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Wagga City Baths
It was a long awaited achievement for Wagga to have its own public swimming pool. To celebrate, an official opening of the Wagga Wagga City Baths was held on Saturday, November 28th, 1953. To coincide with the occasion, the Wagga Wagga Amateur Swimming and Life Saving Club hosted a grand opening swimming carnival, which featured Australia’s champion swimmers and divers, an exhibition water polo match, and an old fashioned swim suit burlesque parade.
A large crowd of 3500 people gathered to the Baths for the official opening; the gate-takings for the day amounted to £248. Among the star swimmers and special guests were Jon Henricks, Noel Ryan and Sir Frank Beaurepaire.
The day was the culmination of a great amount of hard work, planning and above all, patience.
Initial Council planning of the project began in 1946 with the decision made on Bolton Park as the site for the pool, over other Council grounds such as Collins Park and the Memorial Gardens. Mr Stephen J. O’Halloran was appointed the consulting architect for the venture and a Swimming Baths Committee was formed.
As time went on the plan emerged into an elaborate swimming complex fitted with modern amenities, then considered of international standard. The Baths within an area of 4 ½ acres, contained an Olympic standard pool, diving pool (10m, 5m, 2 x 3m, and 2 x 1m boards), children’s wading pool, kiosk, administration block, dressing rooms, lockers, playground, showers and toilets, a first-aid room and electric turnstiles.
The cost of establishing the Wagga Wagga City Baths was £140,000. During the process of developing the Baths, the Wagga Council was faced with a number of frustrating circumstances, none more trying than the difficulty in acquiring materials for the project. It seems that building materials were in such short supply after the war that priority was given to other areas of industry such as housing.
Completing the Baths and having it ready for public use was a triumph that brought great satisfaction to all involved. After seven years in the making, many people would have wondered if the project would ever come to fruition.
After a month of operating, there were over 50,000 visitors to the Baths. General admission was two shilling for adults and six pence for children. The Baths were first managed by Mr H. Clarke and were open seven days a week from October through to March.
Sources: Wagga Wagga City Council Minute Books, 1946-1953; The Daily Advertiser, October – November 1953; Souvenir of the Official Opening of the Wagga Wagga City Baths (RW446)
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| jollyjames | Wagga Baths 1953 | 2 | Apr 24 2011, 6:00 AM EDT by AndrewFogarty | ||
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Thread started: Feb 13 2011, 5:42 PM EST
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My Dad Harold Clark was the Manager of these baths when it first opened, as I was only a young child I do not know much about this part of my life. I still have nieces and nephews in the Wagga area but have lost contact. Can any one give me more information.
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