Recently, during excavation work at the Korumburra Primary School, the remains of the old swimming pool were uncovered. After hearing a few questions around town about it, it was decided others would also be interested in the origins of the pool.
First, trying Trove, all that could be found were advertisements for fund-raisers to raise money for it, so then looking at a treasure trove of information—Where Have the Years Gone?, the book written by Wilma P. Walls for the 100th anniversary of the Korumburra State School.
In 1922 the school committee approached the Department of Education for funds, “and when the Department refused to grant a subsidy for the work, the Committee and the Ladies Auxiliary raised the full cost of £550.” No wonder there were so many advertisements for fund-raising in articles found on Trove.
The pool was 66 ft by 33 ft (20 m × 10 m), and 4 ft 6 in at the deep end up to 2 ft 6 in at the shallow end (1.37 m to 76 cm), and the Head Teacher was delegated the job of being in charge of the pool. He had to arrange supervisors for when children were swimming on Saturdays, school holidays, and after school (there was no swimming on Sundays), and also had to keep the pool clean. No chemicals in those days, just flushing the dirty water out and refilling it.
The children from St Joseph’s had use of the pool on Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons.
It was free to swim in the pool, but cost one penny for swimming lessons.
On March the 1st 1924, the pool officially opened. It closed 40 years later, in 1964, when the town pool opened.
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