Harbour Pools

Dawn Fraser Baths – Balmain, NSW 2041

Posted by: on:

Dawn Fraser was apparently 'discovered' in these baths at the age of 13 My experience in the pool I finally made it to the iconic Dawn Fraser Baths in Balmain for my first swim back in the salt water of the harbour since June. They reckoned the water temperature was 20C but I think they need to check their gauge because I could feel that zingy icy feeling on my baldness - a sure sign that the water is a good bit less than 20C and a cue for me to get out of the water much sooner than I would Read more [...]

Balmoral Baths – Balmoral, NSW 2088

Posted by: on:

Named after the Royal Estate in Scotland My experience in the pool Apparently Balmoral Beach was my family's favourite when we lived in Sydney's northern suburbs in 1967-8. When I got there on a warm Friday morning in March 2016, I have to confess I had no recollection of the place. A whole bunch of people were doing leisurely freestyle up the beach when I arrived, and I passed the time with a few of them. They seemed more interested in the fact that I now live in Kiama since we had Read more [...]

Watsons Bay Baths – Watsons Bay, NSW 2030

Posted by: on:

The bay is named after an early 19th century harbour pilot and harbour master My experience in the pool Wow, lap swimming in proper Sydney Harbour water with views of the Harbour Bridge just out on the horizon. What a nice spot, Watsons Bay Baths. This is a great space. It's all very securely shark-netted, it has a 50m laned section, disabled ramp and pontoons to sunbathe on or pause and hold on if you want to catch your brief between laps. On a warm March morning, there was a trickle Read more [...]

Nielsen Park Swimming Enclosure – NSW 2030

Posted by: on:

Named after a former Minister of Lands from 1911 My experience in the pool This is the best beach in Sydney to go for a swim, at least according to the lady who got off the bus with me at Nielsen Park, which sits towards the ocean end of Sydney Harbour. It's a great spot for swimming, with or without the shark net, she added. That shark net protects about a 100m stretch of water off what is disconcertingly called Shark Beach (and the net is taken down for four months in winter). There Read more [...]

MacCallum Pool – Cremorne Point, NSW 2090

Posted by: on:

Named after Hugh MacCallum whose local work helped establish the pool in its current form in the 1930s My experience in the pool It was a damp, grey morning in February when I turned up at MacCallum Pool. At first there was nobody else there so I had the pool to myself, though I had taken the precaution of checking what time the coffee shop back at the wharf closed so I knew I only had half an hour or so in the water, if I was to get that cherished post swim coffee. This is a little Read more [...]

Cabarita Swimming Centre – NSW 2137

Posted by: on:

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 [...]

Murray Rose Pool – formerly Redleaf Pool, Double Bay 2028

Posted by: on:

Named after a gold medallist who learned to swim here as a toddler My experience in the pool The best thing about swimming at Murray Rose Pool in Double Bay (formerly Redleaf Pool) is surely its setting right on Sydney harbour. Just beyond the shark netting perimeter of the pool there's a sprinkling of yachts anchored in the bay; beyond that a handful of boats are out in the harbour with sails unfurled, and if you time your glance out to the horizon, you may spot the Manly Ferry drifting Read more [...]

Drummoyne Olympic Pool – Drummoyne, NSW 2047

Posted by: on:

Known by many as ‘Crummy Drummy’, but I like the place My experience in the pool Ok, staring at Iron Cove Bridge as you do your backstroke laps at Drummoyne Olympic Pool is not quite the same as North Sydney with its Harbour Bridge views, but I liked Drummoyne Pool and didn’t find it at all ‘crummy’. According to the excellent history of the pool I found on the Drummoyne Swimming Club’s website, the name ‘crummy drummy’ dates back at least to 1950, when a 14 year old Read more [...]

North Sydney Olympic Pool – NSW 2000

Posted by: on:

Surely the best views in the world for a swim: Sydney Harbour Bridge & Luna Park entrance My experience in the pool My first visit here was after work time on a hot, summer’s day in January. The pool was heaving with bodies ploughing up and down the lanes, though they always a keep one wider lane free for fun swims, so the kids tend to go in there. Don’t forget, this is a salt water pool (I overheard one child complain to his Mum: “It’s too salty”), though it has all the Read more [...]

Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool – Woolloomooloo NSW 2011

Posted by: on:

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 [...]