The Entrance Ocean Pools facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Entrance Ocean Pools |
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The Entrance Ocean Pools, 2018
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| Location | The Entrance, Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia |
| Built | 1938–1965 |
| Owner | Central Coast Council |
| Official name: Entrance Ocean Pools, The; The Entrance Ocean Baths | |
| Type | State heritage (landscape) |
| Designated | 22 August 2003 |
| Reference no. | 1663 |
| Type | Swimming Pool - tidal |
| Category | Urban Area |
| Builders | Erina Shire Council |
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The Entrance Ocean Pools are a special set of swimming pools located right by the ocean in The Entrance, Australia. These pools are considered a very important heritage-listed site. They were built a long time ago, between 1938 and 1965, by the Erina Shire Council. Many people also call them The Entrance Ocean Baths. Today, the Central Coast Council owns and looks after them. They were added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 2003 because of their history and importance to the community.
Contents
History of the Ocean Pools
The main pool is 50-metre (160 ft) long and has seven lanes, making it an Olympic size. It was built starting in 1938 by the Erina Shire Council. It was placed near an older rock pool called "Roberts' Pool."
Around this time, people started to see swimming differently. It became more about fun, sports, and staying healthy, not just for cleaning or healing. Many swimming clubs started, and they needed good places to swim. So, local councils built new pools or made existing ones bigger, like here at The Entrance. The ocean baths also offered a safe place to swim away from the dangerous ocean waves.
The pool was built on a natural rock platform. It filled up with water from the ocean tides, which sometimes took a whole week! Every six to eight weeks, the pool was drained. Workers would blast a channel through the rock to let the water out. Then, they would clean the walls and the natural rock bottom as the water slowly went away.
The pools got better in the 1940s. A pumping station and pipes were added to help manage the water. Around the same time, a swimming club was started. This club helped raise money for things like a clubhouse. The Erina Shire Council also built toilets and changing rooms near the pool.
In 1951, more improvements were made. A concrete floor and sides were added over the dug-out rock. The Entrance Amateur Swimming Club officially formed on July 10, 1953. Fred Lewis was their first President. Later, in 1965, a small "Baby Wading Pool" and a medium-sized pool called the "Fred Lewis Pool" were added. In April 1967, a winter swimming club called the Tuggerah Tuffs was formed. In 1995, the pumps were updated.
The Entrance was a very popular place for summer holidays, especially for people from cities and rural areas. The Entrance Amateur Swimming Club and the Ocean Baths offered free swimming lessons during summer. Many people from all over New South Wales learned to swim for the first time at these pools.
What the Pools Look Like
The Entrance Ocean Pools have three main concrete and rock pools. There's the large 50-metre (160 ft) Olympic pool, a smaller wading pool for babies, and a medium-sized pool. These pools are built into and on the rocky shoreline.
There are also two brick buildings. These buildings contain toilets, changing rooms, a small shop (kiosk), a club meeting room, and storage areas. A concrete path connects all these parts. Along the western side, there are rows of concrete seats built like steps. There are also different stairs and ramps. Some parts of the intermediate pool and the seating area have fixed shade covers.
In 1994 and 2009, the pools were described as being in "fair condition," meaning they were in reasonable shape.
Changes Over Time
The pools have been changed and improved several times:
- 1940: The intermediate and wading pools were built, along with a pump station and pipes.
- 1950s: A concrete floor and sides were put over the dug-out rock in the main pool.
- 1965: The wading and intermediate pools were built (this might refer to a major rebuild or addition of the current ones).
- 1970s: The water pipeline was made bigger, the pool floor was redone, and the concrete path (concourse) was built.
- 1995: The pumps were updated and the water system was improved.
Why the Pools are Important
The Entrance Ocean Baths are the only ocean pool on the Central Coast. They were built between 1938 and 1965. This group of three pools and their buildings are important because they show how ocean baths changed over the 20th century.
The pools started as a simple rock pool and grew into a complex of ocean baths. This happened as amateur swimming became popular and people needed good places to swim. The development also shows a bigger change in society. People moved from swimming mostly for health or hygiene to swimming for fun and competition.
The place where the baths are located was known to Aboriginal people as a natural fish trap. This shows a connection between how Aboriginal people used the land and how Europeans later adapted it.
The Entrance Ocean Baths have been a central place for fun, learning to swim, and competitive swimming since 1938. The Entrance was a popular holiday spot for many working-class families and people from rural areas. Many generations of locals and tourists learned to swim here, so the baths are very well-loved.
The baths are connected to The Entrance Amateur Swimming Club, which started in 1953, and the Tuggerah Tuffs, a winter swimming club formed in 1967. A swimmer named Christine Deakes, who was a member of the Amateur Swimming Club, even represented Australia at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico!
Ocean pools like these are not built anymore. This is because of problems with the harsh ocean environment, public health and safety rules, and changes in what communities expect.
The Entrance Ocean Pools were added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on August 22, 2003, because they met several important criteria:
- They show how history unfolded in New South Wales.
The Entrance Ocean Pools are historically important. They show how a simple rock pool, known to Aboriginal people as a fish trap, became a complex of ocean baths. The growth of the site between 1938 and 1965 matches the rise of amateur swimming clubs and swimming as a sport.
- They are linked to important people or groups in New South Wales history.
The Entrance Ocean Baths are connected to The Entrance Amateur Swimming Club (started 1953) and the "Tuggerah Tuffs" winter swimming club (started 1967). Christine Deakes, a member of the Amateur Swimming Club, was chosen for the 1968 Olympic Games. The site is also linked to the Aboriginal people who knew the rock shelf as a natural fish trap.
- They have great beauty or show clever design in New South Wales.
The Entrance Ocean Baths look very beautiful. They are a landmark by the ocean because of where they are placed at the end of The Entrance's main surf beach. They connect the land and sea in a low, flat design.
- They are important to a community or group in New South Wales for social or cultural reasons.
The Entrance Ocean Baths have been a central place for fun, swimming lessons, and competitive swimming since 1938. The Entrance was a popular holiday spot for working people and rural communities. The pools show how popular swimming became as a sport and hobby in Australia. The pools' popularity and growth are closely linked to the amateur swimming movement. Many people love the baths, which is shown by the 9,310 signatures supporting their heritage listing.
- They could teach us more about New South Wales's history.
The Entrance Ocean Pools are important for research. They can show us how ocean baths changed technically in the 20th century. They also show the cultural and social changes that led to these developments. The site can also show the connection between how Aboriginal people chose and used sites and how Europeans later used and changed them.
- They are rare or unusual in New South Wales.
The Entrance Ocean Baths are one of only nine ocean pools built on the NSW coast in the 1920s and 1930s. It is the only one on the Central Coast.
- They show the main features of a certain type of historical place in New South Wales.
The Entrance Ocean Baths represent a type of community facility that is no longer built. This is because of challenges with the harsh ocean environment, public health and safety rules, and changes in what communities expect today.
