A popular but ‘risky’ swimming hole and waterfall, where some tragic incidents have occurred in recent years, is undergoing a safety review.
Sunshine Coast Council is calling on the community to share their ideas on ways to improve signage at Gardners Falls, in Maleny, to help encourage safe behaviours.
Visitors can walk along a section of the Obi Obi Creek to a series of small waterfalls, and a swimming hole.
The goal is for visitors to better understand the risks at this location and be informed on how to manage their own safety.
The draft signage aims to prompt thinking about the risks of visiting this area and include calls to secure valuables, keep a constant eye on children and consider swimming ability and unseen, submerged objects.
There are also two warning signs.
The location of the signage is also up for discussion.
Visitors were last year “strongly urged” to heed the warnings there, after a spate of incidents in recent years, including three reported fatalities in the past three years and an array of injuries.
Councillor Winston Johnston said Gardners Falls was a popular swimming hole that attracted thousands of people each year, but there were risks there.
“Council doesn’t actively encourage swimming at the falls,” he said.
“Swimming in a natural water body is always a risky activity with variable water conditions and a range of unknowns.
“Unfortunately, there have been fatalities and injuries due to this.”
People were jumping in to the swimming hole from at least five different rocky ledges of various heights at the site on Australia Day last year.
Cr Johnston said council was trying to get the balance right between helping people manage their own safety in this location and preserving the beauty visitors enjoyed.
“We’ve put forward some new signage ideas as a starting point for discussion to better communicate the risks of visiting and swimming at the falls,” he said.
A landscape management plan for Gardners Falls guides council’s actions to improve safety in the reserve.
It includes new signage (underway), planning and design of road and traffic upgrades (2024/25), a crossing to the Maleny Community Precinct trail (2024/25) and minor amenity upgrades.
Council is working closely with local emergency services to identify access improvements during an emergency.
Community members can share their ideas on the draft signage by Friday, October 13, at Have Your Say or at a drop-in session at the Maleny Library, 5 Coral Street, on Monday, September 25, from 3pm to 6pm.
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