The ebb and flow of Seaforth’s tidal pools at Sangrado St and Pickering Point
The Sangrado St tidal pool at Seaforth was a symbol of community pride and co-operation between two councils but the tidal pool at nearby Pickering Point is the only one left standing.
Manly
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It was once a symbol of community pride and co-operation between two councils but all that’s left now of the Sangrado St tidal pool at Seaforth are two stone walls and some steps leading down to the water’s edge.
Until 1955, the part of Seaforth west of Wakehurst Parkway and north of Sangrado St – from Powder Hulk Bay to Bantry Bay – was in Warringah Shire.
The border between the Manly and Warringah local government areas ran down the middle of Sangrado St, so any work in or near Sangrado St was referred to as “border work” to which both councils contributed equally, as was also the case with the Queenscliff bridge, Queenscliff rock pool and other areas that straddled or were close to the boundary between the two councils.
As was the case with many of the public pools built along the ocean beaches or in enclosed waterways like Middle Harbour and Pittwater, the tidal pool below Sangrado St was born out of the efforts of local residents.
In June 1930, the Seaforth Progress Association asked that a path be built from Sangrado St to the water’s edge, to which Manly and Warringah councils each contributed £10.
In late 1932, the Association asked both councils for permission to build a swimming enclosure below Sangrado St, to which the councils agreed.
Manly Council also agreed to write to the Maritime Services Board seeking approval for a lease of the site sought by Seaforth resident Sydney Langsworth.
The lease was endorsed by both councils.
The pool was little more than a small shark-proof enclosure measuring about 5m on each side but it was built by voluntary labour, although Warringah Council contributed money to help pay for six turpentine piles and Manly Council contributed shark-proof wire netting.
Importantly for the locals, it was shark-proof.
In early 1934 Manly Council supplied sufficient shark-proof netting to replace the existing netting but Warringah Council was unable to supply timber and corrugated iron requested by the progress association to build a toilet was denied because the council had no timber to spare.
Further requests in 1935 for building materials were also unsuccessful – the Depression had left both councils strapped for cash but in 1936 Manly Council gave the Seaforth Progress Association £10 for repairs to the pool.
In 1938, at the request of the Seaforth Progress Association, the lease of the site of the pool was transferred to the councils by local resident Sydney Langsworth.
The councils were now responsible for the maintenance of the Sangrado St pool or its replacement if its state of repair demanded it.
By 1939 it was obvious that the pool would need replacing and the two councils agreed to spend £250 to build a new pool but the lowest tender received for the work was £450 from P. E. Olsen of Annandale.
Initially Warringah Council was loath to spend that much money but eventually both councils agreed to each contribute £250 towards the cost.
The matter of a new pool raised for the first time the idea of transferring that part of Seaforth from Warringah’s control to Manly’s although nothing happened at the time.
Authority to begin building a new pool was given in March 1940 and construction began soon after.
The new pool was to be 15m wide and 24m long.
Extending out from the shore were to be two stone walls that were continued by a row of timber piles with timber wailings and shark-proof steel mesh.
At the same time, Manly Council began considering resuming two blocks of land immediately south of Sangrado St (and therefore within the Municipality of Manly) to enlarge the reserve around the Sangrado St pool.
The new pool was finished in October 1940 and officially opened on October 19.
Almost immediately further improvements were made to the pool, including ladders, turning boards and a diving board, at a cost of £12, with members of the Seaforth Progress Association providing the labour.
The diving board was in the southern corner of the pool.
On March 8, 1941, a swimming carnival was held at the pool and later that year Manly Council resumed three blocks of land immediately south of Sangrado St for a public reserve.
At the same time, Warringah Council investigated buying two blocks of land immediately north of Sangrado St but the owner was unwilling to sell and although the council considering resuming the blocks, they remain in private hands to this day.
In 1947, further improvements were made to the pool and also to the pathway leading down to the pool from Sangrado St that cost £226, a cost that was, as usual, shared between Manly and Warringah councils.
But there was growing agitation for the part of Seaforth west of Wakehurst Parkway and north of Sangrado St – from Powder Hulk Bay to Bantry Bay – to be transferred from Warringah Council’s control to Manly Council’s and in July 1955 the transfer was gazetted.
From then on, all costs associated with the Sangrado St pool had to be paid for by Manly Council.
In late 1955, the Sangrado St pool got a neighbour in the form of the clubhouse-cum-boatshed of the Seaforth Moth Sailing Club and in 1957 plans were begun for a new tidal swimming pool at nearby Pickering Point.
In September that year, the Pickering Point Progress Association advised Manly Council that it had formed a committee to investigate the construction of a pool at Pickering Point and said it was investigating ways of financing the construction of a new pool by contributions from residents of the area.
In September 1957, three men representing the Association met the council’s Finance and General Purposes Committee and presented it with a plan for the proposed pool and said residents would contribute up to £400 towards the cost of the pool, which it thought would be close to £600.
After plans and specifications for the Pickering Point tidal pool were prepared by Manly Council’s engineer, tenders were sought for the pool’s construction.
But the successful tenderer, Blake’s Shipwright Service, was unable to start work on the pool in the time frame promised and the council was on the verge of seeking new tenderers when the Blake’s Shipwright Service submitted a satisfactory explanation regarding the delay.
In the meantime, the council received a petition from 13 residents of the area who opposed the construction of the pool but the council ignored it, telling the petitioners that it was acting in response to the Pickering Point Progress Association.
In the meantime, Manly Council’s engineer found that seven of the timber piles in the Sangrado St pool were defective and would need replacing.
The successful tenderer to replace the defective piles was made by J. R. Harris for £512 but the price had to be increased to £592 after it was found some of the new piles would need to be longer than those considered in the original tender.
But Blake’s Shipwright Service was unable to begin building the Pickering Point pool, so J. R. Harris successfully tendered for that job as well, quoting a price of £943.
Work on the Pickering Point pool began in late 1958 and was completed in 1959.
It is about 15m wide and 20m long and is built using turpentine piles with timber walings and shark-proof mesh.
It has a timber boardwalk along its northern side.
While the Pickering Point pool is still in good repair, the Sangrado St pool was partially demolished at some point in the late 1990s or early 2000s and all that remains are the two stone walls and the steps that once led down to the pool.
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