On a sunny Sydney Friday afternoon, a group of extremely athletic people in sailor costumes float merrily across a stretch of water, encased in inflatable spheres. On land, similarly dressed athletic people slowly pull them along with strings as the performers strike acrobatic poses and wave to passersby.
In the background is Sydney Harbour, its famous bridge and the Opera House. To the right, Luna Park’s iconic gates and a ferris wheel.
This is the opening of the most expensive public pool redevelopment in Australia’s history, looking out at one of the nation’s most famous views. Of course it’s going to be a grand affair.
Prior to North Sydney pool officially reopening to the public at 2.30pm, coveted guests, including the former Olympians Zali Steggall (also the federal MP) and Dr Shane Gould, gather to admire the newly unveiled facilities.
Waiters pass around triangle sandwiches as light doo-wop plays cheerily from the speakers. Roving acrobats wearing 1930s swimwear and matching caps spin hula hoops from their hips. It might be the middle of winter, but there isn’t a cloud in the sky – of course there isn’t! The pool water is glistening.
Outside, a group of schoolchildren on their way to Luna Park stop to peer through the historic arches, shouldering each other to get a good look. Tourists on passing ferries snap pictures and wave.
A crowd of hundreds begins to line up outside – for the first three days, entry is free, and they’re expecting thousands of visitors to pass through. Regulars have been waiting a long time – five years, in fact – to return to this place.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailThat’s how long the $122m renovations have taken. The famous art deco pool, which first opened in 1936 and has been a training ground for countless elite athletes, was due to reopen in 2022 after closing for a major refurbishment. But it was hampered by delays and ballooning costs.
The local mayor, Zoë Baker, acknowledges this in the opening ceremony, and says it is “no secret” that she opposed the scale and cost of the redevelopment from the outset.
“This current council inherited a challenging project, one that has kept me awake at night,” she says. “It was, from inception, always a $100m-plus project, and you only have to look around to see that. It is true.”
Now that it is here, though, there is cause for celebration. Baker speaks of the power of water, of swimming pools as a utilitarian space for “connections, stories and legends”. She quotes Joan Didion, who wrote: “A pool is water made available and useful and is, as such, infinitely soothing.” In the water, we are all stripped to our bathers and laid bare.
Gould tells the crowd that buildings become landmarks because of the architecture, but become legends because of the people who fill them. “May this place continue to inspire health, courage, friendship and community for generations to come,” she says.
With that, the lane ropes are laid out and the doors flung open. A crowd floods in to cheers of “welcome back” from staff, and soon the pool is a sea of swimmers gliding through the water in clean lines.
Some have travelled from hours away, including Ian and Jan, who took the train from the southern highlands on Friday morning. Jan has been completing a “quest” to swim in as many pools as she can. She says this may be her favourite. “This is special,” she says. “It’s been here since 1936 … and with the Sydney Harbour Bridge there, how do you beat it?”
The heritage has been retained, including the iconic stucco arches and 1930s brickwork. But much is new. There are now two indoor pools, a spa, sauna and steam room, children’s outdoor splash pad, gym and gelato bar. Still, there is a sense that the feel of the place hasn’t left – nor has its devoted community.
“Bloody fast, fast pool,” one of the first to hop in jokes to his friend. “It was nice,” another sighs happily, glistening in the sun.
One person, who wishes to remain anonymous, becomes teary reflecting on the decades they’ve spent swimming weekly laps in the outdoor pool. “I didn’t expect it would feel so emotional,” she says. “But it’s more than just a pool.”
Jen Beach has been coming to North Sydney pool for more than 50 years, usually with her father, who was born in 1932, the same year as the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
“He came three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday,” she says. “Dad and I swam here on the last day, and we had champagne with the staff … the very last swim here.”
They had been hoping to return together, but six months ago he died. “The one thing I kept saying to him was North Sydney pool’s going to reopen,” she says. “It’s been a goal for him and now me to get back in the pool. So here we are today. And he’s here in spirit.”
As revellers splash in the water and lifeguards in their iconic red roam the boundaries, it is time for me to try it out. Despite being a pool aficionado, this is my first time here, having moved to Sydney in late 2021. The temperature is a lovely 28C, and the sun is still in the sky.
I take a deep breath, and make the leap. It feels like every swimming pool I have ever experienced in my life. Absolutely perfect.
