Tag Archives: free entry

Como Learner’s Pool – Como, NSW 2226

Posted by: Simon Duffin on: 09/02/2017

Como was named for its similarity to the city on Italy's lakes. My experience in the pool I hadn't planned a swim in Como Pool on this particular Friday in February, but the grey skies over Sydney put me off going into the water at the harbour baths I'd hoped to visit, and in any case sea water really needs blue skies to bring it out best in photographs, so I changed my plans and decided to do a drive around to check the location and facilities at the next tidal baths I plan to swim in. This Read more [...]

Helensburgh Memorial Pool – NSW 2508

Posted by: Simon Duffin on: 07/04/2016

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 [...]

Newcastle Ocean Baths – NSW 2300

Posted by: Simon Duffin on: 31/10/2015

They don’t rent out towels, costumes or handkerchiefs anymore like they used to when these pools first opened in 1922. My experience in the pool I love everything about this place, from the grand Ocean Baths entrance in art deco style, through to the viewing ramp, which looks out over the main 50m pool and the enormous leisure pool next to it. I hadn’t had a decent workout in a 50m pool for a week or two, so spent all my time doing joyous laps in that section rather testing out the Read more [...]

Bruce Steer Pool - Bermagui, NSW 2546
On 26/12/2017
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... Continue Reading
Berry Village Pool - Berry, NSW 2535
On 22/12/2017
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... Continue Reading
Epping Aquatic Centre - Epping, NSW 2121
On 19/12/2017
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... Continue Reading
Blacktown Aquatic Centre - Blacktown, NSW 2148
On 11/12/2017
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... Continue Reading
Ballina Wading Pool - Shelly Beach, NSW 2478
On 06/12/2017
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... Continue Reading
Yamba Rock Pool - Yamba, NSW 2464
On 30/11/2017
Yamba is an Aboriginal word for either shellfish or headland. My experience in the pool Yamba Ocean Pool is the most northerly of the real ocean baths along the NSW coast. It may well also be the most recently built - constructed in the 1960s - though it may also be the more modern building methods and materials that made it more vulnerable... Continue Reading