Monthly Archives: December 2017

Bruce Steer Pool – Bermagui, NSW 2546

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Bruce Steer was a local personality at the heart of Bermagui's community in the post-war years. My experience in the pool Bruce Steer Pool in Bermagui doesn't get as much publicity as the Blue Pool over the headland, but actually on the right day this is a fantastic spot for a protected swim. The first time I came to Bermagui (to swim in the Blue Pool), I took a look at Bruce Steer Pool but the shark net was down for repairs so I didn't really fancy getting in, and nobody else was in Read more [...]

Berry Village Pool – Berry, NSW 2535

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Berry was named after the first family of white settlers in the area. My experience in the pool Berry Village Pool is one of those charming little 20m pools most villages in Australia seem to have. Yes, if you're a Pom, you heard that right: a village pool. Back in the UK, I can think of only one area where a set of villages still have an outdoor pool (of a similar size actually) - that's in Cumbria in North West England. Those pools are seasonal, as is the pool at Berry, which Read more [...]

Epping Aquatic Centre – Epping, NSW 2121

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Epping was named after the east London/Essex town of the same name. My experience in the pool Epping Aquatic Centre sits surrounded by bush in this leafy northern suburb of Sydney. It's a wonderful place to swim, with those tall gum trees towering over on all sides, and the bush inhabitants squawking or cooing as you plough up and down your laps. I was pleased to get to Epping Pool before we move interstate because this iconic pool was under threat a few years ago, with a campaign Read more [...]

Blacktown Aquatic Centre – Blacktown, NSW 2148

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Blacktown's name has its origins in the Stolen Generation as there was a 'Native Institution' here in the 19th century. My experience in the pool Blacktown Aquatic Centre has one of those outdoor swimming pools that look so tempting when you speed past in the train. When I spotted it over the tracks, it looked pristine, with sky blue tiles looking magnificent in the sunshine, and seemingly hardly anyone in it. It proved a bit harder to get an actual swim in Blacktown! My first Read more [...]

Ballina Wading Pool – Shelly Beach, NSW 2478

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Ballina probably has both Irish and Aboriginal connections linguistically My experience in the pool Ballina Information Centre at first shook their heads when I asked about the whereabouts of the ocean pool in town. "Well, there's a local campaign to have a new ocean pool built in Ballina," they said, "but there isn't one yet".. When I pressed them and mentioned a wading pool, they still looked bemused, but finally a face lit up and one lady talked of the children's pool, 'but it's tiny Read more [...]