The oldest pool
Built in the 1880s, the oldest pool and swimming club in Australia is the Dawn Fraser Baths. It is a tidal saltwater pool located in Elkington Park, Balma…
ThemeHistorical Swimming 
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Historical Swimming
Wilhelmina “Mina” Wylie – Swimming Legend
Wilhelmina "Mina" Wylie (1891 - 1984) was one of Australia's first two female Olympic swimming champions, the other being her friend Fanny Durack (refer to…
Truganini Swims
Cultural warning: Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island readers are advised this article contains images and names of deceased people.
The Tasman Bridge Collapse 5th Jan 1975
The annual Trans Derwent swim is part of the schedule of events for the Royal Hobart Regatta which celebrated its 185th year in February 2024.
JFK & Caroline Swims
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was a competent swimmer which enabled him to save lives during his US Navy service in Wor…
Beatrice Kerr Australia's Champion Lady Swimmer & Diver
Beatrice Kerr was a swimmer and aquatic performer originally from Albert Park in Victoria.
The Swimming Rats of Tobruk
In World War 2, Australian forces were dispatched to secure the Italian-held port of Tobruk in Libya to deny the Axis forces a supply point in their easter…
Gertrude Ederle Swims the English Channel
On August 6, 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the sixth person and first woman to swim across the English Channel. In the face of widespread doubt that a woman…
Swimming made easy for women
On the 3rd of March in 1876 a Sydney Illustrated News article titled "Swimming made easy for women" suggests that the first step in swimming is to "Wet the…
Capt. Mathew Webb swims the English Channel
On 24 August 1875, Captain Matthew Webb of Great Britain became the first person to swim the English Channel. His swim was considered a feat of the impossi…
Benjamin Franklin Swims
Benjamin Franklin taught himself to swim and was a competent swim coach and teacher. “The exercise of swimming is one of the most healthy and agreeable in the world.” - Benjamin Franklin
Yarra Swimming History
from: Yarra – A Diverting History of Melbourne’s Murky River by Kristin Otto
Ross Jones Memorial Pool (Coogee Beach Pool), NSW
This pool has walls resembling the top of a sand castle and has two winter swimming clubs, the Coogee Penguins and the Coogee Huskies.
Bondi Icebergs Pool (Bondi Icebergs Rock Pool, Bondi Baths, Bondi Beach Pool)
Probably the most famous ocean pool in Australia, this complex is home to the Bondi Icebergs, Australia’s best-known winter swimming club. There’s an eight-lane main pool plus a children’s pool.
North Bondi Children’s Pool (Mermaid Pool, Mermaid Baths)
This children’s wading pool is located below the Biddigal Reserve at North Bondi and next to the Wally Weekes Pool. The Bondi Community Art mural mosaic running the length of the children’s pool features sea images.
Mollymook Bogey Hole
This Bogey Hole is a large circular tidal ring-of-rocks pool located at Collers Beach and accessed via Golf and Riversdale Avenue at Mollymook. Inadvertently enlarged and improved by silica-mining activities.
Merewether Ocean Baths (Merewether Baths)
A huge pool complex situated on a rock platform with a 50-metre racing area with diving blocks, a childrens pool and a distinctive pumphouse on the north seaward corner.
Yamba Rock Pool
This superbly sited 33-metre ocean pool with pandanus trees nearby still features on postcards of Yamba. This pool dates from the 1960s.
Terrigal Rock Pool, Terrigal, NSW
At the southern end of Terrigal beach, an easy walk south from the beach along the Terrigal seawall leads to the rock pool.
Newcastle Bogey Hole, Newcastle, NSW
This is the oldest of the New South Wales ocean pools.
North Narrabeen Rock Pool, NSW
A distinctive boardwalk between the pools is an original feature and has been replaced many times. The decking encloses a 50-metre by 18-metre pool within a larger 70-metre by 40-metre pool, while the 60-metre by 50-metre pool reservoir acts as a wading pool
North Curl Curl Rock Pool (Dee Why Head Rock Pool)
A 32-metre by 20-metre rectangular, tidally flushed pool with two rock outcrops forming islands within the pool. Sited on a natural rock shelf with the rock itself forming one side of the pool.
Isa Wye Rockpool (Dee Why Rock Pool , Dee Why Baths), NSW
The 50-metre ocean pool at Dee Why now known as the Isa Wye Rockpool is easily reached by the promenade walk. The pool complex consists of an older main pool and a newer wading pool. This pool complex formed by mass concrete walls and incorporating an outcrop of sandstone.
Putty Beach Rock Pool, Killcare, NSW
A combination ring-of-rocks and rock platform pool at the southern end of Putty Beach. This large ‘bogey hole’ in the rocks was known as a favourite and safe bathing place for children from the 1920s and is still in use.