Early non-indigenous visitors to the Atherton Tableland were fascinated with waterfalls and their jungle backdrop, variously described and depicted as sublime, beautiful and picturesque.

With the exception of the installation of hydraulic rams in 1911 to supply water to the Malanda Hotel and to steam trains, it would appear that the Falls remained undisturbed until 1918 when the local community cleared the underwater logs from the pool.

In 1925 when a retaining wall and a "narrow turning platform for swimmers, 25 yards from the bank" were built, Malanda's first swimming club was formed.

The Department of Lands approved an additional advance of £50.00 for further enhancement works in 1934, and the Council engineer was instructed to look into building a path to the bottom of the Falls which was formed with terracing and gardens.

[1] A significant feature of early tourism in the Cairns region was its use of the increasingly sophisticated transport infrastructure to service the mining, timber and agricultural industries.

The construction of the Tablelands railway from Cairns to Mareeba provided for the development of the Barron Falls into one of the most popular tourist attractions in Queensland in the 1890s.

In 1934 Whitecars introduced its first bus, capable of carrying 17 passengers to the area which, by this time, was being described in tourist guides featuring the Falls as "the land of waterfalls, cataracts and cascades".

The Grand Tour operated during the winter months when a P&O ship would arrive at Cairns each week from Melbourne and Brisbane carrying around 200 passengers for a six-day stay in the region.

Those staying at the caravan park inevitably visited the Falls and facilities were upgraded during the 1960s with the installation of a new concrete two-tiered diving platform along with a steel climbing frame allowing visitors to swing into the water, and grab rails and ladders to enter and leave the pool.

Beside the highway are a series of picnic tables and barbeques and a colourful mosaic honouring the area's Aborigines for whom Malanda Falls has special significance.

The western side of the pool is highly structured with stone-walled terraces, manicured lawns, an extensive network of concrete paths, fences and steps and handrails.

The terraces have three main levels that are constructed from coursed rubble stonework set in mortar with a concrete capping on top.

At the base of the falls at the end of the concrete path on the western side, there is a metal sign affixed to the rock face with the image of a diver in red.

Malanda Falls Swimming Pool is valued for its aesthetic qualities and has been recognised in tourism photographs and literature since the 1920s as a picturesque destination that forms part of Far North Queensland's waterfall and picnic circuit.