In the deep end at almost 80-year-old Enfield Pool

Fear, that's what I feel, just for a moment when the depth of the water in a pool drops suddenly. I experienced this the other day when I visited Enfield Pool for the first time. I was swimming along and then all of sudden a line appeared across the white tiles and the depth dropped from one metre to three metres.  A bit further along I was in even deeper water with the bottom of the pool five metres below.  I think it is the suddenness of the drop that startles me.

I had the same experience at North Sydney Pool and more recently at Maryborough Pool in the Central Goldfields area of Victoria. What connects these pools is that they were opened between 1933 and 1940. North Sydney and Enfield share the same architects’ Rudder and Grout, who also designed Bankstown (1933) and Granville Pools (1936).

The reason for the five metre depth was because they all originally had diving towers.  At Enfield Pool, Sydney's first Olympic-standard chlorine pool, there is an original poster from the early days advertising diving lessons with Harry Tickle. “Diving and swimming taught scientifically by Harry Tickle, ex-Australian and NSW Diving Champion,” the poster says. There are also old photos of the Australian High Tower Championships that were held there in 1954-55. Looking at the height they were diving from I can see why the pool had to be so deep.

When I used to swim at North Sydney Pool during the mid to late 1970s, only the 1-metre springboard was still in action. Although never a great diver I remember going in a couple of diving events at school swimming carnivals. After awhile I gave it away and concentrated on the swimming races, leaving the diving competition to more skilled competitors like our friend Cathie-Anne.

There's not many diving boards left at pools these days as they have become Occupational Health and Safety (OH and S) issues. At Northbridge Baths where I swam as a child, the tough boys hung out near the diving board.  They’d lie on the concrete with their bikini-clad girlfriends and smoke cigarettes. Then they’d have competitions to see who could do a bomb off the bright blue springboard and get closest to the concrete wall without hitting it. If my memory serves me well there was an accident or two?

The area where the diving board used to be at Northbridge Baths.

Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre, which was opened in 1960, still has its diving tower because it’s in a separate pool. It is strictly controlled and only open at certain times. A year or so ago when I was at the pool with my now 13 and 11-year-old nieces, the older one became fixated with diving off the tower. When it eventually opened she couldn’t get up there quick enough. Her sister and I were a bit more tentative. I eventually jumped off the three-metre platform but I can’t say it was a pleasant experience. My niece, on the other hand, enjoyed it as she was relaxed and that’s what it’s all about. My younger niece spent an hour jumping and diving off the one-metre springboard and had a very enjoyable time.

Country towns, The Castle and Chewton Pool

Avalon Ocean Baths

When you live on the coast you take having somewhere to swim for granted. There's the beach, ocean pools, the harbour, bay baths or the local chlorine complex. But it's a different story in inland Australia, particularly in the smaller towns. The river or lake may be an option but they are not always safe. Only last week a 15-year-old boy nearly drowned near the Wagga Wagga Beach in the Murrumbidgee River.

Spending Christmas at my sister's Riverina property it was great having a pool to dive into and cool off. But not everyone can have a pool in their backyard or on their farm.  And this is where the municipal pool becomes very important.

Maryborough Pool

Driving from Wagga Wagga to the Victorian goldfields area after Christmas we dropped into a number of outdoor pools in medium-sized and small towns. Most of these were built in the 1950s, 60s and early 1970s. In the NSW towns of Jerilderie, Ariah Park and Finley, the local pool was in an attractive garden setting. While the opening hours were more limited than in the days when these towns were thriving, each pool appeared very well-maintained.

Ariah Park Pool

Travelling into Victoria the future of the outdoor pool did not appear as positive. Instead of the usual October to March summer season, most centres were only open from December to February. Opening hours were also limited and on days when the temperature is below 23 degree C outdoor pools in Victoria are closed. Conversely, if it reaches 32 C, the opening hours are extended. Well, that's the theory but not always the practice as patrons at Melbourne's Coburg Pool discovered recently.

Daylesford Pool

Increasingly it appears that councils in Victoria have replaced or plan to replace outdoor pools with a 25-metre indoor aquatic centre that services a number of towns. One place that has been experiencing this policy is Chewton, a town of about 400 people near Castlemaine in Central Victoria. With plans for a new indoor centre in Castlemaine, in 2009 Mount Alexander Shire Council announced that Chewton’s nearly 20-metre pool and smaller learner pool would be closed.

Well, that was the plan. But they didn't count on the passion and fervour of the local people to try and save their pool. Under the catch-cry of 'only fools close pools', since early 2010, the locals have been campaigning to save their 53-year-old centre. They've held rallies, organised petitions, made submissions to council, run fundraising events including the 'Ugly Man' contest, and set up a tent embassy to prevent the pool’s demolition. After a long battle, the pool finally re-opened on 3 December 2010 with the local community (Chewton Pool Inc) as the new managers.

Speaking at the opening, Bendigo West MP, Maree Edwards congratulated the people of Chewton, in particular key campaigner Rose Darling, for being resolute and unwavering in their commitment to keep the pool open.  Likening the fight to the classic ‘Aussie battler’ movie, The Castle, Ms Edwards said anyone who has grown up in a small town knows the value and importance of its local pool.

"Local pools are not just about swimming - they are often the hub of small towns during the summer period. They are the heart and soul of a community that bring people together and that's what keeps communities strong."

Maryborough Pool

Ms Edwards spoke about growing up in nearby Maryborough where the pool was the place to be each summer day of the school holidays.  Maryborough Pool in the central goldfields area is another pool in Victoria that has fought to remain open.  Back in the mid to late 1990s, local woman, Lauris Weir led a successful campaign to keep the 72-year-old art deco beauty open.  As Lauris says:  "Indoor pools don't take the place of the outdoor pool. They are good for exercise but not for having a real, good, old time."

Chewton Pool

While Chewton Pool has been saved, at least for the next three years, I wonder how many other outdoor pools in Victoria are facing a fragile future?