur with some browsers, simply click or tap on "View Larger Map" below.
View Larger Map Here are a few queries I have received about swimming at the falls and some field reports or interesting tidbits:

Comment:"Born and bred in Kyneton, we go here all the time through summer. The water is very very deep in the centre where the water falls, however it gets significantly shallower to the front (closest to the carpark) and is rocky there. My dad's friends used to go there with stolen cars and push them off the edge - this was any number of times so there is a more than a few cars down there. This is testament to how deep it is." - Sophie from Kyneton, Australia 25/2/2021.

Comment:"From my understanding, Johnny Weissmuller who was the actor in the movie Tarzan in the 1930-1940s era, used to practice his diving here and some of the movie scenes were actually filmed at Turpins Falls" - J.Smith from Victoria, Australia 4/4/2020.

My reply:Johnny Weissmuller made 12 Tarzan films over his career. If anyone knows which Tarzan movie might have a scene from Turpins Falls, please let me know, otherwise I am going to have to watch them all. Also, if anyone has evidence of Weissmuller visiting the region, also let me know, as I could only find a newspaper reference to him wanting to visit Australia.

Comment:"I actually went swimming at the falls with my sister yesterday for the first time. I managed to swim around even to the bottom of the falls. I was wearing goggles to see, but I could not see anything, my sister put on the goggles to see for herself and her comment was who the heck in their right minds would swim here OMG (to which I laughed and pointed at the two of us in the water along with the other people around the banks). It was ever so beautiful a spot." - Audrey from Box Hill, Victoria, Australia 29/3/2020.

Comment:"I visited today and it was so busy, there would have been more than 200 people visiting! There were cars all the way from the start of the walk down to the road. Looks like it is getting more popular." - Ash from Kerang, Victoria, Australia 7/1/2017, which was a 36 degree day in Melbourne.

Comment:"Went to Turpins Falls yesterday. Spectacular and your guide very useful. Water quite warm in the main pool. A few good spots to jump into main pool. The water below was at least 10 foot deep. Next time we will take some inflatables and float around. Definitely best to wear shoes for the walk down. Can be slippery in places when getting in. Need to remind people never to take glass bottles down there." - Greg from Essendon North, Victoria, Australia 31/12/2016.

Comment:"How deep is the Turpins falls pool? I was just talking with mates and someone had heard it was meant to be ridiculously deep that's all." - Lachy from Bendigo, Victoria, Australia 31/12/2014

My reply: Around the downstream edge, the pool is shallow and you can walk in. Close to the wall and the falls the pool depth varies. When I swam there I couldn't touch the bottom near the falls when treading water, so it is at least 2 metres deep. The problem is the visibility - you can't see the bottom because the river water is turbid. I spoke to the ranger who looks after Turpins Falls and he said that in Autumn they have to close access to the pool when the river is low because the pool is shallower than people think and they end up injuring themselves.

Geoff from Melbourne (formerly of Kyneton) added to the legend of the unfathomable depths of the pool at Turpins Falls by commenting (2/8/16) that "I lived in Kyneton and we would go there as kids. Diving off the falls all the time. No one I know of has ever touched the bottom no one knows how deep it is.", whilst Jezza from Kyneton said it must be well over 2 metres deep otherwise you would be able to touch the "cars and other vehicles that have ended up in there" if it were less than that (29/12/16). Ian from Langley witnessed police divers head into the water to check if one of those stolen cars contained a missing person. Fortunately it didn't, but the divers confirmed a water depth of 30 feet (9 metres) down to the submerged vehicle (29/7/17). Having said that, Ian also reported that he and his kids have swum there for many years.

Comment:"Do you know how high the falls are? We have visited the falls a few times, beautiful spot. P.S. Your site is a great source of info!" - Erin from Lancefield, Victoria, Australia 7/2/2015

My reply: I've not seen an official survey of its height. When I visited I coarsely estimated it to be around 15-20 metres. Some media sources have reported it to be "more than 20 metres" (e.g. The Age 27/3/2013) when reporting on people injuring themselves when jumping off the rocks. Julian, formerly of Metcalfe, measured it at around 10 metres high one January (30/11/18). If you are more interested in the falls than the swimming hole below it, there might be more information of interest about the falls here.

Comment:"Awesome site thank-you. We headed there on Sunday and the water was low, but really nice and cold. The waterfall was not falling so the flow of water was not too good. But a really good spot and it was quite busy as well." - Sam from Rochester, Victoria, Australia 8/3/2016

My reply: Yes, it's not unusual for the falls to stop flowing in late summer and early autumn, but I'm glad there was still enough water in the pool for a swim.

If you would like to leave a comment about this swimming hole, please fill in the comment box below. I'm particularly interested in your experiences after visiting, and any changes in swimming conditions. All fields are required if you would like your comments published on this website.

Your name:

Your email:

From (city, country):

Your zipcode:

Your comment:

I consent to having these comments published on this website (note: your email address is not published).

← Back stroke

Next swim →

Victoria	Western VIC
Water Safety	Map
List of Lists	Suggest a Swim
Links	Your Support
Media	Order the Book