Tag Archives: closed for winter

Camden War Memorial Pool – Camden, NSW 2570

Camden was named after a former Minister for War (!) rather than the north London suburb. My experience in the pool Camden War Memorial Pool was a great replacement for a planned trip to Figure of Eight pool in the Royal National Park. Figure of Eight needs good weather and the right tide. Camden Pool would have been fine in the pouring rain, but the steady downpour we had as we left home had passed over by the time we reached Camden an hour or so's drive away. The ducks in Camden Read more [...]

Parkes Aquatic Centre – Parkes, NSW 2870

Parkes was named after the town's founder, who came from Coventry, hence its twinning with that industrial city! My experience in the pool My swim at Parkes Aquatic Centre was a bit of a surprise. I had thought outdoor pools in country Australia were not generally open till November and many of them stay shut if the air temperature isn't forecast to rise above 25C, or some such random heatwave number that this Pommy regards as ridiculous. But there we were driving slowly past Read more [...]

Helensburgh Memorial Pool – NSW 2508

Probably named after the Scottish birthplace of the local coal mine's manager. My experience in the pool There's something uniquely Australian about local council-run outdoor pools like this that are completely free to enter. Helensburgh Memorial Pool may only be 25m long but who's complaining when it costs nothing to swim here? On a fine, sunny morning in March, with the heatwave going into what must be its sixth successive week, it was no surprise to find a fair few people in the water Read more [...]

Cabarita Swimming Centre – NSW 2137

Cabarita is an Aboriginal word meaning by the water My experience in the pool What a great spot for a swim. This is a saltwater pool right by the harbour, though the salt levels didn’t seem high to me, so they’ve achieved the best of both worlds with easier buoyancy but avoiding the nasty taste when a mouthful (or noseful) gets in as it does far too often in a real ocean pool. I also love those pools where the water laps over the sides – it does make for a much easier swim with far Read more [...]

Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool – Woolloomooloo NSW 2011

Named after Australia’s 1924 Paris Olympics gold medal winner, who famously beat a world record-holding Swede as a teenage in pools at this site My experience in the pool I visited here with swimming buddy and fellow writer Therese on the pool’s penultimate day of opening before they closed for the 2015 winter. What makes this pool so special is its setting and its history. You’re right on Woolloomooloo Bay, with naval dockyards opposite and the old Navy shipping sheds in sight Read more [...]