With its ornate Art Deco Pavilion, the Newcastle Ocean Baths has been a favourite swimming spot for Novocastrians for more than a century. In fact, it’s hard to imagine the Newcastle city coastline without the ocean baths. But plagued by controversy, delays and budget blow-outs our iconic pool was almost never built at all!
Novocastrians love a dip in the ocean
Formal, man-made swimming enclosures have existed in Newcastle since the earliest days of the colony. The Commandant’s Baths, later known as the Bogey Hole, was hand-hewed out of rock by convicts back in 1820 as the personal bathing spot for Lieutenant Colonel Morisset, the Commandant of Newcastle.
Meanwhile, over near Nobby's, soldiers from the fort were using the semi-naturally formed “Soldiers Baths” for their daily rituals. Soon other men of the colony joined them. The women and children bathed separately in an enclosed area at the southern end of Newcastle Beach.
In addition to these outdoor enclosures, indoor, freshwater Corporation Baths were opened in Newcomen St.
By the turn of the century, Newcastle's various baths were in regular use by the public. Swimming was extremely popular as exercise and recreation and swimming carnivals were becoming a regular event. As more people enjoyed the sport the existing facilities, especially those outdoors, were proving wholly inadequate.
What the public wanted was a large, modern outdoor swimming complex that took in all the advantages of nature: the sunlight and refreshing ocean waters, but was walled safely away from the currents, sharks, pollution and other nuisances.
Novocastrians have always loved taking a dip
A Blue Sky project comes to life
The idea of Newcastle having an ocean baths complex was first flagged in 1899. But it wasn’t until 1910 that Newcastle Council finally settled on a location and began to undertake the construction works.
It was envisaged that Newcastle’s baths would be the ‘finest in the state’. Measuring 300x150 yards (100x50m) with varying depths, diving platforms and racing lanes, they would accommodate the different levels and needs of swimmers from adult to child; from the competitive professional to the recreational novice. The complex would also include an elaborate pavilion, gymnasium, cafeteria, changing facilities for both men and women, heated saltwater baths and promenades.
Needless to say, the plan for such a grandiose bathing complex was eagerly received and £3,000 raised to fund the project. After several years deliberating on exactly where the baths should be located, the issue of the site was finally settled and construction began in 1911.
However, the rock shelf site proved immediately problematic to work with, even with Newcastle’s vast mining expertise. The enormous pool first had to be blasted out of the solid rock plateau. An air compressor drill and electric crane were also called into action and a small rail line used draught horses to carry the rocks away.
Shortly after construction began, and long before the works were anywhere near completion, the budget ran out. A loan was negotiated that would at least cover the pool and it was decided the pavilion would have to wait.
The baths unofficially opened, incomplete, on New Years Day 1913. It was billed as a chance to allow the public to see the project and enjoy the water over the summer holidays. The Ocean Baths was an instant success. Thousands descended on the pool from as far as Dungog and Singleton. They arrived by train at the nearby Newcastle Station or by tram to the terminus and took the short walk down to the promenade. Many were in awe at the vast, tranquil pool. Even the temporary wooden dressing sheds were found to be spacious and comfortable.
“The site of the vast sheet of water was very pleasing indeed”
Despite budget restrictions, there had been few cutbacks in quality. The pool lining and promenade surfaces that had been blasted from the raw rock were clean, smooth and without protrusions. The pool also made use of modern technology such as an electric pump to maintain the freshness of the water. Lifeguards patrolled the promenades, keeping an eye out for any swimmers in distress as well as any persons flouting the rules of safety or decency.
News of Newcastle's mammoth pool quickly spread. The baths were regularly visited by swimming and diving celebrities from around the world. Champion swimmers like Alick Wickham and Fanny Durack tested the waters by attempting to break race records. Even Duke Kahanamoku, the famous Hawaiian swimmer and surfing pioneer, performed an exhibition at the baths in 1915.
The Pavilion takes shape
The Ocean Baths remained open, but plagued with budget blow-outs and funding cuts, the pavilion was still frustratingly unfinished several years on.
Finally, with the assistance of a state government loan, a scaled-back pavilion with change sheds and refreshment areas was built. And, on 25 November 1922, the Ocean Baths complex ‘officially’ opened.
Despite already being operational for almost a decade, the gala opening day was a major celebration filled with swimming races, diving displays, polo matches and other novelty events, Local officials proudly claimed that Newcastle’s Ocean Baths were probably the finest in all the Commonwealth.
The facade was further upgraded in 1928 when its art deco flourishes were added. The striped classical art deco style is thought to be unique in bathing pavilions but it wasn’t the pavilions first iteration. The baths’ pavilion was designed by local architect F G Castelden. He had been engaged on the project since works were first proposed in the early 1900s. By 1913, with the budget looking dire, Castleden reworked the design paring it down to make it more affordable. The final build featured change rooms and refreshment areas as well as ‘empty’ rooms that could be utilised later as gymnasiums or other functions.
Had the initial budget been sufficient and the works completed on time, the iconic pavilion would have looked wholly different. Most likely a grand structure reflecting the Edwardian era when works were started rather than the sleek deco lines of the later 1920s that we see today.
The Mysterious Map Pool
Newcastle’s Ocean Baths continued to have further modifications and additions.
In September 1937, the fascinating Map Pool was opened. It had started life a few years earlier as “the young mariners' pool”; a simple walled tidal space where children could sail their small boats without getting into trouble in the surf or the sea.
The map pool upgrade featured a spectacular 20 meter elliptical map of the world. The coloured concrete atlas sat 20cm above the low tide mark and allowed children to embark on around-the-world sailing trips within the safety of home.
But the map was damaged during a storm and much of it removed in the late 1960s. Maintenance was stopped, sand covered over what remained of the 'world' and, with the map no longer visible, the pool was simply referred to as the “canoe pond”.
It’s thought that the maps remnants still remain beneath the sand and are occasionally visible in the right tide and weather conditions.
An Icon Enjoyed for Generations...
Today, the Ocean Baths complex contains 3 swimming zones: a 50m lap pool for conscientious swimmers and competitions; the enormous main pool measuring 100m x 50m; and a large circular childrens' wading area known as the ‘canoe pond’.
Jutting out on an exposed point, the baths have regularly been buffeted by high waves, heavy swells, ‘east coast lows’ and an earthquake. It even became the casualty of war when, on 7 June 1942, a shell from a Japanese submarine shattered part of the sea wall.
Over the decades, the Baths have undergone extensive rejuvenation and maintenance programs. The pool required repairs after the infamous Sygna storm of 1974 when parts of the catwalk ended up in the clifftop Tramway Reserve. In 1989, an earthquake caused major structural damage to the pavilion.
More works are currently planned for both the outdoor and indoor spaces making this grand old complex user-friendly for the next generation of Novocastrian swimmers.
HH The Ocean Baths are located on The Esplanade between Newcastle and Nobby’s beaches. Entry is free and baths are opened daily except Wednesdays when they are emptied & cleaned.