woolloomooloo Archives - Ocean Pools NSW

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 [...]

latest pool reviews

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

Tag Archives: woolloomooloo

Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool – Woolloomooloo NSW 2011

latest pool reviews

Bruce Steer Pool - Bermagui, NSW 2546

Berry Village Pool - Berry, NSW 2535

Epping Aquatic Centre - Epping, NSW 2121

Blacktown Aquatic Centre - Blacktown, NSW 2148

Ballina Wading Pool - Shelly Beach, NSW 2478

Yamba Rock Pool - Yamba, NSW 2464