Australia’s most spectacular ocean pools
A new book offers a photographic ode to our iconic swimming spots and reveals the little-known history behind each pool.
Coogee Beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs is a small strip of shoreline just 500M from end to end. Yet this beach has four ocean pools, one of which is the only strictly women and children ocean pool in Australia. The four pools of Coogee are featured in a new book surveying 75 ocean pools around the country.
Ocean Pools by Marie-Louise McDermott, with photography by Chris Chen, celebrates ocean pools that have been developed by human efforts rather than formed naturally. Each pool is illustrated in a double-page spread (or more), and the book includes information on its history as well as a guide to its amenities, accessibility and location.
It’s a fascinating look at the history of ocean pools in Australia – many were built as part of Depression-era job creation schemes, and after the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and the success of the Australian swim team they were considered a good training ground for future champions. On these pages are just a handful of the beautiful and often humble coastal swimming spots.
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North Cronulla Rock Pool
When this pool opened at the northernmost end of Cronulla in 1932, it was lit with powerful floodlights for night bathing – popular at the time because stripping down to your swimmers in daylight was either prohibited or frowned upon.
Gentlemen’s Pool, North Wollongong
This pool was blasted from the rock platform in the late 19th century and was used for swimming competitions. Many Wollongong residents learnt to swim, trained or competed in swimming carnivals here.
McIver’s Ladies Baths, Coogee
This 33m pool shares a rock platform with the nearby Wylie’s Baths but it is barely visible from those baths or the neighbouring reserve. Built in the late 19th century, McIver’s Ladies Baths operates under an exemption from NSW anti-discrimination laws and is open only to women and children.
The Blue Pool, Bermagui
A product of the Depression years, this pool was created using labour from the local surf lifesaving club and NSW government funds, and helped attract tourists to the south coast town. When it opened in 1938 the pool’s floor was painted blue.
Greens Pool, Western Australia
This is the granddaddy of all of Australia’s ring-of-rock pools – a pool where nature has done most of the work and human intervention is largely about access. Greens Pool is within the William Bay National Park near Denmark in Western Australia.
Malabar Ocean Pool
A pool has existed on this site since the late 19th century but its location next to one of Sydney’s major sewage outlets meant it was closed to swimmers for decades. After the construction of deep ocean sewage outfalls in the 1990s, a successful campaign saw it reopened in 1997.
Newcastle Ocean Baths
This impressive ocean pool is hidden behind a heritage-listed Art Deco façade. A major upgrade to the baths is currently under way and is expected to be completed early next year.
Ocean Pools by Marie-Louise McDermott and Chris Chen is published by Thames & Hudson, $59.99.
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