Balmain & Glebe Heritage
Dawn Fraser Swimming Pool
See where this picture was taken.
The Dawn Fraser Swimming Pool is important for its historic associations with the development of recreational and competitive swimming and water polo in Australia. It has had particular associations since 1884 with the Balmain Amateur Swimming and Life Saving Club, the oldest active swimming club in Australia.
The pool's name honours the club's most famous member, a winner of gold medals in three Olympic Games, whose swimming career was established at the pool. This is one of the few surviving tidal public baths which were once common in Sydney Harbour, and it is the only one complete with most of its buildings.
These 1904-24 buildings are important for the way they demonstrate the characteristics of early twentieth century public baths. The pool is also of considerable social value as a venue which has been used for sport and recreation by the Balmain community from 1883 to the present.
Description:
An irregularly shaped portion of Sydney Harbour, used as swimming baths, enclosed by a timber structure supported by timber piles where it is above the water. The entance to the baths is marked by a squat tower, separating two timber buildings along the curve of the foreshore, which contain the changing rooms for men and women and the swimming pool office.
The buildings opposite, on the harbour side, house the Balmain Swimming and Life Saving Club. They comprise club change rooms and a tiered stand for spectators. The room in the tower houses the archives of the swimming club, which go back to its foundation in 1884, and also serves as a club meeting room.
The pool itself is surrounded by a timber deck used for access, watching swimming races, sunbaking, etc. At low tide there is a small sandy beach alongside entrance.
History: a tidal swimming pool, 30 yards long, and associated structures were established at this site, in 1883. The pool was remodelled and enlarged in 1904, when Elkington Park was landscaped, and again in 1924. Each time the enclosed area was increased and the buildings were improved. The complex was renovated in 1983.
In 1964 the pool was renamed in honour of Dawn Fraser, local resident and Olympic Swimming Champion at three consecutive games. She learnt to swim at the pool and swam with the Leichhardt-Balmain League of Swimmers from the ages of eight to thirteen, then had two seasons with the Balmain Ladies Club and won two New South Wales Championships.
The Balmain Swimming and Life Saving Club, thought to be the first such club in Australia, was founded in March 1884, shortly after the pool was opened. When it celebrated its centenary, it was the first Australian swimming club to do so, and few others have done so since. Many of its members have achieved distinction, in swimming, water polo, diving and life saving. Australia's first water polo game is believed to have been played at the pool. The Balmain Club won the initial New South Wales Polo Premiership in the 1895-96 season.
Dawn Fraser Swimming Pool
See where this picture was taken.
The Dawn Fraser Swimming Pool is important for its historic associations with the development of recreational and competitive swimming and water polo in Australia. It has had particular associations since 1884 with the Balmain Amateur Swimming and Life Saving Club, the oldest active swimming club in Australia.
The pool's name honours the club's most famous member, a winner of gold medals in three Olympic Games, whose swimming career was established at the pool. This is one of the few surviving tidal public baths which were once common in Sydney Harbour, and it is the only one complete with most of its buildings.
These 1904-24 buildings are important for the way they demonstrate the characteristics of early twentieth century public baths. The pool is also of considerable social value as a venue which has been used for sport and recreation by the Balmain community from 1883 to the present.
Description:
An irregularly shaped portion of Sydney Harbour, used as swimming baths, enclosed by a timber structure supported by timber piles where it is above the water. The entance to the baths is marked by a squat tower, separating two timber buildings along the curve of the foreshore, which contain the changing rooms for men and women and the swimming pool office.
The buildings opposite, on the harbour side, house the Balmain Swimming and Life Saving Club. They comprise club change rooms and a tiered stand for spectators. The room in the tower houses the archives of the swimming club, which go back to its foundation in 1884, and also serves as a club meeting room.
The pool itself is surrounded by a timber deck used for access, watching swimming races, sunbaking, etc. At low tide there is a small sandy beach alongside entrance.
History: a tidal swimming pool, 30 yards long, and associated structures were established at this site, in 1883. The pool was remodelled and enlarged in 1904, when Elkington Park was landscaped, and again in 1924. Each time the enclosed area was increased and the buildings were improved. The complex was renovated in 1983.
In 1964 the pool was renamed in honour of Dawn Fraser, local resident and Olympic Swimming Champion at three consecutive games. She learnt to swim at the pool and swam with the Leichhardt-Balmain League of Swimmers from the ages of eight to thirteen, then had two seasons with the Balmain Ladies Club and won two New South Wales Championships.
The Balmain Swimming and Life Saving Club, thought to be the first such club in Australia, was founded in March 1884, shortly after the pool was opened. When it celebrated its centenary, it was the first Australian swimming club to do so, and few others have done so since. Many of its members have achieved distinction, in swimming, water polo, diving and life saving. Australia's first water polo game is believed to have been played at the pool. The Balmain Club won the initial New South Wales Polo Premiership in the 1895-96 season.