Here in Sydney, we’re lucky enough to have an abundance of incredible swimming spots on our doorstep. From world-famous stretches of sand to outdoor pools hidden in neighbourhood parks, it’s never too hard to find a place to get your aquatic fix in the Emerald City. And although we’re happy to take our swimming pools in whatever shape or size they happen to come, there’s something particularly special about swimming in a rock pool next to the ocean. It turns out, New South Wales is home to more ocean pools than anywhere else on Earth, but – as with many other things we love – our ocean pools are under threat from global warming.
According to research by UNSW, there are only 150 known ocean pools in the world – with almost fifty per cent scattered across the NSW coast. The university listed 70 ocean pools within NSW, with 30 of them being located on Sydney’s coastline – meaning the Harbour City has the highest ocean pool density in the world.
Though our First Nations people have been forming ocean-side rock pools for generations, the ocean pools we know of today (those formed from rock on the corner of NSW beaches) date back to the 1800s. Many of the pools that line our beaches were funded and built by settler communities in the early 1900s to provide safe swimming spaces – a role they still play more than a century later.
Sydney’s ocean pools are scattered along the coast, and range from the infinitely-Instagrammed Bondi Icebergs to the more hidden swimming holes in Sydney’s northern beaches. The eastern suburbs are home to the only remaining female-only swimming pool in the Southern Hemisphere (McIver’s Ladies Baths), a spectacular Art Deco pool and venue suspended on stilts on the edge of the cliff, and the pool where Olympian Evelyn Whillier trained for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Over in the north, you’ll find neighbourhood pools tucked into the corners of the cliff face, including at South Curl Curl and Bilgola.
And while our sea pools bring a number of benefits to our communities (an estimated socio-economic-health benefit of $40 per person visit per annum, according to economic modelling by Dr Dave Anning), their longevity isn’t guaranteed. Unsurprisingly based on their location, our ocean pools are the public spaces most vulnerable to rising sea levels – and many could be underwater over the next few decades. Rising sea levels as a result of global warming aren’t the only threat that our ocean pools face; increasingly common and intense storms (many resulting from the La Nina weather pattern) expose our sea pools to more storm surges which can damage their infrastructure.
Take some time this weekend to dip in one of our city’s beautiful ocean pools while you still can – there are thirty to choose from, but these 11 are our favourites.