Upgrades to the Wylie’s Baths Rock Pool in Coogee have been completed as the summer season approaches. Work done on the public pool took over 100 days but the effort and improvements have been worth the wait.
The community pool closed in mid-May for the installation of new valves vital to the pool’s maintenance. Demolition of the existing stars and the replacement of compliant concrete stairs were also undertaken, along with several much-needed repairs.
“We’ve taken this closure period as an opportunity to do some cleaning, sanding, painting, pressure washing, stair-building, valve-installing, leak-plugging, gardening, scrubbing, reviewing, organising, pest-controlling, irrigating, sewer pump servicing, urinal repairing, roof-sealing, sanding, painting, sanding, painting, sanding, and painting,” the Wylie’s Bath staff posted on social media. “We’re pretty stoked with the results so far and we think you will be too!”
This undertaking was possible with the collaboration of The Wylie’s Baths Trust, Randwick City Council and the contractors from Antoun Civil, along with other tradespeople from GardenLink, Venice Projects, Men In White Painting, GJ Electrical, ESS, The Lone Drainer & Pronto.
The Council shared the video of its completed redevelopment on its Facebook page:
The tidal pool, built in 1907 by Henry Wylie, was where Wilhelmina Wylie, Henry’s daughter, and Sarah Durack trained to swim. They went on to become the first Australian Olympic female swimming champions.
Alteration and repairs of Wylie’s Baths were undertaken several times to maintain and preserve the site, given the harshness of the sea environment. In 2003, the state recognized Wylie’s Baths as a heritage site.
