“You Never Appreciate What You Have Until There is a Chance You May Lose It”

Abstract

Public swimming pools in Australia have played a formative part in the making of Australian identity: as a stage for iconic images of sport and leisure; as a place for the display of the body; and as a fondly regarded setting for everyday community and family life. Since the 1950s, hundreds of public pools have been constructed – through hard-fought community activism and assistance – across country towns and suburbs. However, by the 1970s, a slow decline in public pool use began to have an impact, because of the rise of indoor and mixed-use leisure complexes, the increasing pressures of privatisation and the growth of private pool ownership. Combined with a general lack of ongoing government funding for the upkeep and renovation of now ageing structures, and with added recent pressures over water sustainability, a great number of these original pools have been demolished, severely altered or closed.This paper examines the public pool as a potent place of community action and conservation pressures. Four cases of successful and failed campaigns for pools to remain open in suburban Melbourne are described. These campaigns have brought together local residents, architects and conservationists and have highlighted the growing disquiet over the loss of public amenities. In conclusion, we consider how new modes of online and participatory media are reshaping community activism for the twenty-first century.