Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre to be renamed in honour of late Professor Richard Scolyer
A popular pool in Sydney will be named after the late Professor Richard Scolyer, the renowned cancer researcher and former Australian of the Year, who died three years after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour.
Inner West Council on Tuesday night voted to rename the refurbished Leichhardt Park Aquatics Center in honor of Scolyer, who long lived in Sydney’s inner west until his death this month at the age of 59.
The pool, which is undergoing a $55 million redevelopment, will be renamed the Richard Scolyer Aquatics Center to honor the courage and compassion Scolyer experienced in his life, Mayor Darcy Byrne said.
“It is only right that Richard Scolyer’s tremendous legacy be honored and supported in his community,” Byrne said.
Scolyer’s death on June 7 sparked a nationwide outpouring of emotion after he documented his decision to try the experimental treatment for highly aggressive brain cancer.
Byrne said Scolyer was one of Australia’s “greatest citizens” and a “local hero”, whose impressive medical achievements were matched by a passion for sport and exercise which he maintained until his final days.
He was an enthusiastic triathlete and had participated in numerous competitions at the Leichhardt Park Aquatics Centre.
“Renaming Leichhardt pool in memory of Professor Scolyer is one way of ensuring that his life story is passed on to future generations and continues to inspire inner west children into the future,” Byrne said.
The second phase of the major redevelopment of the 1960s-era pool, which more than 700,000 people visit each year, will begin later this month. This means that 50-metre outdoor pools and diving pools will be temporarily closed.
The council said other leading aquatics centers in the inner west, including Dawn Fraser Baths, Annette Kellerman Aquatics Center and Fanny Durack Aquatics Centre, were named in honor of famous female athletes.
Scolyer was named the 2025 Inner West Citizen of the Year.
He completed his 250th Parkrun, a five-kilometre community event that attracts runners and walkers in 23 countries every Saturday morning, walking the GreenWay course in Haberfield last June to applause.
Scolyer’s humility and openness about having cancer, including his regular posts on social media, have made Scolyer a much-loved figure across the country. His memory brainstorming, co-wrote reporter Veteran journalist Garry Maddox has become a bestseller and winner of the social impact book of the year at the Australian Book Industry Awards.
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