The godfather of thermal bathing in Victoria, Charles Davidson, describes his decision in the 1990s to pursue a hot springs venture as a \u201cJack and the beanstalk moment\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife and I had just got married \u2026 and we could dig a hole in the ground or we could build a house,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was sort of like the beans or the cow.\u201d <\/p>\n
They chose the beans, and after eight years of blood, sweat and tears \u2014 which coincided with the arrival of their four children \u2014 a Victorian tourism powerhouse was born.<\/p>\n
This bubbly fifth offspring, Peninsula Hot Springs, has just turned 21 years old and now hosts half a million people a year, but is still growing. <\/p>\n
Davidson sat down for the Big V Interview with Matt Johnston to discuss the ancient culture of bathing, how the recently established Great Victoria Bathing Trail is driving more visitors to the state, and his family\u2019s curious historic link to Napoleon Bonaparte. <\/p>\n
A DREAM BUBBLES UP<\/p>\n
Davison could talk underwater about balneotherapy \u2014 the use of thermal baths for therapeutic purposes. <\/p>\n
But there\u2019s something more basic about the hot springs experience that he says has felt since taking a plunge in a Japanese onsen in the early 1990s. <\/p>\n
And it easily doubles as a sales pitch for the antidote to today\u2019s busy 24\/7 world. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe operate a reality experience in an increasingly virtual world,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou literally have to immerse yourself in the water. <\/p>\n
\u201cNothing has become more true as AI has evolved, and bathing into nature gives people a real down to earth experience, that you can\u2019t ask a robot to do, and you can\u2019t ask AI to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cWake up and be present, get off the device and be in life.\u201d<\/p>\n
His initial onsen experience, under a mountain in rural Japan, came while Davidson was working at a trading company in Tokyo in his 20s. <\/p>\n
His first thought was \u201cwhy don\u2019t we have this at home?\u201d but it wasn\u2019t until he had a very Aussie catch-up with a diplomat a few years later that he began to envisage a local option. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was having a VB with the head of the Victorian State office,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018you\u2019re a bit entrepreneurial to be a diplomat, what\u2019s your dream?\u2019 And I said, \u2018I\u2019d love to build a hot spring in Australia\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davidson learnt that the government had done test drilling in Victoria in the 1970s and had hit upon hot water, and that maps of the natural resources existed. <\/p>\n
The senior diplomat had been sent the report, which governments had hoped would attract Japanese investors to Victoria, and which showed vast reserves of geothermal mineral water deep underground.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing came of it in terms of getting investors from Japan; but, in fact, 14 years after receiving the report we found an Australian investor in Japan,\u201d he says with a laugh. <\/p>\n
\u201cSome other people had actually tried to do something here (in Victoria) but they didn\u2019t get very far.\u201d <\/p>\n
Further north, he explains, Australia sits above the Great Artesian Basin where water from Papua New Guinea flows deep underground. <\/p>\n
On the Mornington Peninsula the water is more than 630 metres underground and is an endless renewable resource if extracted sustainably. <\/p>\n
Once he learnt the water was there, Davidson started to look at land in Fingal. <\/p>\n
His brother, Richard, sold his florist business and in 1997 they were all in. <\/p>\n
The Peninsula was well known to the family, whose ancestors were original inhabitants of the historic homestead The Briars, in Mount Martha. <\/p>\n
Davidson\u2019s ancestral links include a who\u2019s who from Australian history, such as the first colonial treasurer of Australia, William Balcombe, as well as the first non-Englishman to win Wimbledon, Sir Norman Brooks.<\/p>\n
Tales from Balcombe\u2019s life, which included a stint on the remote island St Helena while working for the East India Company, inspired Davidson\u2019s love of travel and trade.<\/p>\n
This included the story of when Napoleon Bonaparte arrived on St Helena, following his exile after the Battle of Waterloo, and found that his rat-infested lodgings needed major renovations. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was looking for a place to stay, and he walked around and saw this property on a hill and it just happened to be William\u2019s house,\u201d Davidson says. <\/p>\n
\u201cNapoleon stayed in their garden bungalow known as the Pavillion for seven weeks, and got to know the family very well.\u201d <\/p>\n
Although he could have pursued a career in trade himself, Davidson says the dream of creating a hot springs venture kept bubbling to the surface. <\/p>\n
\u201cOnce it gets hold of you, as an entrepreneur or somebody with a passion, you just follow it,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt dominates your life.\u201d <\/p>\n
FROM HOT MUD TO A SOUTHERN SPRING<\/p>\n
There is a photo on the wall of Peninsula Hot Springs that shows Charles and Richard Davidson outdoors in a yellow plastic bath tub.<\/p>\n
It was snapped when they first purchased the land, in 1997, anticipating drilling for thermal springs the following year. <\/p>\n
While the first extraction pipes broke underground and spat out hot mud instead of mineral-rich water, it showed what was possible, and they decided to pursue planning permits and secure investors before spending more money. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were just fascinated. They thought we were mad,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
After years of talks at rotary and probus clubs about their \u201ccrazy dream\u201d the brothers found willing backers and drilling recommenced \u2014 slowly. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was one of the toughest things, because you knew that the job should have only taken two to three months, but the drilling cost us years of our lives,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe had some investors at the start \u2026 but after about 10 months they just said, look, we can\u2019t wait any longer, which we felt was totally fair enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very painful for us.\u201d <\/p>\n
In 2002, 18 months after starting drilling, they hit liquid gold \u2014 54 degree natural geothermal mineral water. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe next challenge was to find the money (again), because we\u2019d lost the initial investors,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
Enter former peninsula mayor Bill Goodrem and his wife Joan, who arrived at their home with a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate the discovery of the thermal springs. <\/p>\n
The Goodrems introduced the Davidsons to Norm Cleland, who had lived in Japan and whose wife was Japanese. <\/p>\n
Cleland\u2019s brother had the capital they needed, but he wanted Norm to be involved. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe became our first general manager, which was perfect, because we hadn\u2019t run a company with a lot of staff,\u201d Davidson says. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe got the letter of the money coming through on the day that our daughter, our fourth child, was born. <\/p>\n
\u201cChiara is her English name but her Japanese name is Nami, which actually means southern hot spring.\u201d <\/p>\n
In 2005, the Davidsons opened the Spa Dreaming Centre at the Peninsula Hot Springs. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt did take us eight years and we went from having one child to four children in that time and I still didn\u2019t have a paying job,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a number of occasions during those eight years, I thought, \u2018what am I doing?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018I\u2019ve got all my kids growing up, they have to go to school\u2019 and we hadn\u2019t even hit the water.\u201d<\/p>\n
A DEEP HISTORY AND NEW AGE HEALING<\/p>\n
Thermal bathing has a rich global history that stretches back millennia, from ancient Roman baths and Turkish hammams. <\/p>\n
In rural Iran entire towns are centred around hot springs and healing, while fire and ice treatments in Scandinavia and Russia have fascinated visitors for centuries.<\/p>\n
Davidson has travelled to most corners of the earth to soak it all in and bring back elements to Australia \u2013 his original cold plunge pool was built after doing a sauna and ice plunge in Moscow.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to jump in the hot spring, then you roll in the snow. And that contrast is so invigorating, so enlivening, you never feel cleaner or fresher.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why it\u2019s such a good business for Victoria, because of the four seasons in one day. The cooler it is, the better the experience.\u201d <\/p>\n
This winter, for example, the site is leaning into the cold with its \u201cseek the heat\u201d night events that include \u201cchakra-inspired colour, restorative sound and warming heat\u201d. <\/p>\n
From the outset there was a specific intention of leaning into the diversity of people in Melbourne, where they knew most customers would come from. <\/p>\n
\u201cSince our inception, we\u2019ve held the intention of creating community through the bathing experience, and we have done that with a lens of multiculturalism. <\/p>\n
\u201cBathing is something that every human does \u2026 it is something that can be universal and connecting.\u201d<\/p>\n
A deliberate decision was made to have \u201chumble architecture\u201d to allow bathers to appreciate \u201cyou\u2019re right in the middle of nature\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this business about? It\u2019s about creating space for people to relax in nature with themselves and each other and connect with the deep well of their being.\u201d <\/p>\n
Half a million people now visit the site, which has added 20 rooms for overnight stays, as well as amphitheatres and pools spread across vast swathes of the property\u2019s 42 acres. <\/p>\n
There are currently more than 320 staff, but if options for up to 116 more rooms are ever realised it would drive even more jobs and visitors. <\/p>\n
Davidson is also helping to drive a national bathing culture and the establishment of a Great Victorian Bathing Trail, directing people where they could be immersed in hot water between Metung and Warrnambool. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s provided advice for operators in southwest Queensland and other parts of Australia, and would \u201clike to see the trails grow right across the country\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to bring people on good experiences and good journeys,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cVictoria has the natural advantage. We don\u2019t have our big iron ore deposits (but what we have) is a natural renewable resource that will go on forever as long as it\u2019s looked after and sustainably yielded.\u201d <\/p>\n
Davidson actively promotes the health benefits of the hot springs culture, through the doctor-driven world Federation of Hydrotherapy and Climatotherapy (FEMTEC) and work by good friend, Professor Marc Cohen. <\/p>\n
As a result, Peninsula Hot Springs had been considering integrating with health services to provide options for post-operative patients or those treating stress, anxiety, or rheumatoid arthritis. <\/p>\n
\u201cHot springs are incredible at easing arthritic pain, providing relief that can last days, but it\u2019s not a cure,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
While there\u2019s \u201cclear evidence\u201d between hot springs and improved sleep and mental health outcomes, according to Davidson, the reasons for this are multifaceted. <\/p>\n
\u201cPartly it can be the minerals in the water and the natural environment, but it\u2019s also the socialisation, the communities coming together that delivers outcomes,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
OFF THE RECORD <\/p>\n
What was your first job and pay?<\/p>\n
A paper round in 1979, when I was 14. I earned $11 a week delivering newspapers five mornings a week. My first full-time job after university was with Mitsubishi Australia, exporting Australian dairy, grain, fruit and vegetables to Asia and importing products such as cheese, instant noodles and Sirena tuna. Starting salary was $36,000 plus a Mitsubishi company car.<\/p>\n
If you weren\u2019t doing this job, what would you be doing?<\/p>\n
I probably would have joined another Japanese trading company such as Mitsui, Sumitomo or Marubeni. My career changed when I lived in Japan in 1992 and discovered the country\u2019s hot springs culture. <\/p>\n
Five people you\u2019d invite to a dinner party (dead or alive)<\/p>\n
Napoleon Bonaparte \u2014 My ancestors, the Balcombes, hosted Napoleon for two months at The Briars on Saint Helena after Waterloo. I\u2019d love to hear his side of history.<\/p>\n
Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphries) \u2014 One of Australia\u2019s greatest comedians. I could happily listen to Barry\u2019s wit all evening.<\/p>\n
The Dalai Lama \u2014 His humility, wisdom and gentle humour are remarkable. After hearing him speak about hot springs, I later visited Dharamshala to learn more about Tibetan bathing traditions.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s a book everyone should read<\/p>\n
\u2018Good to Great\u2019 by Jim Collins. It highlights the importance of great teams, discipline and focusing on what you\u2019re passionate about while ensuring it can also create lasting value.<\/p>\n
If you could live anywhere in the world besides here, where would it be?<\/p>\n
I\u2019d split my time between Japan and Australia. Japan\u2019s food, skiing and hot springs keep drawing me back, and I enjoy living between different cultures.<\/p>\n
What was your first concert and dream concert? (dead or alive)<\/p>\n
First concert: Sammy Davis Jr at Festival Hall. He was an extraordinary entertainer, and meeting him afterwards made it unforgettable.<\/p>\n
Dream concert: The Australian premiere of The Planets by Gustav Holst in Melbourne in 1925, organised by my great-aunt Louise Hanson-Dyer. It would have been wonderful to experience such an important moment in our family\u2019s cultural history.<\/p>\n
Who is the most inspirational living person?<\/p>\n
David Attenborough \u2014 for his curiosity, conviction and lifelong commitment to inspiring people to care for the natural world.<\/p>\n
What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?<\/p>\n
When something clearly isn\u2019t working, move on. Don\u2019t waste time hanging on.<\/p>\n
And don\u2019t collect so much stuff. Own fewer things, but choose them well.<\/p>\n
What was your first car, current car, dream car?<\/p>\n
First: Second-hand Mazda 323.<\/p>\n
Current: Volkswagen Amarok.<\/p>\n
Dream: A practical hybrid that combines efficiency with adventure.<\/p>\n
One thing people didn\u2019t know about you\/hidden talent?<\/p>\n
When time allows, I paint using natural ochres I\u2019ve collected from hot springs around the world. Each colour reminds me of the place it came from and the journey behind it.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the best and worst birthday present you\u2019ve ever received?<\/p>\n
The gift I remember most was actually a Christmas present from my great-grandmother \u2014 a foam surfboard when I was about six.<\/p>\n
Do you have a rainy day TV binge show?<\/p>\n
David Attenborough documentaries with my wife.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s a song you get pumped up to?<\/p>\n
\u201cHey Baby\u201d by DJ \u00d6tzi. It became the soundtrack to countless family road trips with our four children.<\/p>\n
What’s your death row last meal?<\/p>\n
Either a traditional roast leg of lamb with roast potatoes, peas and onions (with mint jelly) \u2014 or tonkatsu with shredded cabbage and Bulldog sauce.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your biggest career regret?<\/p>\n
Not having a crystal ball to spot problems before they appeared.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the best piece of advice you\u2019ve received?<\/p>\n
\u201cBe yourself. Everyone else is already taken.\u201d<\/p>\n
What are you looking forward to most this year? <\/p>\n
Completing a number of important projects so there\u2019s space for new ideas and new creative challenges<\/p>\n
The one thing you\u2019d love to change about Victoria\/Victorians?<\/p>\n
I\u2019d love to see more Victorians embrace bathing culture as a simple way to improve health, wellbeing and connection with others.<\/p>\n
The one thing you love the most about Victoria\/Victorians?<\/p>\n
Victoria\u2019s cultural diversity. It enriches our food, arts, communities and everyday life, and shows how multiculturalism can strengthen society.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The godfather of thermal bathing in Victoria, Charles Davidson, describes his decision in the 1990s to pursue 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