Aslings Beach Rock Pool, Eden | Encyclopedia Of South East History

Aslings Beach Rock Pool, Aslings Beach, Eden:

Originally known as the Eden Memorial Swimming Pool, the ocean baths at the southern end of Aslings Beach were constructed between January and October 1961 as a replacement for the town's original 1904-built Thompson's Point facility.

After more than thirty years of use, extensions to those earlier baths were being investigated by the mid-1930s and with a shark proof swimming area considered an "...absolute necessity...", Imlay Shire Council was approached for assistance. However, although they agreed to submit an application for funding to the Minister for Works and Local Government Mr. Spooner, the Burragate Bridge was considered a more important facility.

Soon afterwards, the Eden Advancement Association began looking at alternatives to extending the Thompson's Point baths and so began a lengthy twenty-five year process. Between the mid-1930s and 1960, numerous alternative sites were considered, including Snug Cove, Cattle Bay, the wharf area at the end of Weecoon Street, Yallumgo Cove (Ross' Bay), Shelly Beach, Imlay Park and the northern and southern ends of Aslings Beach. A range of different enclosure formats were also investigated, including wire netting, heavy rope shark proof nets, stone sea walls, and rock pools, with other local governments such as Manly, Sutherland, Kiama, Kogarah, Bulli, Ramsgate, Cronulla and Rockdale all being consulted regarding cost, life span and suitability. Imlay Shire Council would ultimately prepare plans, specifications and cost estimated for a number of alternative proposals before the Aslings Beach site was decided upon.

Image © Angela George. All rights reserved.

A shark proof net swimming enclosure at Cattle Bay was the most popular option for about a decade, and in 1937 £1,000 of a £10,000 state government shire-wide town improvement fund was earmarked for baths at that spot, conditional on Imlay Shire purchasing the frontage lot and additional land to enable revenue generation from camping facilities. The local community commenced fundraising but when the Summer of 1939 rolled around, little progress had been made and local media were lamenting the "...need for adequate and safe bathing facilities..."

Despite the apparent lack of local government action, Eden Advancement Association was not willing to allow the Cattle Bay site to fall from favour and in November 1939 they took up an option to purchase land from Mrs. A. C. Weatherhead's estate. The Eden Magnet optimistically noted that "Next Summer will, we hope, see hundreds of bathers taking advantage of safe bathing at this, one of Eden's loveliest beaches..."

However, just as some headway was being made towards Eden's second ocean baths, the heartbreak that would become WWII commenced and infrastructure projects were forced to take a back seat as local fundraising focussed on patriotic appeals. Not surprisingly, the Thompson's Point facility enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, so much so that the Eden Advancement Association took up a peppercorn rent option after the Permissive Occupancy was terminated in April 1946. In 1949, the facility was described as "...the present rock pool..." and by 1953 council was trying to determine ownership in response to requests for repair to the access footbridge. In November 1962, Mrs. F. M. Smith wrote to express her concern about the safety of the footbridge.

Image © Angela George. All rights reserved.

By 1943, Eden Advancement Association's purchase of the Cattle Bay site had been completed, but by that time, the issue of potential sites was revisited, Yallumgo Cove (Ross' Bay) gaining support. Three years later, Aslings Beach was added into the mix - and as it was already a public reserve, application to the then Lands Department was unnecessary. By 1947, with Cattle Bay having fallen out of favour and the Eden Advancement Association struggling with membership, the site was sold to Australian Fishing Industries (AFI) for their fish canning operations.

August 1948 saw the question of new town baths again raised and with public school headmaster Mr. J. Tierney pointing out that it was "...almost impossible to teach the children to swim with the present facilities..." a sub-committee was formed to try to settle the question, with the Eden Surf Club advising as to the best site. After twelve months, local media were commenting on the "...urgent need for [a] shark-proof swimming pool...", stating that bathers near the wharf were at risk of attack, several sharks having been seen quite close to the beach there. Yet another sub-committee was appointed in 1950, but by July 1952, with falling attendance rates, the Eden Advancement Association went into recess.

During 1953 there were reports of a three foot six inch Blue Pointer shark swimming under the Eden Wharf where local children were bathing, while a "Large school of sharks...[were] cruising just beyond the breakers at Aslings Beach...", the Magnet and Voice imploring the community to act "...before a tragedy forces our hand..." By July 1953 the Eden Advancement Association had been revived and in October Imlay Shire Councillor Clare suggested that the introduction of the government's compulsory swimming lessons would be an opportune time to apply for a grant towards the cost of a new swimming pool. However, by the time Eden's Learn to Swim campaign commenced in January 1955, the 48 participants attended the free lessons alongside the main wharf. The same year, the town's teenagers began lobbying for a safe swimming enclosure and after a letter to the Magnet and Voice noted that local fishermen maintained "...sharks are more numerous and, because of hunger, more ferocious than they have been for years..." they appealed for the establishment of yet another committee to raise the necessary funds for construction of shark-proof baths, pleading "Please don't wait until one of us is taken by a shark..."

Early in 1956 the CWA Younger Set joined the call but although Imlay Shire Council undertook to "...give the utmost support to any move to have a pool built...", they declined to take any action themselves, maintaining that "...any such move would have to come from the residents of Eden..." who "...should themselves make some concrete effort to raise money to construct the pool..."

Images © Angela George. All rights reserved.

It was around this time that the Eden RSL sub-branch became involved in the project. Described as one of the driving forces behind that latest and most successful push, an enthusiastic band of sub-branch members combined with other local residents to organise fundraisers such as the successful aquatic carnivals when "Local fishermen rendered great assistance...by making their trawlers available..." for the events that included the distinctly local trawler races across Twofold Bay. After a number of successful carnivals, a public meeting was called in 1958 to discuss progress, and the RSL sub-branch sponsored the formation of the Eden Memorial Swimming Pool Association.

Debate continued throughout the late 1950s as to the preferred site, with Imlay Shire Council rejecting a number of proposals until in 1959 five locations were put forward. By July 1960 the site at the southern end of Aslings Beach was finally agreed upon.

Local businessman Kenneth Bruce Timms was appointed to act as the Association's liaison officer with Imlay Shire and that month he attended a council meeting to outline the site choice and table cost estimates. Approving the site, councillors resolved to have the Shire Engineer prepare plans, specifications and estimates for the pool, along with

Image © Angela George. All rights reserved.

dressing sheds and toilet facilities, also undertaking to supervise all construction work. They granted Eden Advancement Association a £5,500 overdraft for the project.

Image © Angela George. All rights reserved.

After council staff completed the pool's design, the contract was awarded to Mr. V. J. Jones of Bermagui South and work commenced in January 1961, with local names such as Fonga Nammensma and Neil Snowden also being involved in the works. By April, an estimated ninety-five percent of the rock wall excavation had been completed and by August, all concreting except the valves was finished. Bega's Mr. Ziegler produced and set in place a memorial plaque in October dedicating the pool to the "...gallant men and women..." who gave their lives in service during WWII.

Upon completion, a luncheon was held at the Sapphire Coast Motel in November 1961, after which local residents and guests adjourned to Aslings Beach for the official ceremony to mark the opening and dedication of the Eden Memorial Swimming Pool. In his speech, local member Mr. J. W. Seiffert MLA commended the committee and local residents on their decision to make the new pool a "...living memorial...", commenting "What better commemoration to those who lost their lives and those wounded in the War than to see all these wonderful healthy children just bursting to jump in for a swim." Highlighting the choice of site, he noted that it was "...an ideal one as it faces the rising sun. We all know that the rising sun is the emblem of all War Memorials..." Seiffert also drew attention to the example of self help and good citizenship demonstrated by the hours of unpaid time and labour given to the project, not to mention the £5,300 that the local community had contributed up to that time.

Measuring 25 metres by 20 metres and four foot six inches deep with water refreshed by tidal action every six hours, the Eden Memorial Swimming Pool, which included toilet facilities near the bottom of the steps, was originally estimated at £7,000, but eventually cost in excess of £7,200. The Imlay Shire and the Minister for Local Government both announced an additional contribution of £500 each during the official opening ceremony, while an appeal at the same time brought forth further funds from local citizens including W. Gandon, Mrs. H. Gacquerelle, Mr. L. Ramsey, Mr. A. Armstrong and Mr. A. Edwards. The local Ireland-Timms Forest Products business added another £100 to the coffers.

The facility quickly became popular with the public and in the seven years between 1962 and 1969 an estimated 525 local children were taught to swim there - lessons that took place in rain, hail or shine. Nuns from the local St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School also taught their students to swim at the pool while former local resident and 1974 Australian Commonwealth Games competitor Michael Creswick reputedly started his swimming career in the waters of the Eden Memorial Swimming Pool.

Outside formal swimming lessons, the baths were a popular haunt for local children, particularly during the Summer months or when the surf proved too rough and even after the opening of Eden's Olympic Swimming Pool in February 1980, it remained a popular venue with locals and visitors alike, not the least because it was free and always open.

Unfortunately, in more recent years the Eden Memorial Swimming Pool has fallen victim to a serious lack of maintenance which has also hindered its appeal. Sand has proven a major obstacle and despite the occasional demands from the local community, little has been done to improve its usability, although Bega Valley Shire Council has very infrequently dredged the facility. As recently as 1997, a group of local residents banded together to make the facility more usable. In March that year then Bega Valley Shire Councillor Stan Knight, Daryl Sherlock, Dick Jolly, Keith Cross and others cleared sand build up and cleaned growth from around the release valve using a suction pump provided by K Salvage and fuel donated by Eden's Ampol Service Station. Councillor Knight said that "If we want to promote Eden to tourists we need to have a full range of amenities and facilities available. At many times the local pool is closed and people want somewhere to swim. This pool is an outstanding asset to the town and we need to have it available for use." The volunteers also undertook to scrape off dead oyster shells and remove rock build up.

The following month, Eden Regional Development Group's youth and social services sub-committee hosted the "Aslings Beach Rock Pool Dig Out and Fun Day" to mark Youth Week. Along with other events, a Great Sand Dig with teams of eight was staged to help assist with clearing sand build up. By July 1997, the Aslings Beach Pool Committee had been formed to co-ordinate re-establishment of the facility and its subsequent management. Unfortunately, though the body seems to have lapsed around a year later and little appears to have been done to promote the potential of what is now more commonly referred to as the Aslings Beach Rock Pool.

The rectangular shaped rock and concrete ocean pool is set into and on a naturally occurring rock platform that was deepened and formalised in 1961 to create a safe swimming facility within the marine environment. Measuring twenty-five by twenty metres in size, the pool was originally around 1.3 metres deep when constructed, although sand build-up has impacted on this. It follows and is bounded by the natural rock formation on two sides, with low concrete walls on two side allowing flushing and refilling by natural tidal and wave movements. Located at the south-western corner of Aslings Beach, the pool is aesthetically positioned on the ocean's edge with panoramic views of the surrounding beach, cliffs and outer north bay. Fencing once provided a physical barrier between the pool and ocean, some of the bollards remaining in situ as late as 2009. Evidence of these can still be noted today. Toilets and change rooms reportedly completed the complex as it originally appeared and a plaque dedicating the facility to local servicemen and women was fixed into the rocks. These are no longer in situ.

Added to the Schedule 5 (heritage) of the Bega Valley Shire's Local Environment Plan in 2017, the pool is located at the south-western end of Aslings Beach, Aslings Beach Road, Eden.

Approximate location of site.

References and bibliography:

http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/australias-modern-swimmers
Bega Budget
Bell, Wendy, pers. comm.
Blazely, Coral, pers. comm.
Brennan, Kim, pers. comm.
Canberra Times
Capararo, Christine, pers. comm.
Chisolm, Debbie, pers. comm.
Clark, Rusty, pers. comm.
Cocks, Kay, pers. comm.
Cross, Erica, pers. comm.
Devlin, Dennise, pers. comm.
Drenkhahn, Jenny, pers. comm.
Eden Advancement Association records, Eden Killer Whale Museum collection
Eden Baths committee minute book, Eden Killer Whale Museum collection
Eden Magnet
Eden Magnet and Pambula Voice
Fox, Leonie, pers. comm.
Gibson, Gail, pers. comm.
Hammond, Kim, pers. comm.
Hansen, Ann B., pers. comm.
Henry, Geoff, pers. comm.
Henson, Michael, pers. comm.
Holmes, Steven, pers. comm.
Honeyman, Lyn, pers. comm.
Korner, Joanne, pers. comm.
Korner, Judy, pers. comm.
Korner, Marc, pers. comm.
Longstaff, Katie, pers. comm.
Magnet and Voice
Marks, Clive, pers. comm.
Mathieson, Kellie, pers. comm.
McGinley, Denelle, pers. comm.
McKenna, Jennifer, pers. comm.
McKenzie, Shirleen, pers. comm.
Moore, Cheryl, pers. comm.
O'Brien, Traci, pers. comm.
http://nswoceanbaths.com/NSW_Ocean_Baths.html
Owen, Tricia, pers. comm.
Pambula Voice
Rama, Mara, pers. comm.
Raymond, Pat, pers. comm.
Robert, Karen, pers. comm.
Saleta, Karen Bobbin, pers. comm.
Stare, Marjorie, pers. comm.
Squires, Robert, pers. comm.
Taylor, Robert, pers. comm.
Tunnock, Kat, pers. comm.
White, Jody, pers. comm.
Whiter, Robert, pers. comm.
Williams, Raymond, pers. comm.
Winnel, Norelle, pers. comm.