Dalby Olympic Swimming Pool facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dalby Olympic Swimming Pool |
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Dalby Swimming Pool Complex, 2008
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| Location | 58 Patrick Street, Dalby, Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1919 - 1930s (interwar period) |
| Built | 1936 |
| Architect | Clifford Ernest Plant |
| Architectural style(s) | Arts & Crafts |
| Official name: Dalby Swimming Pool Complex | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 20 March 2008 |
| Reference no. | 602564 |
| Significant period | 1930s |
| Significant components | pavilion - sports, residential accommodation - staff housing, swimming/bathing enclosure |
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The Dalby Olympic Swimming Pool is a special swimming pool in Dalby, Queensland, Australia. It's listed on the Queensland Heritage Register because it's an important historical site. This pool was designed by Clifford Ernest Plant and opened in 1936. It was one of the first "Olympic standard" pools built outside of Brisbane in Queensland. This means it was big enough for international swimming competitions, just like the pools used in the Olympic Games.
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A Dip into History
The Dalby Olympic Swimming Pool complex was built in 1936. It was the first Olympic-sized pool in Queensland built outside the capital city, Brisbane.
Dalby is one of the oldest European settlements in the Darling Downs area. The town was mapped out in 1853. Land sales started in 1857, and Dalby became a town in 1863.
Swimming has always been popular in Dalby. People first swam in Myall Creek. In 1902, a special bore (a deep hole drilled into the ground to get water) was dug. Baths were then built nearby to use this water. The Dalby Amateur Swimming Club started in 1912. Later, in 1924, public baths called the Dalby Bore Baths were built. These closed in 1938, probably because the new Olympic Pool was much better.
The Rise of Swimming as a Sport
In the 1910s, swimming became very popular around the world. In 1908, the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) was formed. This group helped set rules for swimming, diving, and water polo. They also managed world records and Olympic competitions.
The 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris made swimming even more popular. A special pool, the Piscine des Tourelles, was built for these games. It was 50 metres long and 20 metres wide. This pool set the standard for what an "Olympic pool" should be. Swimmers who wanted to compete internationally needed pools this size to train properly.
In Brisbane, the Fortitude Valley Baths were rebuilt to Olympic standards in 1925-1926. They were 50 metres long and 22 metres wide. This pool no longer exists today.
By the 1930s, swimming was a very exciting sport. Famous swimmers like Duke Kahanamoku, Johnny Weissmuller, and Buster Crabbe even became Hollywood celebrities. In Sydney, four Olympic-sized pools were built in the 1930s. City councils built these pools with help from the government. The government offered loans to create jobs during the Great Depression. These new pools often had beautiful designs by architects. The North Sydney Olympic Pool is a famous example, opened in 1936.
New large pools faced challenges like keeping the water clean and preventing algae. Companies like AH Pierce & Co. helped by importing special chemicals. Pool builders also studied other pool designs. Most new pool complexes included a large Olympic pool, a smaller pool for kids, a diving tower, spectator stands, and changing rooms.
Dalby's Growth and the New Pool
In the early 1930s, Dalby was growing again. This was partly because a harmful plant called the prickly pear cactus had been removed from thousands of acres of land. This plant had made much farmland unusable in the late 1800s and early 1900s. After it was cleared, the land could be used for farming and grazing again. Towns like Dalby, Chinchilla, and Miles saw lots of progress.
During the Great Depression, the government also helped by funding building projects. The Dalby State School was updated, and the Dalby Court House and Police Station were built.
In 1933, the Dalby Town Council decided to form a committee to build an Olympic pool. The idea had been suggested by the Dalby Chamber of Commerce in 1931. The Council hired William J Reinhold as the engineer and Clifford E Plant as the architect. Clifford E Plant also designed other famous bathing pavilions, like the Kings Beach Bathing Pavilion.
Work on the pool started on July 1, 1936. The first swimmers used the pool in late October that year. About 1,550 people visited the pool on its first weekend! The whole complex cost about £11,500. It was officially opened on November 14, 1936, by Frank Cooper, a local politician. About 2,000 people watched the opening. Cooper praised Dalby, saying no town twice or even ten times its size had such a great pool.
At the time, the Dalby pool was the most modern in Queensland. It used the newest equipment to clean and treat the artesian water that filled the pools. In 1938, the Lord Mayor of Brisbane even visited Dalby to see the pool. He wanted to plan similar pools for Brisbane.
The opening of the Dalby pool encouraged swimming in the region. Many swimming clubs were formed, including the Dalby and District Swimming and Life-Saving Club. The pool is still used by community sports clubs today. The first big swimming carnival was held there in February 1937. During World War II, aircrew from a nearby squadron used the Dalby pool for training on how to survive a forced landing at sea.
A Hub for Champions
The 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne sparked even more interest in competitive swimming. Many early Olympic pools in Australia were built around this time. Between 1949 and 1960, swimmers from the Dalby area won about 100 places in Queensland swimming and diving championships.
Many famous Australian swimmers visited and used the Dalby pool. These included Dawn Fraser, Murray Rose, and members of the Konrad family. In 1957-58, the Dalby pool had an amazing 143,167 visitors in one year!
The original wooden spectator stand was replaced with a concrete one in 1971. It was named the Arthur G Obst Stand, after a former pool manager and coach.
In 1983, the pool area was updated. This included replacing pipes and the water treatment system. More recently, the pools have been lined with fibreglass. Fibreglass play features have also been added to the children's pool.
The Dalby Pool Complex is still a popular place for large swimming carnivals. In 2002, one event, the Dalby Open, had 1,734 entries!
What Does the Pool Look Like?
The Dalby Pool complex is in a park-like area. It's behind the Dalby War Memorial and Gates and next to Myall Creek. It's part of a bigger sports area that includes a lawn bowls club and a croquet club.
You get to the open-air pool complex from Patrick Street. Two paths lead from the street and meet behind the war memorial. The pool's main entrance building is behind the memorial. This area has pretty garden beds and flagpoles.
The main entrance building is a single-storey, rectangular building. It has a hipped roof with gables at each end. A central gabled porch leads to turnstiles and the pool area. This entrance area has special granite panels that remember the pool's opening. The building is covered with weatherboards on the bottom part and fibrous cement sheets on top. It has six-pane windows. One side of the building has a service area and kiosk. The other side has club meeting rooms.
At the back of the building, there's another central gabled porch. A wooden pergola covers a paved area that separates the building from the main pool.
Between the entrance building and the main pool, there's a children's pool. It measures 15.2 by 8.4 metres. It has new fibreglass rocks and play features. The main pool is 50 by 15.2 metres. Concrete paths and grassy areas surround the pool. A spectator stand is along one side, with changing rooms underneath. There's also a brick building at the far end of the pool that holds the water treatment equipment.
Within the pool complex grounds, there's also a house for the pool caretaker. It's a small, raised wooden cottage with an enclosed front verandah.
The Arthur G Obst Stand is not the original structure. It is not considered part of the original heritage listing.
Why is it a Heritage Site?
The Dalby Swimming Pool Complex was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on March 20, 2008. It's important for several reasons:
- It shows how Queensland's history developed.
The pool, built in 1936, shows how competitive swimming grew in Queensland. As an Olympic-standard pool from the 1930s, it highlights how popular swimming became for both fun and competition during that time. It also shows how communities could use artesian water for public benefit. The pool also represents the growth of towns in the former prickly pear areas. After the prickly pear cactus was removed in the late 1920s and early 1930s, land could be used again. This led to new growth and wealth in towns like Dalby, Chinchilla, and Miles.
- It's a rare and special part of Queensland's history.
The Dalby Swimming Pool complex is rare because it's the earliest known surviving Olympic-sized swimming pool complex in Queensland. It's the first Olympic pool built outside Brisbane that is still standing. It still has its two pools (the main competition pool and the children's pool), the original entrance building, and the caretaker's house.
- It has a strong connection to the community.
The Dalby Swimming Pool Complex is very important to the people of Dalby and the surrounding area. It's a major sports venue for swimming events. It has helped Dalby swimmers compete at a higher level in Australia. It has also attracted famous Australian and international swimming stars over the years.
Images for kids
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Dalby Swimming Pool Complex, 2008
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Dalby Olympic Swimming Pool, 1940
