Last week I completed my summer swims at Newcastle Ocean Baths when the water temperature reached around 17 degrees. Many others are willing to swim there all winter, but my thoughts go to an indoor pool where I could continue swimming and exercising until summer comes again.
Over many years I have followed and sought information about the baths built in 1888 and now underneath the Newcastle City Arcade. I have seen photos over many years printed in the Herald occasionally, and I understand that the remnants of them are still there as shown in photos. How wonderful would it be to see this structure reinstated. A huge job, I know, but it's all there under the floorboards. The arcade itself has long since passed its glory days when there were great little businesses there, all thriving when Hunter Street was a busy commercial hub and worth a trip to town. Very few businesses in the arcade have survived. With more people moving to the East End and more swimmers seeking year-round access to swimming and water exercise, it seems to me like it could be viable.
