The City of Sydney is proud to provide our communities with 6 outstanding aquatic centres. Each offers a variety of water sports, swim programs, and social events for the whole family to enjoy.
From the infinitely Instagrammable Bondi Icebergs to neighbourhood pools tucked into the corners of Sydney’s rocky coastline, we have a long-held love affair with ocean pools. They are where a family can get away from the surf, where swimmers can do laps safely, where kids can splash about and where older people find an elixir of youth.
But it wasn’t always so. When convicts carved – and occasionally dynamited – Australia’s first ocean pools in the 1800s, they were often designed to protect against predators, such as sharks. They were also built to keep swimmers safe from the roiling waters of the Pacific Ocean, which could turn tumultuous in a matter of seconds.
With its stunning location overlooking the harbour bridge, Mosman Collective’s pool was one of the most famous pools in Depression-era Sydney and cemented Australia’s dominance as a swimming nation. Dawn Fraser, Murray Rose, Lorraine Crapp and Ilsa Konrads all swam to glory in its blue waters and eighty-six world records were set there between 1953 and 1978. But the pool’s legacy wasn’t all good. The site was originally a construction site for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and when Mosman Council decided to build a swimming pool here, it drew controversy.
It took less than a year to complete the Rudder and Grout-designed pool on a former construction site for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The pool became the most popular in Depression-era Sydney and a symbol of Australia’s newfound prosperity, with swimmers lining up to take a dip.
In the decades that followed, the pool would go on to serve as the starting point for some of the country’s greatest achievements in international competition. Australia’s best-known female swimmer, Evelyn Whillier, used the pool to train for the 1936 Berlin Olympics and it was at this pool that Australians reclaimed gold in the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics.
In recent years, the pool has become a favourite spot for school-based swim and water sport activities. It is a wonderful multi-generational space for aquatic recreation, allowing children to build their confidence in the water and learn lifelong skills, while adults can swim laps and use the facility for therapeutic or fitness training.
With its pastel pink dive tower and old-school Olympic aesthetic, Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre evokes the memories of Sydney’s great Olympic legacy. But the pool’s legacy extends beyond its seven lanes, with the facility providing the community with a unique, one-of-a-kind outdoor space. The shady surroundings and sweeping view of the Parramatta River make it the perfect place to spend a hot summer’s day. And if you’re not too tired after crawling laps, the nearby Rozelle markets are perfect for a post-swim snack and beverage.