When you think of sidney pools, the sleek white lines of Bondi Icebergs are likely to spring to mind. The iconic pool at the south end of Australia’s most famous beach is crowded 12 months a year with lap swimmers battling the white foamy waves that crash into its walls. It’s the kind of visually resplendent spot that inspires a flood of reminiscences from Sydneysiders of whiling away their childhoods there; about learning to swim in the shallow enclaves under threats of being swept out to sea; of graduating from these shallow enclaves into the vast abyss – their rites of passage.
But the story of this tidal pool and the wider network of rock pools that dot Sydney’s coast and shoreline is a much more complex and nuanced tale than just another Aussie tourism ploy. For that reason, a new documentary called The Pool is an important addition to the narrative of this place.
Featuring interviews with locals and regular swimmers, the film offers an intimate snapshot of this cherished community. It introduces us to a host of colourful characters, from the 77-year-old former champion long-distance swimmer who now teaches his own grandchildren how to swim, to the woman whose cancer treatments were tempered with a weekly dip in the lanes. It also reveals the entrenched practice of using public pools to subsidise private benefits.
Two recent examples of this are Gunyama Park Aquatic Centre in Green Square and Parramatta’s new Olympic pool, both of which were designed by the same architectural team. They’re a welcome contribution to our city’s waterscape but, taken together, they illuminate an entrenched Sydney habit of directing public benefit towards the already privileged.
As an architectural historian, I find this galling. But the broader point is that these rock pools are not just monuments to a lost way of life; they’re essential to our city’s health and wellbeing. Ocean swimming has soared in the past 18 months during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the demand for pools to help people stay fit while stuck at home is growing. The pools are also a great asset in showcasing the amazing harbour surrounds and climate that Sydney is famous for.
There’s a case to be made for creating more such pools in Sydney. But if the money is being used to subsidise private gains, it’s not helping the swimming community. And the fact that the first pool was built using funds from a reserve set aside for regional women’s sporting facilities makes it an especially brazen example of porkbarrelling. It explains why the film’s director, Paul Kelly, was so keen to expose this political sleight-of-hand when it was announced. Hopefully this film will prompt some reflection amongst councillors and voters on where their money is being spent. Certainly it would be far better spent building more ocean and city pools. That’s what Sydney truly needs.