In a city better known for its opera house and bridge, it’s easy to overlook Sydney’s ocean pools. But these man-made swim spots hold an important place in our local culture, a love affair that has lasted two centuries. “Sydney’s big collection of ocean pools in one city is unique,” says expert Marie-Louise McDermott. The city boasts more of these public seawater pools than any other in the world, though Cape Town is a close second with 19.
The reason for NSW’s abundance of ocean pools lies in its geography. The southern two-thirds of the state’s coastline consists of sandy beaches flanked by rocky headlands, a balance that makes it feasible to excavat pools without altering the beach’s shape. The sandstone cliffs also provide protection from sou’westerley winds that can whip waves into dangerous surf and send boulders crashing down from the tops of coastal ridges.
But the pools face a new challenge: rising sea levels. That will change how they work, and the ones built on rock platforms will need to be lifted to keep pace with the swell. “There will come a point where you can’t maintain them,” says Nicole Larkin, an architect and ocean pool designer. “You’ll need to take a different approach.”
At the North Sydney Olympic, a community group is fighting for the pool’s future, and it has a lot riding on its success. It has to persuade council to approve a massive bill, pay for the reopening and then cover the ongoing operating costs. And it must do so amid a backdrop of political folly.
“This is a massive financial burden,” says Tink. “And it’s a huge risk for the community.” She points to the federal government’s $10 million grant meant for regional and remote women’s sports as a pre-election cash injection that may have pushed the project through to completion. It’s a move that has angered many locals, including the mayor of Forsyth.
Amid all the angst and finger-pointing, however, there’s another issue at play: the sheer enormity of the project. Regardless of whether the pool will be a success or a failure, it’s likely to cost $100 million. And that’s a lot of money in a city that has fewer than 300,000 residents.
Among the best ocean pools are those in the city’s eastern suburbs, where there’s no shortage of swimming venues. Pick a random subway stop and there’s probably a municipal pool within walking distance, from tame, fenced-off suburban pools to wild rock pools carved into the seasides of Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Some of them are set in rolling parks, like the 50-meter Victoria Park pool next to the University of Sydney, where easy-going locals drift around and college girls in bikinis stop by for a few laps and a latte midmorning. Others are more rustic, tucked away in the foothills of sandstone cliffs, as at Mahon. There, swimmers are at the mercy of the pounding surf, which can sweep them off their feet at high tide and carry them to deeper water in the bay.