IN 1922, the Korumburra Primary School Committee and ladies auxiliary decided to raise money for the town’s very first swimming pool, after the Department of Education refused to grant a subsidy for the work.
Over two years they furiously fundraised to cover the full cost of the pool, which was £550, equating to about $55,000 in today’s money – not bad for a small country town.
After much coordinated efforts the swimming pool at Korumburra Primary School officially opened on March 1, 1924.
Yet the pool had been forgotten for the past sixty years until excavation works for the new kindergarten recently uncovered the old relic on the grounds of the Korumburra Primary School.
Locals like the President of the Korumburra Historical Society, Bob Newton, remember attending the school as a youngster and swimming in the pool.
Some of Bob’s mates also remember earning their ‘Heralds’ at the pool.
That referred to a learn to swim campaign run during the 1960s by The Herald, with certificates awarded to those who successfully swam the required distance.
Bob also remembers it being a popular spot in the summer that played an important role in young people learning to swim.
The rediscovery of the pool inspired so much interest around town that Bob decided to look into the origin of the pool and that is where he found the aforementioned details.
Although, all he could initially find on Trove, were advertisements for fundraisers for the pool.
Bob then went to the book, ‘Where Have the Years Gone?’, written by Wilma P. Walls, for the 100th anniversary of Korumburra State School.
In this, he found details of the school committee approaching and being refused funds by the Department of Education.
“No wonder there were so many advertisements for fundraising in articles found on Trove,” stated Bob.
Other details Bob unearthed were that when the pool was finally built, it was 20m x 10m, 1.37m at the deep end and 76cm at the shallow end.
It was free to swim in the pool but cost one penny for swimming lessons.
The head teacher was delegated the job of being in charge of the pool; arranging supervisors and keeping the pool clean. No chemicals were used in those days, they just drained the dirty water out and refilled it.
The children from St Joseph’s had use of the pool on Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons.
When the Korumburra public pool was established forty years later in 1964, the school swimming pool was closed and filled in.
