Dee Why’s public baths were originally formed by nature before finding its current form

Rock pools are not unique to Sydney but for many beachgoers they are an important part of seaside living, writes John Morcombe.

Dee Why rock pool is one of Sydney’s most iconic pools. Picture: John Morcombe.

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Rock pools are not unique to Sydney but for many beachgoers they are an important part of seaside living.

There are 14 rock pools along the northern beaches and one at Fairlight in North Harbour.

One of the most popular is the rock pool at Dee Why, due to its size, its aspect, its facilities and its proximity to cafes and restaurants.

But the Dee Why rock pool is also significant thanks to the input from the local community to its formation and subsequent development.

While most rock pools were built by councils following lobbying by local progress associations, the Dee Why rock pool in its early days was largely the product of local community organisations.

Dee Why rock pool in the 1920s

Unfortunately tracing the history of the five elements that make up the complex of pools at Dee Why is difficult because the reports compiled by Warringah Council’s engineer were thrown out years ago and the minutes of council meetings are vague, often referring to “upgrades” or “improvements” that are planned without going into any detail about them or even if they proceeded.

What is clear is that the first pool at Dee Why was created by Nature in the form of a broad shallow basin in the rock shelf south of what is now the main pool.

The basin is known as the Bogey Hole, although heritage consultants in the 1990s referred to it as the first beginners’ pool.

The first man-made pool at Dee Why was located where what is now the main pool is located and was excavated by members of Dee Why surf club.

Dee Why rock pool between 1915 and 1919

According to the surf club’s history: “Following a general meeting on February 14, 1915, a swimming basin committee as formed. Then, one week later, members began to dig a basin on the site where the pool is today.”

The pool was about 5m square and less than 1m deep but it would have been a boon for parents who didn’t want their youngsters swimming in the ocean.

According to the surf club’s history: “In 1919, the fledgling surf club approached Warringah Council with a proposition to make the pool larger, at an initial cost of £147.

“On completion, it was closer to £192, a princely sum at the time.

“The pool was now 110ft (33.5m) long and was opened by Ellison Quirk, then president of Warringah Shire Council.”

What isn’t clear is who undertook the work, for which the council sought tenders in April 1919 and again in September.

Dee Why rock poo last year.

Nor is it clear who paid for the work, although the surf club certainly contributed some money and it was the surf club that invited councillors to be present at the opening of the extended pool in December 1919.

From that date on, information about further development of the pool complex is sparse, as if, like a strange marine organism, the main pool evolved by growing longer, wider and deeper, and what came to be called the second beginners’ pool and the stilling pools were built.

What is clear is the input of the Dee Why Improvement League, which appears to have been formed in 1923 and contributed significant funds for the regular improvement of the facility.

In 1923, at the urging of the Improvement League, the council appointed trustees to oversee the pool and both its maintenance and improvements.

Dee Why rock pool in 1929

Each year, usually from Boxing Day to New Year’s Day, the Improvement League hosted Christmas Carnivals on the reserve behind Dee Why Beach that raised more than £1300 at the 1923-24, 1924-25, 1925-26 and 1926-27 carnivals – all of which was given to Warringah Council for improvements to the rock pool, the seawall, the dressing sheds and kiosks at Dee Why Beach, Dee Why Park and Stony Range Reserve.

The carnivals featured aquatic sports for men, women and children, dancing, athletic sports, a tug-of-war, a baby show, children’s sand modelling, night swimming in the rock pool, illumination displays, concerts, community singing, window-dressing competition among local shopkeepers and a beauty pageant in which women were nominated by the Dee Why surf club, Dee Why Cricket Club, the Dee Why Progress Association, the Dee Why Ladies’ Swimming Club and the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, and those attending the carnival would cast their vote to determine the winner.

The Dee Why Improvement League never nominated a contestant to avoid a conflict of interest.

An indication of the interest in the pageant to be named Queen of the Carnival is that 36,893 votes were cast during the 1924-25 carnival, which was won by the cricket club’s nominee, Miss K. Springett.

Dee Why rock pool in the 1930s

Of the £1300 raised at the first four Christmas Carnivals, £513 was allocated to the cost of extending the seawall, £403 to Dee Why Park, £191 to the rock pool and the remainder to other improvements at Dee Why Beach and to Stony Range Reserve.

Some of the money allocated to the rock pool appears to have been used to construct a low concrete wall across the rock platform immediately north of the main pool to “catch” waves breaking over the rock platform and funnel the fresh water into the main pool.

It would appear the league’s last Christmas Carnival was held at the end of 1930 and in early 1931, although how much extra money was raised between the 1927-28 carnival and the 1930-31 carnival is not known.

What appears certain is that some of the money allocated to the rock pool was also spent building a second pool for children immediately west of the existing pool, although it appears the work was done over at least two years.

The new pool was formally opened on October 6, 1930, which was the Eight-Hour Day public holiday now known as Labour Day.

Heritage consultants in the 1990s called the new pool the second beginners’ pool to differentiate it from the Bogey Hole.

During the 1930s, Warringah Council obtained funding from the State Government to undertake works to provide employment to the many unemployed men in the area and some of the money was used to upgrade the Dee Why rock pool by lengthening it to 50m and widening it to 21m.

A relic of the Bogey Hole at Dee Why. 5.12.2018 JM

Some of the rock excavated to enlarge the pool was used in the extension of the seawall.

In 1935 it was proposed that the wall separating the main pool from the second beginners’ pool be removed but this never eventuated and instead the council used the unemployed workers to extend, widen and deepen the main pool.

The decision not to remove the wall between the main pool and the second pool may have been based in part on the quality of the construction of the two pools.

The second pool was built using inferior materials and without steel reinforcing, making it more susceptible than the main pool to damage by heavy seas, so that all that remains of it today are a few concrete blocks lying on their side that are visible at mid-tide or lower.

From 1929 to 1939, there was a springboard on the northern side of the pool, although care would have been essential because the pool wasn’t deep.

As early as 1926, the Dee Why Improvement League had asked that a pump be installed to increase the intake of fresh water into the main pool but it appears that it was not until 1935 that a pump was finally installed at a cost of £56.

The installation required the cutting of a channel through the rock platform north of the pool so fresh sea water could reach the pump, which was placed at the northern edge of the pool.

The pump regularly broke down over the years and had to be repaired or replaced.

Another channel was cut through the rock platform to allow the pool to be emptied after a valve was opened.

Dee Why rock pool 1915-19. Courtesy State Library of NSW

Two other works that were undertaken in the mid-1930s were the cutting of steps into the cliff face below the eastern end of Pacific Pde to make access to the Bogey Hole easier and the deepening of the Bogey Hole by constructing low stone walls around it to retain more water.

The low stone walls were embedded in channels cut into the rock platform and despite the passage of more than 80 years, many of them are still intact.

The low stone walls also had steel posts embedded in them to support a chain that acted as a handrail along the stone walls to improve the safety for children.

The most unusual element of the rock pool complex at Dee Why is what the council calls the stilling pool but which the heritage consultants in the 1990s called “the dam” but has also been called the catchment pool.

The stilling pond, which measures about 17m by 6m, is at the eastern end of the main pool and, despite its small size, absorbs some of the impact of waves rolling across the rock platform towards the main pool in heavy seas.

A rectangular chute under the walkway at the eastern end of the main pool connects the stilling pool with the main pool, allowing fresh sea water to flow from the stilling pool into the main pool.

Stainless steel grates at both ends of the chute prevent anyone being dragged from the stilling pool into the main pool and reduce the amount of kelp passing through the chute into the main pool.

But no one knows when the stilling pool was built or who built it, although it shows signs of repairs in recent decades.

Dee Why rock pool in 1943

There is also a row of holes drilled into the rock platform at the southern edge of the stilling pool, suggesting there may have been steel posts and a chain handrail there at some point, although the salt water would have quickly rusted the steel posts and heavy seas breaking across the rock platform would have done the rest.

In 1973, the council built a new pool for children, which the heritage consultants in the 1990s called the third beginners’ pool.

The wading pool, which is 21m by 11m, is immediately west of the main pool and effectively buried the eastern part of the second beginners’ pool, which by then was no longer usable.

The new children’s pool was named the John Morison Learn to Swim Pool in honour of a man who spent countless hours teaching children to swim.

Northern Beaches Council recently decided to name the main pool after Isa Wye, who was president of the Dee Why Amateur Ladies’ Swimming Club for 50 years and who was involved with the club for most of her life.

Over the years, Warringah Council repeatedly upgraded the facilities associated with the pools, including a one-storey home for the Dee Why Men’s Amateur Swimming Club that was built near the pool in 1953, a second storey that was added for the Dee Why Ladies’ Swimming Club in 1970, concrete steps on the embankment on the southern side of the pools, a ramp for easier entry to the main pool and showers.

And as users of the pools will attest, first Warringah Council and now Northern Beaches Council have maintained the pools to a high standard.

Of the five elements of the Dee Why rock pool complex, four remain – the Bogey Hole, the stilling pool, the main pool and the third beginners’ pool – while all that remains of the second beginners’ pool are a few blocks of concrete rubble strewn around the rock shelf west of the other pools.