Australian coastline offers ample opportunities for what Kate Rew from Britain’s Outdoor Swimming Society calls “wild swimming.” Instead of an indoor pool setting, tidal rock pools on Sydney surf beaches attract swimmers and beachgoers to experience recreational swimming, diving, snorkelling, exercise, sunbaking, wave-play and other forms of wave play.
These ocean pools, designed to allow waves to wash into them while keeping out large sharks, also function as public bathing spaces that can be accessed year-round and at any hour of day or night. Boasting stunning ocean, beach and sky views – offering an enthralling alternative to overcrowded beaches! Ocean pools allow users to experience immersion in lively seawater while remaining safe from rip currents that cause many coastal drownings and rescues; plus they’re completely free for use!
Bondi Beach in Sydney became home to Sydney’s first ocean pool when it opened in 1886, followed by similar facilities at Coogee and Bronte beaches shortly thereafter. These were designed as safe havens for bathers during daylight hours without fear of dangerous swells or being attacked by sharks; their popularity endured even after daytime bathing was legalised on surf-coast beaches in late 1890s when club swimming events and synchronised displays became part of beach life.
Sydney’s ocean pools were developed throughout the twentieth century, though development began earlier at Cronulla and some eastern Sydney beaches. Most are situated at the southern end of beaches to protect swimmers from southerly winds and surf, and most include changing rooms and showers – these oases of calm serve as original infinity pools!
Wylie’s Baths in Coogee is one of the best-known tidal pools, named for Henry Alexander Wylie – an award-winning long distance and underwater swimmer – built in 1907. Surrounded by gorgeous sandstone cliffs dotted with raised decking, its lovely tidal pool stretches along both sides of Wedding Cake Island for spectacular views from both ends of its length.
Elkington Park Baths in Balmain opened to commemorate Australia’s centenary as an independent nation in 1936 and still retains much of its Victorian elegance, featuring corrugated iron walls with cream- and green-hued corrugations, whitewashed pavilion, set beneath Balmain cove sandstone cliffs, making this pool a favorite spot among long distance and sprint swimmers as it has hosted multiple world records, cheered on by an appreciative audience sitting on steep concrete grandstands.
North Sydney Pool rounds out this list, nestled beneath the sandstone cliffs in suburban North Sydney. In 2021, this iconic pool became embroiled in controversy when Clover Moore (then Lord Mayor of Sydney) unveiled plans to turn it into an indoor swimming pool – plans which were widely perceived as vanity projects by critics who demanded her resignation as Lord Mayor.
North Sydney Pool’s reopening will depend on an ambitious community fundraising campaign, including renting space to fashion shows, production companies and private parties – activities well outside the usual remit of local pools. But some councillors cautioned against such undertakings: “It is not our bread and butter to undertake $60m-$70m projects,” warned North Sydney councillor Anne Baker.
