Thursday, February 21, 2013

Retro magic at Auburn's Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre

White, black, turquoise, red, mousey pink, mustard, dark grey, mint and pale blue.


That's what greets me when I walk into the Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre at Auburn.


Colours, patterns and shapes abound at this 1959-model pool.


Above the water and below.


On the grandstand full of peeling paint.


On the tables, umbrellas, seats and chairs.


On the white walls around the centre's four different-sized pools.


Even in the change rooms.


The decoration continues in the waterless wading pool with nursery rhymes in the tiles.


And on the caps of the kids warming up for their carnival.


There's signs of wear and tear and the 53-year-old is showing its age in spots.


But I hope not all will be lost when the council commences its plans to redevelop this special place.

10 comments:

  1. An old beauty queen. Fading but still the traces of her stunning looks remain. Once again, gorgeous shots!

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  2. Thanks Jen. An old beauty queen - that's a very apt description for the pool. Interesting that it's only one year older than Leichhardt Pool, which is a 1960-model like us, but is more rundown.

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  3. Love the colours in this beauty. Great photos. Makes me want to make trip to see it.

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  4. I haven't seen one like it before. Most built around the same era have shades of blue tiles around the edge, which are nowhere near as colourful as these ones. Thanks for the comment.

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  6. Swimming Pool accessories

    Too cool!
    I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme?
    Excellent work!

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  7. Ruth taught me to swim here back in the early 60s.....and my whole family were Auburn Swimming club members........I just looked at that first photo above and instantly the memories came back....:)

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    1. It's quite a unique pool in terms of colour scheme - much more colour than the standard blue on blue tiles at most pools of similar age. Ruth sounds like an amazing woman. Do you know if she's still alive as I would love to speak to her. Would be also good to hear your stories of the pool. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Therese

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  8. I am so appreciative of these photographs! I learnt to swim there in the early 80's and have fond memories of the aesthetic style. I now live in the Blue Mts and look out to it on the train. Imagine my horror that the entire pool has been pretty much dug up for redevelopment! Oh I wish I had gone back! Thanks for recording it in its splendour!

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