tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28614137119762697092024-03-15T18:26:30.569+11:00Swimming pool storiesDip into tales from all over AustraliaTheresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-27180627223134943702015-03-31T11:21:00.000+11:002015-03-31T11:21:51.096+11:00Swimming pool stories moves to a new site<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://swimmingpoolstories.com.au/">Swimming pool stories</a> has dived over to <a href="https://wordpress.com/">WordPress</a> so from now on you can find it at: <a href="http://swimmingpoolstories.com.au/">http://swimmingpoolstories.com.au/ </a><br />
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I look forward to seeing you at my new <a href="http://swimmingpoolstories.com.au/">site</a> and continuing to share stories and photos about great Australian swimming pools, and gems I find when I'm overseas! You can also follow me on Twitter @reseyspru and on Instagram @swimmingpoolstories<br />
Happy swimming<br />
ThereseTheresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-64267489902845252482015-01-27T16:18:00.001+11:002015-01-27T16:18:30.600+11:00The end of summer holidays at Petersham PoolLast week when I paused at the end of a lap, I noticed three of the morning regulars scanning the pool for a spot.<br />
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There were swimming lessons in lanes one and two with children pushing and gliding or doing torpedoes as it's called today and learning to breathe in and bubble out.<br />
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The rest of the pool was full of mothers and fathers and grandparents and teenage boys racing each other and a girl with a tattoo on her shoulder doing slow breaststroke in the fast lane.<br />
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"It's like Pitt Street this morning," I heard one of the regulars say, and he reminded me of how I felt when I returned to the pool in early January and had to share a lane.<br />
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But like most things in life I learnt to adapt and realised it was nice to see so many people enjoying their local pool and watching the kids at lessons get more confident each day. It's what public pools are for, to be shared by everyone!<br />
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And now the <a href="http://www.australiaday.org.au/">Australia Day </a>long weekend is over and adults and kids are back at work and school, the morning order and tranquility has returned to <a href="http://www.fdac.com.au/">Petersham Pool</a>.<br />
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Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-20981489808530335902014-12-22T13:17:00.001+11:002014-12-22T13:17:14.787+11:00Making a splash: Australians share their swimming stories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Last Friday's talkback on ABC <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/">Radio National's Life Matters </a>invited listeners to call in with their memories of swimming, which was a great choice as we head into the summer holidays. </div>
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The program featured former Australian Olympian <a href="http://www.shanegould.com.au/">Shane Gould</a>, who as part of a Masters and now a PhD, is doing very interesting research into the role of swimming in Australians' lives and the design of pools. You can listen to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/making-a-splash3a-what-does-swimming-mean-to-you3f/5971360">'Making a Splash: What does swimming mean to you</a>' on the RN Life Matters website or download the podcast. To read more about Shane Gould's research click <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/shane-gould-are-we-a-nation-of-swimmers/5975750">here</a>. </div>
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Best wishes for a merry Christmas, great 2015 and happy and safe swimming whether you're at the beach, river, lake or pool. </div>
Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-66047553546110139302014-10-30T09:13:00.000+11:002014-10-30T09:13:01.912+11:00Magic memories of Northbridge Baths When I want to remember <a href="http://www.willoughbyleisure.com.au/facilities/northbridge-baths/">Northbridge Baths</a>, the pool in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Harbour">Middle Harbour</a> where I spent all my summers as a child, I think of the deep green water connecting to the trees like relatives.<br />
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The scent of the salt and the sweet smell of the bush.<br />
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The orange lane ropes we crashed into as we raced.<br />
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The incoming tide trickling over my feet.<br />
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The movement of the blocks when we jumped down at low tide.<br />
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The warmth of the chrome shining silver in the sun.<br />
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The sharpness of the oyster shells clinging to the concrete pylons like a beehive<br />
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The laugh of a kookaburra in the trees above the baths.<br />
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The slippery jelly blubbers we threw at each other and the schools of fish circling our feet.<br />
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The rocks poking through the sand when we stood on our hands.<br />
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The splash rising above the boardwalk after a bomb.<br />
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The mullet, bream and blackfish we shared the water with.<br />
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The white masts of the yachts standing tall in Sailors Bay<br />
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The exotic way Col, the tanned-like leather manager said my name when I bought Redskins at the shop.<br />
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And the way the salt water held me when I floated on my back.<br />
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<br />Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-47260090907432534662014-09-12T10:00:00.000+10:002014-09-23T12:32:19.736+10:00The gentlemen of Sydney's eastern ocean pools During August when I was writing, <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/into-the-deep-of-sydneys-ocean-pools/story-e6frg8rf-1227048780910">Into the Deep</a>, a story for the <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel">travel</a> section of <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/">The Weekend Australian</a>, I spoke to a number of 'chappies' as my Dad would call them, who spend their days in and around Sydney's ocean pools.<br />
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At <a href="http://www.wylies.com.au/">Wylie's Baths</a> I met 80-year-old Reg, who comes to the pool each day but only if the sun is out.<br />
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He does about eight to ten laps and then retires to his spot at the north end of the striped timber deck to read. His favourite writer is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/06/tom-sharpe-dies">Tom Sharpe</a> and he doesn't mind a bit of <a href="http://stephenking.com/">Stephen King</a>. "I've read nearly all Tom Sharpe's," he says. "He's funny and when I sit down and start laughing people wonder what's wrong with me."</div>
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A former <a href="http://icebergs.com.au/club/history/how-we-began/">Bondi Iceberger</a>, Reg shifted to Wylie's when he moved to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coogee,_New_South_Wales">Coogee </a>15 years ago. "This is a good one," says Reg. "It's got an old world charm and friendly people and you are quite protected from the wind."</div>
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Reg believes his swimming keeps him fit and well and finds Wylie's the perfect place to relax. "You can't let yourself go for too long without doing something," he says, "and there's nothing like salt water to make you feel good."</div>
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A few headlands north at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronte,_New_South_Wales">Bronte</a>, you can't miss Les and his band of multicultural mates who spend their days swimming, talking and soaking up the sun outside the gents change rooms on the edge of the park. </div>
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"I'm Irish, then there's Greek, Russian, Croatian," says 76-year-old Les. "We all get on terribly!" Les alternates between the baths and the bogey hole but adds he's doesn't swim in the bogey hole unless the beach inspectors are around. "It might look lovely but you never know?"<br />
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More of a dipper than a lapper, his mates say he does more laps with his tongue and if they had a dollar for every furphy he told they'd be multi-millionaires. </div>
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"If you come here every day you will know everything," says Les, who has been swimming at Bronte for 64 years. "Swim, talk, sun; that's the way to live."<br />
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At <a href="http://icebergs.com.au/">Bondi Icebergs</a> I introduced myself to Grant, a long-time Iceberger, who'd just spent half an hour doing laps in the 16 C water in the 50-metre pool. </div>
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Recently retired, Grant learnt to swim at the pool when he was six and says he likes it because it's where he comes from. He says swimming in the cold water in winter certainly brightens you up and considers people who swim in wet suits are cheating.</div>
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"There's nothing better than a winter's day down here when the sun's out," says Grant, who finishes off his visit with a beer in the clubhouse with his mates. <br />
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Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-87520055344899881162014-08-28T14:29:00.002+10:002014-09-23T12:34:49.496+10:00In my cossie at Milano's Piscina CozziAs I was saying, when we left <a href="http://www.piscinadibelluno.it/">Belluno</a> I thought I'd had the last of my Italian swims. But on our first night back in <a href="http://www.tourism.milan.it/wps/portal/!ut/p/c1/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz94NQ8_YJ0RUUAy48OCA!!/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=en/situr/home">Milan</a> I discovered the <a href="http://www.milanosport.it/impianto/15/cozzi/27/">Piscina Cozzi </a>in a <a href="http://au.phaidon.com/apps/wallpaper-city-guides/">Wallpaper Guidebook</a> at our friends' Jenny and Stephen's apartment.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: www.milanosport.it</td></tr>
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When I looked at the photo I knew I had to visit this circa 1934 pool. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: http://piscineperesterno.mg-freewebsite.net</td></tr>
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The next day after a tour of <a href="http://www.casemuseomilano.it/en/casamuseo.php?ID=3">Villa Necchi Campiglio</a>, a beautiful 1930s house with a lovely pool, we jumped on the number 1 tram and headed to <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_118059863"></span>Piscina Cozzi<span id="goog_118059864"></span></a>.<br />
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When we arrived at the imposing building, designed in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascist_architecture">Fascist architecture</a> style, a combination of art deco meets ancient Rome and rationalism, it was after 3.<br />
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The main 33-metre pool was full of schoolkids practicing their diving off the tower, taking part in squad, playing water polo and perfecting their synchronised swimming moves.<br />
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In the foyer I admired the plaster sea horses decorating the walls and the bust of <a href="http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Cozzi">Roberto Cozzi</a>, the World War I hero the pool honours.<br />
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When I moved inside I discovered apple green tiles around the pool's inside edge and when I climbed down the ladder I found I couldn't stand up at the shallow end. When the depth dropped to 4.5 metres under the diving platform I felt like I was falling off the edge like I do at <a href="http://swimmingpoolstories.blogspot.com.au/2009/11/wonder-pool-of-australasia.html">North Sydney</a>, another 1930s pool.<br />
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Designed by <a href="http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Lorenzo_Secchi">Luigi Secchi</a>, who was also responsible for the rebuilding of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Scala">La Scala</a> after it was bombed during the Second World War, the complex was renovated in 2008. It has marble features, a 33-metre and a 20-metre pool, a diving tower with 3, 5 and 10-metre platforms and a grandstand catering for 700 spectators. In its early days it also included a barber and hair salon for ladies, as well as a bar directly facing the pool.<br />
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When I met up with Bruce and Trude after my dip I was almost certain I'd had my last Italian swim. But back at Jenny and Stephen's that night they announced they'd organised to spend our final weekend at <a href="http://www.carlincarlota.it/index_eng.html">Carlin Carlotta</a>, an <a href="http://www.agriturismo.it/en/farmhouse/piedmont">agriturismo</a> stay (farm holidays) in the <a href="http://www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/piedmont.html">Piedmont</a> region.<br />
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After enjoying the culinary delights of <a href="http://www.lifeinitaly.com/tourism/piedmont/neive">Neive</a> and exploring the lovely hilltop town we cooled off in the refreshing water of Carlin Carlotta's brand new pool.<br />
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And the next morning after a beautiful dinner on the terrace and one or two many wines we cleared our heads with a morning dip overlooking the grape vines and the rolling hills.<br />
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The next day we caught the plane back to Sydney so that really was the last of my Italian swims. Until next time ...Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-8853310922242666782014-07-28T12:54:00.000+10:002014-09-23T12:37:28.536+10:00On the piscina trail from Lake Como to the DolomitesSoon after our plane touched down in Milan in early May I felt like a swim.<br />
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The weather was warm and I needed to stretch out after the long flight but when I stepped inside the closest piscina (the Italian word for pool) to our friends' place in <a href="http://www.tourism.milan.it/">Milan</a> I realised I didn't need a swim that much. The four lane, 25-metre pool was stuffy and every millimetre of the water was filled with bodies doing aqua aerobics and squad. I decided to wait till <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Como">Lake Como</a>, our next destination on our five week trip in northern Italy.<br />
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At the spectacularly beautiful Lago di Como I got an even stronger urge for a dip even though my Milano-based friend Jenny said the Italians think it's unhealthy to swim in the lakes. She said they have a fear of being caught in seaweed and drowning like a group of children did in the 1960s, and so they leave lake-swimming to the tourists.<br />
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On our ferry trips around the lake the water looked pristine to me. So I wasn't put off but when the locals said it was far too cold to be wading in, I decided to check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQDl2O48Sp0">lido</a>.<br />
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But the one in <a href="http://www.discovermenaggio.com/">Menaggio</a> was closed and was not due to open for another couple of weeks.<br />
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Oh well, I thought, maybe I'll swim in the sea at our next destination on the Ligurian coast.<br />
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But when we walked down to the harbour at Manarola, our base for a week in <a href="http://www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/liguria/poi/the-cinque-terre.html">Le Cinque Terre</a>, I couldn't find a spot where I could safely get in.<br />
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I postponed my dip till later in the week when we visited Monterosso where there's a proper beach. <br />
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But after exploring the town, the water didn't look very inviting and when Bruce said if we hurry we can make the next train to Manarola, 'out the window' went the idea of a swim.<br />
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When we headed north to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belluno">Belluno</a> to watch a stage of the <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/event/giro-ditalia-2014">Giro D'Italia</a> bike race, I was not hopeful of finding a suitable place to swim.<br />
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But on our first day in the <a href="http://www.visitdolomites.com/en">Dolomites'</a> town, I spotted a small brochure with <a href="http://www.piscinadibelluno.it/">Belluno Di Piscina </a>on the front. The next afternoon I left Bruce watching the Giro on TV and headed to the pool.<br />
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In the change rooms I met Fabbiana, whose husband was also at home watching the cycling race. She helped me attach my locker key to my cossie, showed me where to leave my shoes and where to shower, a compulsory activity before diving in.<br />
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Finally I was having a swim and from the moment I was in the 6 lane x 25 metre pool I was impressed. It was very clean, the water was a perfect temperature and loads of light poured in through the glass panels. When I turned on my back I could see the sky and clouds and as I swam along I felt my body relax.<br />
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"Belissima piscina," I said to Franco, one of the friendly life guards when I'd finished my swim. He said they worked hard to keep it clean, pointing to a machine at the other end, and that caps and showers before swimming helped.<br />
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Then I joined the kids and adults bouncing off the springboard in the diving pool and watched more daring souls somersault off the tower.<br />
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When I walked out of the Belluno Di Piscina I was transformed and ready to get into the Giro excitement in the town.<br />
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I returned to the pool two more times that week when the Giro turned Belluno pink.<br />
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On the train back to Milano I thought I'd had the last of my Italian swims until ....<br />
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Stay tuned for the next episode!Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-49395449294179975032014-05-02T09:36:00.000+10:002015-03-19T16:55:22.892+11:00Captain Cook, rainbows and the Woonona ocean poolThe seas were wild the day we travelled south to <a href="http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/wollongong-and-surrounds/bulli">Bulli </a>and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woonona,_New_South_Wales">Woonona</a>, just north of <a href="http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx">Wollongong</a>, to see our friends' Pete and Zac and Marg.<br />
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After lunch at the <a href="http://bullibeachcafe.com.au/">Bulli Beach Cafe</a>, we walked along the headland and looked down on the <a href="http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/2058930/hows-the-serenity-in-bulli-rock-pool/?cs=298">Bulli Ocean Pool.</a><br />
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Then we headed south one suburb to check out Marg's favourite swimming spot, the <a href="http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/2032487/woonona-ocean-pool-shines-in-the-limelight/">Woonona Ocean Pool</a> near where <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cook-james-1917">Captain Cook</a> attempted to land in April 1770.<br />
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As we watched the rising swell, I imagined his small boat struggling through the 'great surf which beat up everywhere'.<br />
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Then we moved down to the flat and circumnavigated around the edge.<br />
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Past the turquoise starting blocks lined up like monuments at the south end.<br />
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And the remains of the original Woonona Pool.<br />
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I dipped my hand in the blue-green water and wished I'd brought my cossies.<br />
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And then a rainbow appeared and arched across the ocean like the <a href="http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/sydney-harbour-bridge">Sydney Harbour Bridg</a>e.<br />
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And cast a ring of light like a halo over the pool. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdlkBqytrtHRaotNkmZgk9H_I1iQONAJD69ycIaZBcH0c3DSp00uA-MfQbOeaWjBo9ouLsxqsBS-ft99OoGwdyXR_iVrGY8TdfVNSROoqlZIXK8aSnOO8XlXWTl7_hpmkwsYGAGulPm_5/s1600/IMG_20140412_145428_849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdlkBqytrtHRaotNkmZgk9H_I1iQONAJD69ycIaZBcH0c3DSp00uA-MfQbOeaWjBo9ouLsxqsBS-ft99OoGwdyXR_iVrGY8TdfVNSROoqlZIXK8aSnOO8XlXWTl7_hpmkwsYGAGulPm_5/s1600/IMG_20140412_145428_849.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-80397070914780917082014-04-17T12:02:00.001+10:002015-03-19T16:56:17.852+11:00Immersed in the aquatic culture of Paris<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-fFz6rxw7tuZeCRrPhWvNOYiAbV9B1h4SnMsEaClRMGE4Gh4EGQV3YYINrQcvvzVSVYzeUSU_ehPOH5Co5n7Z-yJGYLuKNqm-I2-NghSfND8sTZx6CsY37zdfoZGLJR3pCvVRdwu7ROl/s1600/IMGP2558+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-fFz6rxw7tuZeCRrPhWvNOYiAbV9B1h4SnMsEaClRMGE4Gh4EGQV3YYINrQcvvzVSVYzeUSU_ehPOH5Co5n7Z-yJGYLuKNqm-I2-NghSfND8sTZx6CsY37zdfoZGLJR3pCvVRdwu7ROl/s1600/IMGP2558+-+Copy.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">De la Butte aux Cailles Pool in the 13th arrondissement.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last Saturday I had an <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/bathing-beauties/story-e6frg8rf-1226880034811#" target="_blank">article</a> on six pools in Paris in the travel section of <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/" target="_blank">The Weekend Australian</a>. The story discusses the French capital's distinctive aquatic culture which includes compulsory wearing of caps or bonnets de bain even at the Roger Le Gall Pool in the 12th arrondissement where the Naturist Association of Paris offers nude swimming two nights a week.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4i0xkhZMrBQsEABPeX6mTgsRY27PnzzkkNF14Bu7qALdj8NeRfFw4t_guRPVC-xU0MIRxUqonhNK2YQKGV9_tryZM5YkCL4o8XF_y7VR9Rhi9zQId6j3ELugbTHCSDrrMz27Jc5NuGih/s1600/IMGP2821+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4i0xkhZMrBQsEABPeX6mTgsRY27PnzzkkNF14Bu7qALdj8NeRfFw4t_guRPVC-xU0MIRxUqonhNK2YQKGV9_tryZM5YkCL4o8XF_y7VR9Rhi9zQId6j3ELugbTHCSDrrMz27Jc5NuGih/s1600/IMGP2821+-+Copy.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Three pools on the Left Bank and three on the Right Bank are featured including <a href="http://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://equipement.paris.fr/piscine-pontoise-2918&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpiscine%2Bpontoise%26biw%3D1517%26bih%3D705" target="_blank">Pontoise Pool</a> where French actor <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/juliette-binoche-9212900#awesm=~oBE43VT7dkVaHt" target="_blank">Juliette Binoche</a> swam in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilDsvdSAm4k" target="_blank">Three Colours Blue</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin16V03GUl5MKODR74oQ2hOuagN-L5fgjxFcmEWE5Jm0ItFaOKRWFVQeDzBzKysEJYP08S2thyv4lhZYuNE8GPeTzG3Mn0jnjiniHYM-IYw3pDWauJtalVq0LdjrIyi3vBt0aNTynkel4/s400/Pool.jpg" height="344" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from www.threemenonablog.blogspot.com</td></tr>
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I also highlight the redeveloped <a href="http://www.paris.fr/accueil/sport/molitor-prepare-sa-renaissance/rub_9631_actu_111765_port_23699" target="_blank">Piscine Molitor</a> featured in <a href="http://www.lifeofpimovie.com/" target="_blank">The Life of Pi </a>due to reopen this year. The pool was the setting for the launch of the bikini in 1946. For my complete story click on <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/bathing-beauties/story-e6frg8rf-1226880034811?sv=f29c683d975ce0d2700e835b9f93c0b6#" target="_blank">Bathing Beauties</a> and <a href="http://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.paris.fr/piscines&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dparis%2Bpiscines%26biw%3D1517%26bih%3D705" target="_blank">here</a> for more information on Paris' 38 public pools. <b>Note</b>: for some reason the link to Bathing Beauties isn't working; will see what I can do over the weekend.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://fiftytwoshowroom.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/HAPPYDAY2.jpg" height="640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from www.fiftytwoshowroom.com/blog</td></tr>
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Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-48587518259693055072014-03-07T08:39:00.001+11:002015-03-19T16:57:18.165+11:00Bathing in the briny at Bronte's Bogey Hole <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When the tide goes out at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronte_Beach" target="_blank">Bronte Beach</a> the <a href="http://www.dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/bronte" target="_blank">Bogey Hole</a> appears, a naturally forming rock pool that's been
expanded and rearranged over the years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It's named after the Aboriginal word to bathe and before white
man arrived it was their billabong, their water hole, their immersion place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">It's where people come to wade and swim and see what lies beneath. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Where children search for crabs and sea urchins </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">around the ring of rocks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="text-align: center;">It's where </span>parents stand on the edge and watch their toddlers play.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> Where ladies chat ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0AwgBMLW5sGqE_ShwTSbEo7eVjwz9pwnkBPag0gUDeoz6o8To4sTtIKYuRVWVISTx6doLjPRlqGvznCm1BiFj5fyoKOlXu8-W3VO3CZvJx5hdAteNOXzw3l94lEFZhNywblhmCE7jkpz/s1600/Bronte,+2+Feb+2014+044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0AwgBMLW5sGqE_ShwTSbEo7eVjwz9pwnkBPag0gUDeoz6o8To4sTtIKYuRVWVISTx6doLjPRlqGvznCm1BiFj5fyoKOlXu8-W3VO3CZvJx5hdAteNOXzw3l94lEFZhNywblhmCE7jkpz/s1600/Bronte,+2+Feb+2014+044.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Or find a quiet corner to float on their back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">And when the tide comes in and the bogey hole disappears it becomes a hidden pool where only the locals know where to swim.</span></div>
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Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-13118796046233301682014-01-22T09:51:00.000+11:002015-03-19T16:58:40.612+11:00Salt water soothing at McIver's Ladies BathsOn Monday, just before dusk, my friend Margie and I swam at <a href="http://www.randwick.nsw.gov.au/Places_for_people/Recreation_and_leisure/Ocean_pools/McIvers_Baths/index.aspx" target="_blank">McIver's Ladies Baths</a>. The sky was grey and drops of rain started to fall as we walked down the stairs of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coogee,_New_South_Wales" target="_blank">Coogee </a>rock pool but we weren't deterred and a few minutes later we were in.<br />
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"It's beautiful," said Margie after a moment's apprehension about the cool water.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">"I can't believe I haven't been here before," she said after completing the first of a few gentle laps. "It's like having a salt water treatment."</span><br />
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We watched crabs crawl between crevices on the rainbow-coloured rocks and swam along the bottom with schools of little fish. </div>
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"There's a rock in the shape of a heart under here," I said to Marg.<br />
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"That's just the romantic in you," she said.<br />
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"No, it really looks like a love heart," I said and pulled her under to have a look.<br />
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We swam a few more lazy laps and congratulated each other for the great idea of coming to this pool where we felt like we were worlds away from anything 'everyday', and any care we had was temporarily washed away.<br />
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For more stories on McIver's Ladies Baths click <a href="http://swimmingpoolstories.blogspot.com.au/2010/01/ladies-only-at-lovely-mcivors-baths.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://swimmingpoolstories.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/birthday-swim-at-coogees-mcivers-ladies.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-88864606535949531342013-12-17T16:35:00.001+11:002015-03-19T17:00:22.171+11:00A multicultural morning at the Granville Pool It was the tiles that drew me to <a href="http://www.parracity.nsw.gov.au/play/sports_and_recreation/swimming_pools" target="_blank">Granville Pool</a>; 1930s hexagonal-shaped with a border in red and chequerboard blue and white. Bruce discovered them when he swam there after work, and a few days later I was heading west along Parramatta Road to Sydney's fourth oldest Olympic pool after <a href="http://www.burwood.nsw.gov.au/services/enfield_aquatic_centre/about_enfield_aquatic_centre.html" target="_blank">Enfield</a>, <a href="http://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/Recreation_Facilities/Pool_Lane_9_Gym/About_the_Olympic_Pool" target="_blank">North Sydney</a> and <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/bryan-brown-why-the-boy-from-panania-still-calls-bankstown-home-20131129-2ygyr.html" target="_blank">Bankstown</a> (RIP).<br />
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As I parked the car I noticed a group of older people doing tai chi near the original entrance pavilion. The instructor, an almost 70-year-old Chinese-Australian man said they were there every morning at 7.30. "You should come and join us," he said.<br />
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I thanked him for his invitation and headed to the pool's newer modular glass entrance where I read that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Whitlam" target="_blank">Margaret Whitlam</a> swam 100 yards of breaststroke at the official opening in 1936 and in the 60s local boy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hogan" target="_blank">Paul Hogan</a> was part of a comedy diving troupe. <br />
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When I asked the woman on the front desk what was left of the original complex, she said all the pools have been retiled and done up and the 50-metre has been turned into a 25-metre. "But along the side wall they've kept a few of the original tiles."<br />
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Inside I couldn't see much evidence of the 1930s art deco style except in the blonde and red brick entrance building and change rooms, which architects' <a href="http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/imageservices/2011/01/north-sydney-pool/" target="_blank">Rudder and Grout</a> designed as a walled compound. Just as I was about to ask a lifeguard where the tiles were I spotted them underground in the plant and equipment room. A sign on the glass said I was looking into the deep end of the 1936 Olympic-sized pool where the 10-metre diving tower and a water slide used to be.<br />
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They reminded me of the tiles at Enfield Pool except for the mottled red edge, an individual touch at Granville Pool. I took photos of the surviving lanes 3,4 and 5 and then sat on a bench by the 25-metre pool where I met two sisters about to start their stroke correction class. They told me they learnt to swim at <a href="http://www.holroyd.nsw.gov.au/your-facilities/swimming-pools/" target="_blank">Guildford Pool</a> when they first came to Australia in 1978 as refugees from Laos. "You should go there," they said after I told them about my interest in pools. "Lots of refugees and migrants learnt to swim there."<br />
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I left them to start their class and moved into the 50-metre pool as boys from <a href="http://www.granvilleb-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/" target="_blank">Granville Boys High</a> streamed in and sat on the grandstand near the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Devitt" target="_blank">'John Devitt</a> Swimming Centre' sign, honouring the local champion who won gold at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics. <br />
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I watched the board-shorted boys start their lessons and then pushed off for the first of my 20 laps. When I finished one of the Laotian sisters joined me in the pool and we stood in the shallows and continued our chat. She said her family lived in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villawood_Immigration_Detention_Centre" target="_blank">Villawood Detention Centre</a> when they first arrived in Australia and then they settled in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabramatta,_New_South_Wales" target="_blank">Cabramatta</a>. "My parents are still there. Just us kids have moved around a bit."<br />
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I asked her why she and her sister don't go by their Laotian names. "Because we got teased too much. We got sick of it," she said. She said racism used to be more subtle but now it was in your face. "People come up to me and say, 'go back to your own country'. My younger cousins who were born here say, 'This is our country'." She said some people in her family are a bit scared and timid but she doesn't let people get away with saying things like that and always responds in some way.<br />
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I left her to swim some laps and headed to the change rooms where a group of Lebanese women were preparing for their lesson. They told me they were into their third term of lessons and now they could swim freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. They said in Lebanon there was the beach but no pools, and the focus there was on going to school.<br />
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"But now we are here, there's no reason why we should be the only ones who don't swim at the beach. Just because we are Muslim and don't show our bodies, there is no reason why we can't swim. And it's so relaxing," they said.<br />
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On the way out I spent time looking at the historical display and read that at the opening on 10 October 1936, Mayor JS Fielding called the pool, 'a wonderful possession for Granville'. He hoped it would be 'a place where the adult population will find recreation and the children of today and tomorrow will be able to learn the art of swimming and life-saving under the best possible conditions'.<br />
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At a cafe in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville,_New_South_Wales" target="_blank">Granville's</a> main street I told a waitress about my experience at the pool, where people from all different nationalities were leaning to swim. "That's good when they try and learn the culture of here, rather than staying in their old ways," she said.<br />
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On the way back to the car, I stopped outside Granville Boys High and read the school motto, 'Safe Respectful Learners' and thought of my father's annual Christmas Day speech where he always ended with the same words: "We should be thankful we were the lucky ones to be born in Australia."Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-78274923612765392102013-11-19T16:45:00.001+11:002015-03-19T17:02:28.268+11:00A new perspective on the Dawny SwimLast Sunday I got a different perspective on the <a href="http://balmainwaterpolo.com.au/2013/10/dawny-to-cockatoo-swim-3/" target="_blank">Dawny Swim</a> watching it from <a href="http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/" target="_blank">Cockatoo Island</a>.<br />
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In 2011 and 2012 I took part in the 2.4 km swim from Balmain's <a href="http://www.lpac.nsw.gov.au/Dawn-Fraser-Baths" target="_blank">Dawn Fraser Baths</a> and around Cockatoo, and I was going to enter again this year. But when I was deliberating about whether my head was in the right place to swim, my husband Bruce suggested watching it from Cockatoo Island.<br />
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"What a great idea," I said. "And then I'll know what I'm swimming around when I do it next year." <br />
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The rain bucketed down the night before the swim, and I went to bed thinking it'll be cancelled but the next morning the word on <a href="http://www.oceanswims.com/" target="_blank">Ocean Swims</a> was the 'Dawny' was on. We got ready quickly and caught the train into Circular Quay and then the 8.37 ferry to Cockatoo via King Street Wharf.<br />
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When we docked at Cockatoo we hurried across to the eastern side of the island for the start of the swim. As the first of the swimmers came towards us I realised I was not in the best spot to get good shots. I wanted to get closer to the submarine crane on the edge of the island but that area was cordoned off and there were signs saying 'Keep out."<br />
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Bruce went to find a better spot and then I noticed a gap in the fence and squeezed in. I stood near the crane and took photos of the first swimmers to reach the island led out by Mick on a kayak, who told me it wasn't cold in.<br />
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I followed the red, blue, green and yellow caps along the side of the island and then spotted my squad friend Sue in black. <br />
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"Sue, Sue," I called out and she stopped for a second and waved back. <br />
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And then I decided it was time to get out of this cordoned off area but before I could find a gap in the fence three men arrived on the scene. They wanted to know how I got in and demanded to see some ID, which I didn't have as it was in the backpack with Bruce. I told them I only came in to photograph the people doing the swim. "Show us your photos," they said. I clicked through until they were satisfied there were no shots of their timber crates, just of the swim. "It's illegal what you did," they said to me as I hurried away. "Sorry, I won't do it again," I said.<br />
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When I reached Bruce he showed me where the competitors had swum under the wharf instead of the usual route around it. "I might get claustrophobic swimming under there," I said.<br />
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We realised the first swimmers would almost have reached the other side of the island so we hurried to get a good vantage spot; passing the rows of tents and old beam bending machines used to make massive plates to build the hulls of ships that reminded me of the statues on <a href="http://www.netaxs.com/~trance/rapanui.html" target="_blank">Easter Island</a>.<br />
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We jogged through a tunnel carved out of the sandstone in 1915, later modified to become an air-raid shelter during World War II.<br />
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We emerged from the tunnel near the old Sutherland Dock completed in 1890, and hurried down to the Camber Wharf that faces the Dawn Fraser Baths and White Horse Point.<br />
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We made it in time to see the first swimmers complete their circumnavigation of the island. As they increased their pace and powered back to the jetty, the sky turned a deep grey and the rain started to fall. <span style="text-align: center;">The visibility rapidly reduced and we noticed a few swimmers wide out from the island drifting towards Drummoyne and the I</span><span style="text-align: center;">ron Cove Bridge. Fortunately the boats and kayakers directed them back on course like cattle dogs herding sheep. </span><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><br />
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When the rain got heavier Bruce decided it was time to take shelter, and for awhile we stayed dry in a stone building that used to be a shipwright's shed. <br />
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Eventually the rain eased and I headed back to the wharf where a group of swimmers were discussing the right way to way to go. "Head to the yellow buoy," said John on a kayak, who paddled over to me for a chat.<br />
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"What's it like in," I asked. "It's a bit choppy around the bend there," he said, "but the water temperature is good." And then I spotted Sue again and a bit later Jude, another one of the group that swims evening squad at <a href="http://www.lpac.nsw.gov.au/" target="_blank">Leichhardt Pool</a>.<br />
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As we waited for the last swimmers to emerge around the bend, the rain stopped and the sky returned to a light grey. Seagulls gathered on the edge and squawked as we watched a yellow cap man amble in. He was in last place but Bruce was impressed with his relaxed style and reckoned he was going to overtake the others in front of him.<br />
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As the tailenders completed the swim we walked back to the northern side for something to eat. <br />
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Revived after our coffee and bacon and eggs, we explored some of the 18 hectares of space full of crinums and jacarandas in flower, timber and sandstone, iron and tin, and buildings from the island's convict, ship-building and maritime past.<br />
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And now it's a place where every second year the <a href="http://www.biennaleofsydney.com.au/19bos/" target="_blank">Biennale</a> is held, where campers come and stay overnight, where seagulls nest, where films are made, and where you can have a game of lawn tennis or stay in one of the renovated, original buildings.<br />
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It's a fascinating place but when the rain started to fall again we decided we'd explore the entire island another time.<br />
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As we waited for the ferry, I thought about today's 'Dawny' swimmers and how they'd have that sense of achievement you get after an open water swim, but I was glad that this year I had a new experience watching the swim.<br />
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Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-81781519392884166512013-10-28T16:46:00.000+11:002015-03-19T17:03:53.641+11:00Locals party at opening of new Petersham Pool <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petersham,_New_South_Wales" target="_blank">Petersham</a> marked the re-opening of the <a href="http://www.fdac.com.au/" target="_blank">Fanny Durack Aquatic Centre</a> yesterday with a big pool party.<br />
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The celebrations started with a traditional smoking ceremony from indigenous elder Aunty Jenny, who led a trail of kids in cossies around the centre's new 25-metre pool, toddler's pool and water play area.<br />
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Aunty Jenny's 'welcome to country' was followed by a few words from Diane Barker, a relative of the pool's namesake. Ms Barker said her great, great aunt had forged ahead in her chosen sport at a time when women weren't encouraged to swim competitively.<br />
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<a href="http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/action/NOTEMPLATE?s=0,pURL=fanny_durack" target="_blank">Fanny Durack</a> was the first Australian woman to win a gold medal in swimming at the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games. She was also a resident of Douglas Street, Stanmore, just up the road from the pool and her story is on show at the redeveloped centre. <br />
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<a href="http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/council/councillors/clr_j_haylen.html?s=0" target="_blank">Jo Haylen</a>, the new Mayor of <a href="http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/home.html?s=1592489000#&panel1-2" target="_blank">Marrickville</a> said she was very excited that, "today we are having a pool party in Petersham" as bringing people together in their communities was one of the issues she had campaigned on.<br />
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After Mayor Haylen unveiled the plaque recording the official opening on Fanny Durack's 124th birthday, the winners of the council's competition to be the first to swim in the pool made their way to the deep end.<br />
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Kelly Pipe was selected to christen the pool with her great grandchildren Lachlan, Aimee and Taleah and friend Margaret after submitting this entry: "I'm an old duck and my greatest attraction is water so why not let me be the first to swim in your pond. Quack Quack!"<br />
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Then the pool party began with beach balls and Paddle Pops, water melon and sausage sandwiches and lots of fun and games in the big and little pools.<br />
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And what was the verdict on the redevelopment? While many felt there needed to be more seating and covered areas and there was a bit of nostalgia for the previous <a href="http://swimmingpoolstories.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/last-days-of-petersham-pool.html" target="_blank">33-metre pool</a>, most were very happy with the new facilities.<br />
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As Kelly Pipe said: "It's fabulous!"<br />
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For more information on the Fanny Durack Aquatic Centre including opening hours and entry fees click <a href="http://www.fdac.com.au/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-68824759098754459652013-10-18T08:37:00.001+11:002015-03-19T17:05:20.978+11:00Birthday swim at Coogee's McIver's Ladies' BathsAs a birthday present to myself last week I went for a swim at <a href="http://swimmingpoolstories.blogspot.com.au/2010/01/ladies-only-at-lovely-mcivors-baths.html" target="_blank">McIver's Ladies' Baths</a>. <br />
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I had visited the Coogee pool a few times before but this was the first time I was diving in.<br />
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Mid-week, <a href="http://www.randwick.nsw.gov.au/Places_for_people/Recreation_and_leisure/Ocean_pools/McIvers_Baths/index.aspx" target="_blank">McIver's</a> is a peaceful spot where breaststroke is the preferred style or a leisurely backstroke. <br />
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A few also don caps and goggles and lap close to the chains where the waves wash in.<br />
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Others channel <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_%26_Valerie_Taylor" target="_blank">Valerie Taylor</a> in their snorkels and masks and gaze at the underwater treasures.<br />
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When I pushed off into the blue-green water I did a slow breaststroke to the northern end where I stood on a submerged rock and looked back to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coogee,_New_South_Wales" target="_blank">Coogee Beach</a>. <br />
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I watched a surfer paddle by just outside the borders of the pool, and delighted in the white water gushing in and out and moving me about. <br />
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And then I brought my camera into the pool and snapped all the beauty that abounds above and below the water. <br />
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As I dried off after my swim, I talked to a woman who told me it was also her first time at this cocoon-like, women-only pool. <br />
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"I can't believe I've lived in Sydney all these years and only discovered it now," she said.<br />
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For more about McIver's Baths read my earlier blog <a href="http://swimmingpoolstories.blogspot.com.au/2010/01/ladies-only-at-lovely-mcivors-baths.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-53441513089266028592013-10-03T16:07:00.001+10:002015-03-19T17:07:48.888+11:00A night of spinning swimming yarnsLast night I was part of an evening of <a href="http://cantoosydneylongswim2014.gofundraise.com.au/page/lizziecrowhurst" target="_blank">ocean swimming yarns</a> held at the <a href="http://www.woolloomooloobayhotel.com.au/" target="_blank">Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel</a>. It was a great night of story-telling loosely based around the theme of 'my first time' with no two stories the same.<br />
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We heard about facing fears and making it out past the waves at Bondi, the art and soul of swimming from Cronulla Beach to <a href="http://res.au.eventdirector.net/CSLSC/SITES/1139/" target="_blank">Shark Island</a> in the light-filled month of May, the gentleness of a mother whale communing with the <a href="http://www.boldandbeautifulmanly.com.au/" target="_blank">Bold and Beautiful</a> swimmers off <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/whale-play-on-a-miserable-manly-day/story-e6freuy9-1226434224728" target="_blank">Manly's Shelley Beach</a>, feeling lost at sea on the 10km <a href="http://www.southheadroughwater.com/" target="_blank">Bondi to Watsons Bay</a> swim, taking on the mighty <a href="http://www.tweedtourism.com.au/festivals-events/november/p/251/category/sports" target="_blank">Tweed River</a>, escaping from <a href="http://www.alcatrazfavorites.com/alcatraz-swim.html" target="_blank">Alcatraz</a> and finding romance in the waters off <a href="http://www.galwaybayswim.com/" target="_blank">Galway Bay</a>. <br />
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Thanks to <a href="http://lizziecantoo.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Liz Crowhurst</a> from <a href="http://cantoosydneylongswim2014.gofundraise.com.au/page/lizziecrowhurst" target="_blank">CanToo</a> for organising the event and for bringing all the yarning swimmers together for a night of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craic" target="_blank">craic</a> as the Irish say.<br />
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Here is my story, which I'd like to dedicate to my friend Fi's Dad Barry, an ocean swimmer from way back who encouraged us to follow him out to the deep water and around headlands back in the 80s and 90s.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Swim finishers 1988: Therese (left), Mark, Greg, Fiona and Peter (two of Barry's brood).</td></tr>
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<strong>Starting again</strong> <br />
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Sunday, 20 November 2011. After a break of more than 10 years I am resurrecting my open water swimming career. I am restarting with Balmain's <a href="http://www.oceanswims.com/events/eventdetails.asp?EventID=507" target="_blank">'Dawny to Cockatoo Island'</a> swim. So it's not my first time but it feels like it is. <br />
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In the 80s and 90s I swam in a number of ocean swims; the <a href="http://www.thebigswim.org.au/" target="_blank">Palm Beach to Whale Beach</a> at least three times, the <a href="http://coleclassic.com/" target="_blank">Cole Classic</a> when it was still at Bondi, the <a href="http://www.oceanswims.com/Events/EventDetails.asp?EventID=443&EventScheduleID=&EventCategoryID=" target="_blank">Manly</a> swim and the <a href="http://swimwrite.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/warriewood-to-mona-vale-ocean-swim.html" target="_blank">Warriewood to Mona Vale</a> where I was dumped and held under by smashing waves on the way in. I lost my cap and goggles and staggered up the beach gasping for air. I never went in that swim again.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With my brother and sister and cousin's son Niall after the Big Swim, late 80s. </td></tr>
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Maybe that was the start of losing my nerve. I'm not sure but from the late 90s I stopped swimming around headlands and stuck to following the black line up and down the pool. But in 2011, soon after I'd turned 50 and returned to squad at <a href="http://www.lpac.nsw.gov.au/" target="_blank">Leichhardt Pool</a> I started to contemplate ocean swimming again. When our coach handed out flyers for the 'Dawny to Cockatoo', I thought why not get back into it again. <br />
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The night before I was due to swim I kept my alcohol intake to a minimum and went to bed before 10. I woke feeling like I'd like to sleep in but I wasn't going to drop out as I'd already paid my money on <a href="http://www.oceanswims.com/" target="_blank">Ocean Swims</a>. In Balmain my husband dropped me in Elkington Park and went in search of a car park. I followed the conga line of bodies making their way past the jacarandas and towering palms to the <a href="http://www.lpac.nsw.gov.au/Dawn-Fraser-Baths/Dawn-Fraser-Baths" target="_blank">Dawn Fraser Baths</a>. <br />
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Near a magnificent fig tree, I looked out to <a href="http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/" target="_blank">Cockatoo</a> where in 1863 bushranger <a href="http://thunderboltbushranger.com.au/index.html" target="_blank">Captain Thunderbolt</a> aka Fred Wordsworth Ward escaped from the island's prison and swam to shore – where legend has it his girlfriend was waiting to make a quick getaway on a white horse! I scanned the waters where he made his famous escape and hoped the bull sharks that roam the harbour stayed away today. <br />
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On the timber boardwalk that surrounds Australia's oldest surviving swimming pool, a band was playing and there was a festive feel. I lined up to get my name ticked off and number 336 inscribed on my arm.<br />
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Early birds climbed down the chrome ladders and dived off the starting blocks, warming up their limbs before the 2.5km swim. I sat under the grandstand, took a few deep breaths and lathered my fair skin in sunscreen. <br />
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Soon it was time to leave the pool and move towards the start on the jetty next door. I stayed close to my squad friend Sue who told me to head towards the crane on the way out to Cockatoo. I jumped in the water with my fellow black caps and tried not to think about swimming with sharks.<br />
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Then bang went the gun and we were off, heading out to where the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers meet. As I stroked in time with the rise and fall of the swell, my hands touched the slippery surface of jellyfish but I wasn't too concerned as I was used to them from my childhood at <a href="http://swimmingpoolstories.blogspot.com.au/2010/03/swimming-club-at-northbridge-baths.html" target="_blank">Northbridge Baths</a>. <br />
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I settled into a rhythm and thought of the stories I knew about Cockatoo; how the island was before white man came - when stands of red gum and flocks of sulphur-crested cockatoos occupied the 18 hectares of space. When Aborigines fished and swam in the waters nearby. And then white man arrived with new ideas and ways, and prisons, reformatory schools and ship building replaced the trees and cockatoos.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIfM-7rBPs6zKT5Az-MGkWaypAmmbgVeNnyTszRwK9WYMuD8GhdW3KTcS6E2KccRD_zck5ThqYGiKs8ATQBHcGCaalgMg8oKuZufJXo61RmoyDcSVIEV4fVNS-iW8srkQm-ORUoIF0Gvf/s1600/history-convict-07-lithograph-cockatoo-island%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIfM-7rBPs6zKT5Az-MGkWaypAmmbgVeNnyTszRwK9WYMuD8GhdW3KTcS6E2KccRD_zck5ThqYGiKs8ATQBHcGCaalgMg8oKuZufJXo61RmoyDcSVIEV4fVNS-iW8srkQm-ORUoIF0Gvf/s400/history-convict-07-lithograph-cockatoo-island%255B1%255D.jpg" height="385" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from <a href="http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/">www.cockatooisland.gov.au</a></td></tr>
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I followed the splash and kick of the bodies in front of me and every now and again lifted my gaze to check I was heading towards that crane. As we reached the island overnight campers stood in a line and waved and cheered. I changed my breathing to the left and caught glimpses of sandstone buildings and a massive dock. I wanted to stop and take a closer look but my competitive nature made me push on. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDuCY26-Eh8UZw713k4riAtYZoXEooYafnLkwkKyFhVG2lZmESMlzzr2epGkW1MyQcq4m5zPVE-cpq7yqTjd5qjZFFXS6I4a5Y4Sy2Onr1QlC6h40lkc3wydcI83yu3MTxPD5FZ39e9Mdc/s1600/history-ci-aerial%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDuCY26-Eh8UZw713k4riAtYZoXEooYafnLkwkKyFhVG2lZmESMlzzr2epGkW1MyQcq4m5zPVE-cpq7yqTjd5qjZFFXS6I4a5Y4Sy2Onr1QlC6h40lkc3wydcI83yu3MTxPD5FZ39e9Mdc/s400/history-ci-aerial%5B1%5D.jpg" height="385" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from <a href="http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/">www.cockatooisland.gov.au</a></td></tr>
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As I completed my circumnavigation of the island I swam past the spot where the <a href="http://blogs.ancestry.com/au/2011/03/03/entrance-books-for-the-vernon-and-the-sobraon-1867-1911/" target="_blank">Sobraon</a> ship used to be – a sort of orphanage on the water for delinquent boys – and home to champion swimmer <a href="http://gallery.records.nsw.gov.au/index.php/galleries/people-of-interest/bernard-bede-barney-kieran/" target="_blank">Barney Kiernan</a> who set six world records in 1904 but tragically died the next year when he was only 19. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBVs0EWwErgqE4BPOGH0gs-laMJBhK5CyjqfLFS3noYJIQg1QwJc-tUyCIZfDEZXvgT_pgb61TuMoAw3WZvhbdagT75v7yS8QIi0Vn1oPTxhIjOgyfMlksbR88jN7-yNihzPwp3FCRNWY/s1600/Dawny+to+Cockatoo+Island+Swim,+20+Nov+2011+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBVs0EWwErgqE4BPOGH0gs-laMJBhK5CyjqfLFS3noYJIQg1QwJc-tUyCIZfDEZXvgT_pgb61TuMoAw3WZvhbdagT75v7yS8QIi0Vn1oPTxhIjOgyfMlksbR88jN7-yNihzPwp3FCRNWY/s400/Dawny+to+Cockatoo+Island+Swim,+20+Nov+2011+029.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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As I swam away from the island and back towards the pool I thought how much cleaner the harbour had become since Balmain's industrial days when dye from a textiles factory nearby sometimes turned the water red. For the last 400 metres or so I channelled<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_Fraser" target="_blank"> Dawny</a> – Fraser that is, and swam as fast as I could, buoyed on when I realised I was passing swimmers in younger age groups than me. A few more strokes and I reached the jetty. A man held out his hand and helped me up. I staggered a bit as I got my land legs but recovered quickly when I passed over the finish line. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5JGYYvU27g0rMWW6_-C0Ftnqtn3kPgtsKa_9wBIyifjIxi_44LKaGBV80SFlpXNvmCbTO-jcFkuxxvirilMGpVWp3kaJKzDZEpHtgKTIVTkNynOHIr8yYidXiuMYXMM2o7kD3jINo7sD/s1600/Dawny+to+Cockatoo+Island+Swim,+20+Nov+2011+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5JGYYvU27g0rMWW6_-C0Ftnqtn3kPgtsKa_9wBIyifjIxi_44LKaGBV80SFlpXNvmCbTO-jcFkuxxvirilMGpVWp3kaJKzDZEpHtgKTIVTkNynOHIr8yYidXiuMYXMM2o7kD3jINo7sD/s400/Dawny+to+Cockatoo+Island+Swim,+20+Nov+2011+022.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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As I searched for my husband in the waiting crowd a sense of satisfaction came over me – that feeling of having done something big that I remembered I used to get after an ocean swim, and I thought I might do the <a href="http://coogeesurfclub.com.au/club/index.php/coogee-island-challenge/39-island-challenge-information" target="_blank">Wedding Cake Island swim</a> next weekend.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiS4mGjrdPFB-NR2rgF6UW1hyphenhyphen8MXgCCSQlDe4d_TMtHAqTKR5heguOzL13jmaK_FOuhW9ELP62_pTQ3IpRFu0EuYfDazkUgsYg29mBGAefSFmAnvTQJlB4xuCyzG5EdFDR8urvpcf7FiY1/s1600/More+yarn+photos+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiS4mGjrdPFB-NR2rgF6UW1hyphenhyphen8MXgCCSQlDe4d_TMtHAqTKR5heguOzL13jmaK_FOuhW9ELP62_pTQ3IpRFu0EuYfDazkUgsYg29mBGAefSFmAnvTQJlB4xuCyzG5EdFDR8urvpcf7FiY1/s400/More+yarn+photos+002.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Re-living running through the finish line after The Big Swim, 1985.</td></tr>
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Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-2272940619079516312013-09-09T10:26:00.000+10:002015-03-19T17:09:49.790+11:00Meditating on lines and stripes at the poolLooking at an exhibition of contemporary textiles at the <a href="http://www.sturt.nsw.edu.au/" target="_blank">Sturt Gallery</a> in <a href="http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/southern-highlands/mittagong" target="_blank">Mittagong</a> recently made me think of lines and stripes at pools. Called <a href="http://www.sturt.nsw.edu.au/whats-on/past-exhibitions" target="_blank">Parallels</a>, artist <a href="http://www.barbararogers.com.au/" target="_blank">Barbara Rogers</a> explored the "diversity and language of the stripe; the simplest of all patterns..."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTqFIW0ERFHL43k0HvJck8NapQWUetPOhqzKXUCFX0Ydi26iJvgTwo_myeFeN9Yd7GO2ebOoyq4boAsYQF3M0e-mS8DfIu3mP8DjI-o2r_311l2eqD6XlnXMG46Y6tBU963uKrRtI-XNv/s1600/Various+and+Coogee+and+Maroubra+pools+and+research,+26+June+2103+181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTqFIW0ERFHL43k0HvJck8NapQWUetPOhqzKXUCFX0Ydi26iJvgTwo_myeFeN9Yd7GO2ebOoyq4boAsYQF3M0e-mS8DfIu3mP8DjI-o2r_311l2eqD6XlnXMG46Y6tBU963uKrRtI-XNv/s400/Various+and+Coogee+and+Maroubra+pools+and+research,+26+June+2103+181.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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Some of her silk textiles reminded me of particular pools especially ones she created in shades of green and blue.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DZSgiC4Iu8parR0OOH5XPYIlCSfLfb4mL58LO30tywbcI4RqVdgtH6eErLiCcsbUPXXRXLiWA7vCq3yXIWyE4EJSjShgYfpARENyNj-pnybW0Vf6TvL0_hTGSX0iR5rlL8cgPBMcvJb2/s1600/Various+and+Coogee+and+Maroubra+pools+and+research,+26+June+2103+183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DZSgiC4Iu8parR0OOH5XPYIlCSfLfb4mL58LO30tywbcI4RqVdgtH6eErLiCcsbUPXXRXLiWA7vCq3yXIWyE4EJSjShgYfpARENyNj-pnybW0Vf6TvL0_hTGSX0iR5rlL8cgPBMcvJb2/s400/Various+and+Coogee+and+Maroubra+pools+and+research,+26+June+2103+183.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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When I saw this one hanging in the gallery space I immediately thought of the <a href="http://icebergs.com.au/facilities/pool/" target="_blank">Bondi Icebergs</a>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ShOx2IhOwwmKXc_9w1WGH93ywLzJUAzv8yngEwL4OgzfmuJ6x2j6vRA1ACyA18_i1HZ9IZTE-6QLVWCVGxTvmichIsZl9vgxx7-dOGGYWP7T7lOtGJbsj-tfIX9sEXeS9X7B9CWWjurO/s1600/Bondi,+8+May+2012+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ShOx2IhOwwmKXc_9w1WGH93ywLzJUAzv8yngEwL4OgzfmuJ6x2j6vRA1ACyA18_i1HZ9IZTE-6QLVWCVGxTvmichIsZl9vgxx7-dOGGYWP7T7lOtGJbsj-tfIX9sEXeS9X7B9CWWjurO/s400/Bondi,+8+May+2012+026.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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But it also reminded me of lanes and ropes at chlorine pools. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9KhLOQGZA4wiGxnxqfxs4ZtTKA1Abqgs0FKT1ky-Z4gYJWXy6cC6AElTsHiircmjnQ1-k90q0K2AuhqVplIrVtVWwICgm6jg6ezluWqLnIiJ0FU11J5kICr3R84ef0wueWFBCnAk5HcP/s1600/Yamba,+Brisbane,+Morre,+LRidge+etc+Nov+09+141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9KhLOQGZA4wiGxnxqfxs4ZtTKA1Abqgs0FKT1ky-Z4gYJWXy6cC6AElTsHiircmjnQ1-k90q0K2AuhqVplIrVtVWwICgm6jg6ezluWqLnIiJ0FU11J5kICr3R84ef0wueWFBCnAk5HcP/s400/Yamba,+Brisbane,+Morre,+LRidge+etc+Nov+09+141.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Valley Baths, Brisbane.</td></tr>
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Lines and stripes are everywhere at pools.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXkzWB3Ge7TuRiTwIkvaEhaXLL8crejkZAQcy-AHbJiB1PqaGKU9NmiA3em7Xm2P_h8HOdA8u5ne8TSdVDFkMvZOLrPyrgsWUkLRQb1C5SwJiLjvKWYiXwC74Dskw-TMqT1FtOSosLrdU/s1600/ACPA+Conference+and+other+photos+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXkzWB3Ge7TuRiTwIkvaEhaXLL8crejkZAQcy-AHbJiB1PqaGKU9NmiA3em7Xm2P_h8HOdA8u5ne8TSdVDFkMvZOLrPyrgsWUkLRQb1C5SwJiLjvKWYiXwC74Dskw-TMqT1FtOSosLrdU/s400/ACPA+Conference+and+other+photos+006.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Splashed across an entrance. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDH66Roj1lYqbcB5tOmVXzcV2TYPaFJVhwfGY8DyAo4spvKc_xyziCv4UZ6WFlR4NajuUGg8qVIHl-GhwLCxfqVpY83ucWN99u7n983QNe9CyfLuRx5cV8n8n9UC7wF53mUoILQbEBGCyw/s1600/Thredbo-Snowy+region,+April+2012+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDH66Roj1lYqbcB5tOmVXzcV2TYPaFJVhwfGY8DyAo4spvKc_xyziCv4UZ6WFlR4NajuUGg8qVIHl-GhwLCxfqVpY83ucWN99u7n983QNe9CyfLuRx5cV8n8n9UC7wF53mUoILQbEBGCyw/s400/Thredbo-Snowy+region,+April+2012+017.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooma Pool</td></tr>
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In the design of buildings.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILZj0wc4K9VH6Ij_CTSqu6YF7y_Dyxsz0i-fbxRfqgO6avV80j8ryXvawrtoa5Tbj6iw9s7wyRtxLHSr9TMP6_Qs2xs8tZ-hB6SibslicFiskClZb3wPq9w_aIr0gjpHzrEJRNBO8bzVy/s1600/Coogee+pools+and+Mahon+Pool+105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILZj0wc4K9VH6Ij_CTSqu6YF7y_Dyxsz0i-fbxRfqgO6avV80j8ryXvawrtoa5Tbj6iw9s7wyRtxLHSr9TMP6_Qs2xs8tZ-hB6SibslicFiskClZb3wPq9w_aIr0gjpHzrEJRNBO8bzVy/s400/Coogee+pools+and+Mahon+Pool+105.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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In the towels that hang around the edges of the water. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXkRKpBvIfZJH21PJBnjMvWrzoSkEIhPk_1UuMmHYlwBQxmcO4EQlGaqL8tL4nyy1dGa1EFx4RGtilK9v4oyWQagRjxlsFWAsZslgDPEl0IO2LGhWg1DN8XFlDxnh-XYLuuta0FeAuUWd/s400/Bondi,+8+May+2012+056.JPG" height="480" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bondi Icebergs Pool</td></tr>
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And rest on rocks and concrete waiting for their owners to emerge from the pool.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLtmwBFNF4onXrHkJqG-V14KG1VZ77bMvoTbuhl2LkOhfZfOru6-0peUkQzUIQUcdwQiYxLE7CwKYHL9TLQv74NaSCO4b_nCJh3GPRQbCp-xyPeBMqxKN4EtwRiHWDRJOp6KNu6ldean9/s1600/Coogee+pools+and+Mahon+Pool+150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLtmwBFNF4onXrHkJqG-V14KG1VZ77bMvoTbuhl2LkOhfZfOru6-0peUkQzUIQUcdwQiYxLE7CwKYHL9TLQv74NaSCO4b_nCJh3GPRQbCp-xyPeBMqxKN4EtwRiHWDRJOp6KNu6ldean9/s400/Coogee+pools+and+Mahon+Pool+150.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wylie's Baths, Coogee </td></tr>
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They're on boardwalks and grandstands. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrAYZ10krVSo_icQhmR7xd9lS53fE39D5qcIMbmKv4wdjm2kqmS82cRoXuR1Wo6C7MQSoY1oxUf-pg9dfCuvn6EkuGLfZcUve4Yz5Jgtede_HM_FOhEIQy4AUGkIDEr3yxgXAE0A9DBSs/s400/Yamba,+Brisbane,+Morre,+LRidge+etc+Nov+09+309.JPG" height="640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="480" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moree Artesian Baths</td></tr>
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And on seating and stairs. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5DC4iucJvcyAr-2OYDOW2Tq-Dm_ybDpsfeGZWNJS_qeIRpFq5LHnhivhuSfG-GYft056mbnkqNIkyQuWQkGIAURGvNRvqdQ261r3BhOkIgq-6finqIGJqYxsjP4GuhYXLUqHDZjFLMTg/s1600/Coogee+pools+and+Mahon+Pool+165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5DC4iucJvcyAr-2OYDOW2Tq-Dm_ybDpsfeGZWNJS_qeIRpFq5LHnhivhuSfG-GYft056mbnkqNIkyQuWQkGIAURGvNRvqdQ261r3BhOkIgq-6finqIGJqYxsjP4GuhYXLUqHDZjFLMTg/s400/Coogee+pools+and+Mahon+Pool+165.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wylie's Baths, Coogee</td></tr>
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On the doors of change rooms like these multi-coloured stripes at the <a href="http://www.akac.com.au/" target="_blank">Annette Kellerman Pool</a>. </div>
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Sometimes they are fleeting like the shadows that fall on surfaces around a pool.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5dL6Kp9u45vLf923m5ihdQygHy7O7Z4BkEfX-Z4PUM-oIKmSqHo9ZQq4J2VSsfNTlG7iibGYALuzJobNic6N-sAsPYZVQSoiXy4R4cSHMDs2koHVtQG8IfSSVT5GaT3Cg_FwiW7f-nCM/s1600/Northbridge+Baths+&+Clive+Park+Pool+20+Feb+10+163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5dL6Kp9u45vLf923m5ihdQygHy7O7Z4BkEfX-Z4PUM-oIKmSqHo9ZQq4J2VSsfNTlG7iibGYALuzJobNic6N-sAsPYZVQSoiXy4R4cSHMDs2koHVtQG8IfSSVT5GaT3Cg_FwiW7f-nCM/s400/Northbridge+Baths+&+Clive+Park+Pool+20+Feb+10+163.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northbridge Baths</td></tr>
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Or in the colours reflecting lines in the water in the pool. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4xJIiBU90AxCYqgbQ8A1ssDdJWPPnOFs6vjP1hjlNxDyOnds8vuPfIqy997XQyzwuD6v9SfmAM-0pQYZhF1YMXCKN3G6GPdrFB2sWhnGcTus0Uud2MTkL_8ytEViShkoJsn26TkjtTF1/s1600/Brisbane+Oct+08+209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4xJIiBU90AxCYqgbQ8A1ssDdJWPPnOFs6vjP1hjlNxDyOnds8vuPfIqy997XQyzwuD6v9SfmAM-0pQYZhF1YMXCKN3G6GPdrFB2sWhnGcTus0Uud2MTkL_8ytEViShkoJsn26TkjtTF1/s400/Brisbane+Oct+08+209.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spring Hill Baths, Brisbane</td></tr>
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And occasionally they form naturally in the underwater beauty of an ocean pool.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf0AhDOfEgTrqupR-0lajAAPXdaExpeLARolEiourweLH_46-2u2qapf5oFwoYUHTNmKc2QfOR4srBu1avKalx8PWQu2ZOPppyzHTRB0H4LamgHQMyEvUuFNznlGf8StVlLQWPqNgB9WUG/s1600/Coogee+pools+and+Mahon+Pool+198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf0AhDOfEgTrqupR-0lajAAPXdaExpeLARolEiourweLH_46-2u2qapf5oFwoYUHTNmKc2QfOR4srBu1avKalx8PWQu2ZOPppyzHTRB0H4LamgHQMyEvUuFNznlGf8StVlLQWPqNgB9WUG/s400/Coogee+pools+and+Mahon+Pool+198.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wylie's Baths</td></tr>
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Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-41496324526272582792013-07-10T09:43:00.001+10:002015-03-21T16:11:05.043+11:00The art and design of Prince Alfred Park Pool<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I felt like I'd like walked into an outdoor art gallery when we visited the refurbished <a href="http://princealfred.org/" target="_blank">Prince Alfred Park Pool</a> in Surry Hills last Sunday. As the Lord Mayor of Sydney <a href="http://www.clovermoore.com.au/" target="_blank">Clover Moore</a> said at the opening in May this year, "It's quite simply an architectural masterpiece."<br />
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Designed by architects' <a href="http://neesonmurcutt.com/" target="_blank">Rachel Neeson</a> and her late husband <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Murcutt" target="_blank">Nicholas Murcutt</a>, son of the famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Murcutt" target="_blank">Glenn</a>, the understated, white-tiled 50-metre pool contrasts with the bright yellow umbrellas that stand like totem poles among the tiered seating on the western side.<br />
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On the eastern side the colour scheme is more subdued with light blue and chocolate brown timber decorating the outside of the change rooms.<br />
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Circles are a design feature repeated throughout the space; in the signage, the shade structure above the wading pool and around the trees near the deep end.<br />
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On Sunday when we visited, the pool was full of swimmers enjoying the 27 degree water and the free entry which lasts until November. Others congregated on the benches outside the change rooms, where the sun traps against the timber wall. <br />
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When I pushed off into lane 8, the water had a soft feel like the baby blue colour on the walls. It was not overly chlorinated and reminded me of swimming in rain water, which a man I spoke to put down to being new.<br />
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The light blue theme is continued in the sky-lit change rooms, broken up with tiles that Neeson-Murcutt chose to "gently reflect water and natural light". On a practical note I also enjoyed a lovely hot shower in a cubicle with space to keep your clothes dry and a hook for your towel.<br />
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We ended our visit with a walk around the landscaped areas around the pool where we discovered artist <a href="http://lymesmith.com.au/prince-alfred-park-pool-tri-generation-plant-chimneys/" target="_blank">Sonia van de Haar's</a> public art project called <em>Shades of Green</em> which features a collection of chimneys dipped in colour to blend into the sky and surrounding park. The installation is on top of the change rooms and cafe roof planted with Australian natives and meadow grasses. <br />
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Outside the pool we had a very nice coffee and cake (GF chocolate lamington for me and banana bread for Bruce) at the <a href="http://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/food-and-drink/article/meadow-pool" target="_blank">Meadow Cafe</a> where pale blue rugs are provided to patrons in the colder months and the yellow and white striped cups match the colours of the pool. <br />
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At the edge of the park near Chalmers Street an interpretive sign told us the story of <a href="http://www.dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/assassination_attempt_on_prince_alfred_1868" target="_blank">Prince Alfred</a>, the second son of Queen Victoria and the namesake of the pool and park, and how he was the victim of an assassination attempt when he visited Australia in 1868. To make amends the governors of the colony named a number of places after him including <a href="http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/learn/history/people-and-places/park-histories/prince-alfred-park" target="_blank">Prince Alfred Park</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Prince_Alfred_Hospital" target="_blank">Royal Prince Alfred Hospital</a> at nearby Camperdown. <br />
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As we walked to the car I told Bruce how I'd swum in the original circa 1958 pool a number of times but my most vivid memories were of the next-door ice skating rink where my friends and I went during the winter school holidays in the late 1970s. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZwIeHR6ATn4KLK7YM5ebeSS44fPfiRbd-fB6MTJLz1S8MYKv5NanKcEUavudaVNMJ1MNINnEhHR2qMbwxmSetJPuqNbyw28mWDgwab3JYN4Osd_OSPDd9MFvOrxoqiEaeBcgMrxoXyXd/s1600/alfred4%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZwIeHR6ATn4KLK7YM5ebeSS44fPfiRbd-fB6MTJLz1S8MYKv5NanKcEUavudaVNMJ1MNINnEhHR2qMbwxmSetJPuqNbyw28mWDgwab3JYN4Osd_OSPDd9MFvOrxoqiEaeBcgMrxoXyXd/s400/alfred4%5B1%5D.jpg" height="371" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from the City of Sydney website: <a href="http://history.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/waterexhibition/BathsPools/PrinceAlfredParkPool.html">http://history.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/waterexhibition/BathsPools/PrinceAlfredParkPool.html</a></td></tr>
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For some reason I thought the pool was turned into the ice skating rink in winter time. But apparently my memory was wrong as they were side by side. "I loved ice skating," I said, "but we always had to watch out for some wild boy trying to knock us over as he sped around the rectangular rink, and we were in awe of those people who could do that backward, twirling skating."<br />
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As we drove back down Cleveland Street I asked Bruce what he thought of the design of the pool. "Simple, minimalist, blending in with the landscape," he said. <br />
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At home I read that Nick Murcutt died in March 2011 of a rare cancer aged 46. At the pool opening just over a year later, with students from the new Aboriginal school <a href="http://www.rjc.nsw.edu.au/" target="_blank">Jarjum</a> in Redfern, his wife Rachel Neeson said the sound of the water splashing was quite moving. "It is an irreconcilable disappointment that Nick never saw the project complete – although he knew exactly how it would be, how it would delight."<br />
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She said the yellow umbrellas were designed to dot the landscape like wildflowers and there's a small tribute to Nick in the pool surroundings. <br />
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I will return to see the umbrellas open and in full bloom, and to find the tribute honouring the joint architect of this lovely pool.<br />
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Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-65524483064314631512013-07-02T09:38:00.001+10:002015-03-21T16:12:24.773+11:00The magical moods of Maroubra's Mahon Pool<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The beauty of ocean pools is that they change each day according to the weather and the patterns of the sea. </div>
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Last week huge waves lined up outside <a href="http://www.randwick.nsw.gov.au/Places_for_people/Recreation_and_leisure/Ocean_pools/Mahon_Pool/index.aspx" target="_blank">Mahon Pool</a> and crashed over the chains. <br />
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Sometimes there was so much water the pool disappeared completely from view.<br />
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It was mesmerising watching the rise and fall of the sea and the sun shining on the sandstone.<br />
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And seeing a face appear in the curves and lines of a rock. </div>
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More than most of Sydney's 100 ocean baths, Mahon Pool is at the mercy of the worst waves and weather as it doesn't get protection from the south-westerlies. Built in the early 1930s on the rock platform north of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maroubra,_New_South_Wales" target="_blank">Maroubra</a> Beach, at high tide the pool often merges with the sea. In the 1930s and 40s my mother and her sister swam there often especially when the surf was dangerous at Maroubra Beach..</div>
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A month ago I was greeted by a much more tranquil scene than last week's big seas.<br />
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It was the day before winter but almost like a summer's day so I was ready for a swim.<br />
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Near the steps leading into the pool, I met a man who swims there all year round. </div>
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"You never get sick when you swim here each day," he said. "I am 71 but I never get the flu; you get that on the bus. And today it's the best," he said. "It's 21 in the water."<br />
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As I swam along olive green plants fluttered in the water like Reconciliation hands and close to the edge where the waves wash in I spotted a fish.<br />
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On the rock platform, the grey-brown boulders looked like crocodiles, hippos, whales and sharks; their half-opened eyes watching me and the other swimmers in the pool. </div>
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It was beautiful in and I started to have that familiar feeling like I wanted to stay forever in this pool. </div>
Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-48070913995678573072013-04-30T09:24:00.000+10:002015-03-21T16:14:12.302+11:00Anzac Day tranquility at Leichhardt Pool On Anzac Day there was a soft Autumn light over <a href="http://www.lpac.nsw.gov.au/" target="_blank">Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre</a>. <br />
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The late afternoon sun glistened and sparkled in the blue water of the 50-metre pool.<br />
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When I started taking photos, a lifeguard asked me what was so interesting in the pool.</div>
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"There's all these beautiful reflections," I said.<br />
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Oh," he said, sounding unconvinced of the beauty I was finding in the 1960-era pool.<br />
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I left him staring at the water and made my way to the deep end where I discovered ... </div>
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The lane numbers and starting blocks making patterns in the pool. <br />
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The faded colours of the high platform creating watercolours in the diving pool. <br />
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And reflecting in the 50-metre pool. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVdNm23GVD6-QHtEa3WF-ywiOt3sAdwuvlm0wrhBqizwizJe-6isbDM92MeaaJ0axT_2a3ZZD8fPLB6fjjdzpY4oeMFPxzkXZu34mbYx7XQlvi7zF1EOMSkszzRYmyi9IscNQHZF9-Xji/s1600/Leichhardt+Pool+040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Finally I put my camera away and pushed off for a swim .</div>
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But as I swam up and down, more pictures kept appearing in the pool. <br />
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After 20 laps I brought my camera into the pool. </div>
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And caught a few final images before the Autumn glow was gone for the day.</div>
Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-26848347762186482482013-02-21T08:56:00.004+11:002015-03-21T16:15:30.069+11:00Retro magic at Auburn's Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre White, black, turquoise, red, mousey pink, mustard, dark grey, mint and pale blue.<br />
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That's what greets me when I walk into the <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/people/698056?c=people" target="_blank">Ruth Everuss</a> <a href="http://www.auburn.nsw.gov.au/Explore/SwimmingPool/Pages/SwimmingPool.aspx" target="_blank">Aquatic Centre</a> at <a href="http://www.auburn.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">Auburn</a>. <br />
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Colours, patterns and shapes abound at this 1959-model pool. <br />
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Above the water and below. <br />
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On the grandstand full of peeling paint.<br />
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On the tables, umbrellas, seats and chairs.<br />
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On the white walls around the centre's four different-sized pools. <br />
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Even in the change rooms.<br />
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The decoration continues in the waterless wading pool with nursery rhymes in the tiles.<br />
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And on the caps of the kids warming up for their carnival.<br />
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There's signs of wear and tear and the 53-year-old is showing its age in spots.<br />
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But I hope not all will be lost when the council commences its plans to <a href="http://www.auburn.nsw.gov.au/Explore/SwimmingPool/Pages/SwimmingPool.aspx" target="_blank">redevelop</a> this special place. <br />
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Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-5136568720725343292013-01-30T09:50:00.001+11:002015-03-21T16:17:02.395+11:00Swimming with Bruce and Stephen at the Werri Beach Rock Pool On Sunday morning the water gushed into the <a href="http://swimmingpoolstories.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/south-coast-swimming-at-gerringongs.html" target="_blank">Werri Beach Rock Pool</a> and spilt over the sides.<br />
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Near the deep end turquoise waves reared up and splashed white on to the rocks.<br />
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Two boys stood near the edge and waited to be pushed into the pool. <br />
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I waded into the pale green water and stared through my goggles to the bottom. <br />
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"It's beautiful," I said to my swimming mates, Stephen and Bruce. "So much cleaner than yesterday!"<br />
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I cleared my goggles and set off again, delighting in the weightlessness that salt water brings.<br />
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We divided the pool into three and swam up and down in our marked out space, careful not to cut our feet on the wall of oyster shells and periwinkles at the end.<br />
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On the rock face a fisherman cast his line. Near the wading pool surfers waited for the perfect wave. <br />
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The sun started to peak through the grey turning the water from green to blue. <br />
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I paused in the shallows and looked across at the hills above the beach.<br />
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And wondered if I was ever going to be able to leave this pool.<br />
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*Thanks to our host Trudy for a relaxing Australia Day weekend stay at her lovely <a href="http://weekendsatwerri.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">house</a> at <a href="http://www.kiamacoast.com.au/Werri_Beach/index.html" target="_blank">Gerringong's Werri Beach</a> on the NSW South Coast. Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-47706031301975238362013-01-11T09:19:00.002+11:002015-03-21T16:17:59.588+11:00Sea eagles, Dad's Army and the Black Head Rock Pool Travelling up and down the Pacific Highway over the past three weeks we visited a number of pools. First stop was the ocean baths at Black Head about 235 kilometres north of Sydney. <br />
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NSW is blessed with 100 ocean baths but there are only five north of Newcastle. There used to be six but I will tell the story of that pool another time. As well as Black Head, the surviving ones are Forster Ocean Baths, Sawtell Memorial Rock Pool, Yamba Ocean Baths and Shelly Beach Wading Pool at Ballina. <br />
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The Black Head Pool is the second oldest of the five north coast ocean baths. It was opened on Boxing Day 1941, five years after the Forster pool came into existence. The Sawtell Memorial Rock Pool was opened in 1962 and the Yamba Baths in 1969. I couldn't find a date for the rock pool at Ballina's Shelly Beach. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SPow_oUy7z4/UO4hGIDOLRI/AAAAAAAABpo/rNXemgu8VD8/s1600/Blackhead+Pool%252C+Dec+2012+094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SPow_oUy7z4/UO4hGIDOLRI/AAAAAAAABpo/rNXemgu8VD8/s400/Blackhead+Pool%252C+Dec+2012+094.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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But back to the Black Head Pool. It was very popular with the locals when it opened but with many away serving in World War Two it fell into disrepair. At one stage local fishermen used the pool for a lobster pen as the bottom filled up with seaweed and oysters covered the sides. Fortunately when the war was over members of the Black Head Surf Club and local volunteers cleaned and renovated the pool. They also modified the wading pool and built the footpath and concrete surrounds.<br />
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In 2005, <a href="http://www.gtcc.nsw.gov.au/page/HomePage.aspx" target="_blank">Greater Taree Council</a> reconstructed the wall separating the wading pool and larger pool and resurfaced part of the walkway and steps. Two years later, with funds raised from the community and a donation from Dr Billie Greening, Taree Council completely renovated the pool. <br />
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We had two swims in the 100 feet long (just over 30 metres) by 30 feet wide pool when we stayed at Diamond Head nearby with keen long boarders' Graham and Denise. We enjoyed our first dip but our second swim was even better thanks to 'Dad's Army'. 'Dad's Army' is a local volunteer group that empty, sweep, hose and refill the pool at low tide every second Thursday. <br />
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The second time we swam at the pool it had been cleaned that morning and the water was crystal clear. Late afternoon when we visited it was peak hour with locals and visitors enjoying a dip.<br />
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A woman I chatted to had that day recommenced her swimming routine and was pleased to have completed 14 laps. Another local told me she loved to float on her back and watch the sea eagles soar above the pool.<br />
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It was great to be back in salt water again and a nice start to our journey to Brisbane. Thanks to Graham and Denise for their wonderful hospitality. Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-87831866629413825762012-12-07T08:55:00.001+11:002015-03-23T11:09:37.885+11:00The Moody family is a pool family now!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Those were the triumphant words of Kevin, father of the Moody clan on Wednesday night's final <em><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/amoodychristmas" target="_blank">A Moody Christmas</a></em> on <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/" target="_blank">ABC TV</a>. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from abc.net.au</td></tr>
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The pool was a long term project of Kevin's which he announced in the first episode of the comedy series set over six consecutive Christmas days. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from abc.net.au</td></tr>
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Each year when youngest son Dan returns home from London, the hole is a little deeper and wider until finally Kevin gathers the family in the backyard to announce: "The Moody family is a pool family now! <br />
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"No longer will pool people be able to look down on us. No longer are we in the gutter looking up at the swimming pools in the sky," he waxes lyrical until wife Maree says: "Come on love, the oven's on." He cuts the red ribbon and sons' Sean and Dan christen the pool, bombing and diving and displacing water, like typical boys at the local baths. <br />
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When I was little I dreamed of having a pool in our backyard. But the only one we ever had was a canvas wading pool that Dad would set up on the buffalo lawn. Our favourite part was filling it with water from the garden hose. We would fight over who got the job like carrying the warm parcel of fish and chips to the car on Friday nights. <br />
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Back in the 1960s and 70s when I was growing up backyard pools were considered a luxury. Not today. A 2012 survey by <a href="http://swimart2-px.rtrk.com.au/?utm_source=ReachLocal&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search" target="_blank">Swimart </a>showed that around 13,000 pools are built in Australian backyards and apartment blocks annually, and that Australia has the highest per capita rate of pool ownership in the world. <br />
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While our family wasn't as lucky as the Moody's, we had the next best thing. After years of nagging their parents, our neighbours, the Halls put in a pool. We didn't have to ask if we could have a swim. We just walked around the crescent and jumped in. So thanks Frank and Judy for finally giving in.<br />
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Congratulations also to Kevin Moody for having the perseverance to complete his pool. If you missed the very funny <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/amoodychristmas/" target="_blank">A Moody Christmas</a> you can watch it at the ABC-TV <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/amoodychristmas" target="_blank">website</a>. Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861413711976269709.post-36828976316329401432012-11-20T09:14:00.002+11:002015-03-23T11:11:05.146+11:00Another day in paradise at Balmain's Dawn Fraser BathsWhen I was swimming around <a href="http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/" target="_blank">Cockatoo Island</a> on Sunday morning, the bushranger <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ward-frederick-fred-4801" target="_blank">Captain Thunderbolt</a> was on my mind.<br />
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<a href="http://www.thunderboltbushranger.com.au/" target="_blank">Captain Thunderbolt aka Fred Ward</a> was imprisoned on the island for stealing horses. In 1863 he escaped by swimming the 600 metres or so to shore. He emerged from the water at a place in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balmain,_New_South_Wales" target="_blank">Balmain</a> that became known as White Horse Point. <br />
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Some say the name was inspired by <a href="http://www.thunderboltbushranger.com.au/" target="_blank">Captain Thunderbolt's girlfriend Mary Ann Bugg</a>, who was waiting for him on a white horse. While the romantics would like this to be true, the name is more likely to have been inspired by the white horses that appear on the Parramatta River when the southerly winds are up. An alternative explanation is a rock resembling a white horse rearing up that used to be prominent on the point. <br />
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If Captain Thunderbolt had scrambled ashore 19 years later, he would have noticed a new addition to the point: Balmain's new tidal baths. For the first year of the baths' existence they were named after their location at White Horse Point. In 1883 they were renamed the Elkington Park Baths after the park above, which honours a former Balmain mayor. Also known as the Corporation Baths, in 1964 they were renamed after local champion <a href="http://www.dawnfraser.com.au/" target="_blank">Dawn Fraser</a>, who learnt to swim there. <br />
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When swimmers gathered at the 130-year-old pool on Sunday for the annual 2.5km <a href="http://balmainwaterpolo.com.au/2012/09/dawny-swim-save-the-date/" target="_blank">Dawny to Cockatoo swim</a> there was a carnival atmosphere similar to the early days. Just like the swimming tournaments of the 1880s and 90s a band was playing as patrons enjoyed the after-swim barbeque and fresh fruit from Harris Farm. <br />
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We were just missing the novelty events that were a feature of the start of the season carnival during the last two decades of the 19th century. As well as a 'handicap race of 750 yards for all comers', club members could join in events like 'hands-tied behind the back', 'swimming in clothes', 'diving for objects' and 'underwater distance diving'. There was also a 'smokers' race' and the annual duck hunt involving swimmers catching ducks released in the pool.<br />
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Renovated and heritage-listed in the 1990s, in recent years the <a href="http://www.lpac.nsw.gov.au/Dawn-Fraser-Baths.html" target="_blank">Dawn Fraser Baths</a> have returned to their glory days. They survived many years being surrounded by heavy industry, polluted waters and threats of closure. They have emerged with a new lease of life into an era when the harbour's waters are cleaner than ever; when <a href="http://www.bos17.com/biennale/venue/2" target="_blank">art exhibitions</a> and <a href="http://cockatooislandfilmfestival.com/" target="_blank">film festivals</a> have replaced <a href="http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/about/history.html" target="_blank">ship-building, prisons and industrial schools for girls</a> on nearby Cockatoo Island.<br />
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As the Lizards, a group of 50 to almost 80-year-old men, who spend their mornings in retirement at the pool say: "It's the best place in Sydney; it's paradise!"<br />
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Dangling my legs over the edge of the wide timber boardwalk and looking up at the vista of jacarandas, towering palms and magnificent fig trees, it's hard not to agree. Theresehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00119310612821613635noreply@blogger.com0