Each day before dawn, long before surfers slap their boards on the sand and joggers scuttle across the soft sand, swimmers clutching towels gather in patches of tamed ocean, surrounded by cliffs and sea. Some float and some swim, but all are drawn by a beauty that has lured artists for generations.
Australia’s iconic ocean pools have been a beloved swimming spot for nearly 200 years, but they are increasingly under threat as local governments struggle to meet the rising demand for community swimming facilities. Whether it’s the cost of maintaining an ageing pool, or finding new ways to keep their communities safe in the face of escalating drowning figures, these pools are under pressure like never before.
While nine in 10 Australians live within a 20-minute drive of a public swimming facility, access isn’t equal across council areas. According to research by University of Sydney professor Amy Peden, the western suburbs are worse served than inner city areas such as Randwick and Mosman. Coastal councils like Port Macquarie have one pool for every 16,000 residents, compared to inner city shires with less than half that number. And outdoor pools aren’t all year-round — many, including in outer suburban councils like Parramatta and Hills Shire, close down for the winter.
The cost of keeping an aging pool open can be prohibitive for local councils. And while there are some great examples of innovative ideas to save and improve our aquatic centres, a lack of funding has been the key driver behind many recent failures.
For example, when it was announced that a new pool at Coogee Beach would cost $100 million, locals were outraged. And they were right to be, says the NSW Greens MP Sarah Hodge. The proposed new pool is “a waste of money, and it will be the latest in a series of overspends on public swimming pools.”
Despite this, Hodge says there’s still hope for the future of public swimming in Australia. The Greens have released a plan to save the nation’s ocean pools, which they argue would make swimming safer and healthier for more Australians, while saving billions of dollars in health costs. They’ve also called for a new national swimming policy to tackle the drowning crisis.
If you want to join the swimmers for a day by the water, you’ll find plenty of places to do so in Sydney. From a 15-person infinity pool with harbour views, to a Sardinian-inspired terrace in Newport and a magical bush-shrouded saltwater pool hidden in a garden in Maroubra, you can book your perfect pool day through the Swimply app, which lists 130 Sydney pools you can reserve by the hour. It’s the easiest way to swim with friends this summer.
