Swimmers across Victoria fight to keep their local pools afloat
When Belfast Aquatics pool opened in Port Fairy in 2007, there was a joyful feeling that the community had achieved the impossible.
People in the small town on Victoria’s west coast desperately wanted their own swimming pools and gyms, despite councils building larger aquatic centers in central locations.
So they did it themselves. Volunteers spent countless hours planning, designing and fundraising. Local builders worked in the construction. Business and community groups provided funding as well as city and state government money.
Teresa O’Brien, who lives nearby, fondly remembers the excitement that swept over the assembled crowd when the doors first opened. There was a lingering feeling that the community was doing something for the greater good.
“It was an incredible feeling,” O’Brien said.
But the pool and gym are now closed and the joyful community feel is gone. Last month Moyne Shire Council announced that its lease on the site had ended and it had no plans to continue operating the facility.
Port Fairy is among many communities in regional Victoria and suburban Melbourne where pools have been closed or are at risk of closure.
Moyne Shire estimates the Belfast Aquatics pool needs $2 million for repairs, but that figure is disputed by the community. More than 1600 signatures were collected on the petition to save the pool. The pool and gym were operated by a volunteer committee of staff and lifeguards.
O’Brien, a committee member of Belfast Aquatics, acknowledged the pool required extensive work but said the council’s $2 million figure was shocking.
He said the pool had 5,000 individual visits each month, including schoolchildren learning to swim, people involved in rehabilitation after injury or surgery, and netballers and football players for recovery and training. The pool is also a ramp to the water, providing access for people with disabilities.
“This is a very egalitarian place. Everyone is equal in the pool,” O’Brien said.
The pool was partially funded by a $1 tax on trailer park users. While the community operates and builds the pool, Moyne Shire owns the land.
O’Brien said the Belfast Aquatics committee had hoped to extend the 20-year lease, which expires this year, but the council had refused.
“It was a total devastation to the community,” he said.
An agenda item for Moyne Shire to be considered at its next council meeting states that building inspections found significant amounts of mould, as well as structural and facility-related issues. The agenda notes the council has provided more than $3 million to operate the pool since its opening, including $290,000 in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
But the council refused to make public the report on the state of the pool facility, citing confidential commercial matters, the impact on staff and possible legal ramifications.
Moyne Shire Mayor Jordan Lockett said the council had met its legal obligations to close the pool following the discovery of the mould. He insisted the council was examining the possibilities for the pool’s future and would not make any decisions until it had exhausted all options.
Dr D., a senior lecturer in urban planning and design at Monash University. Liz Taylor said rural pools have been closing or in danger of closing for decades. Unheated outdoor pools are particularly vulnerable.
But Taylor said the Belfast Aquatics pool is unique among community-run pools in that it is heated and indoors.
There were once about 100 community-run outdoor swimming pools in regional and rural Victoria, but that number had fallen to about 30, he said.
A council in East Gippsland has closed the Bairnsdale Outdoor Pool and a safety assessment will be carried out. A pool at Campbells Creek near Bendigo closed nearly 15 years ago and communities across Victoria are scrambling to save or reopen their pools.
In 1994 the community of Fitzroy fought bitterly to save its pool from closure. But Taylor said maintenance costs for swimming pools were often high and municipalities were reluctant to bear the burden.
Municipal pool construction now diverts resources from independent swimming pools in small towns to large aquatic centers in central locations, often with gyms and cafes.
“If you’re a small town, the numbers don’t add up,” Taylor said. “When this pool is closed [in Port Fairy]”I doubt they’ll get another one.”
Insurance costs are also high. Port Fairy pool was also the scene of tragedy in 2021 when a second grader died. The pool operators were convicted and fined $80,000, while the Department of Education was fined $100,000. O’Brien said significant safety improvements have since been made at the pool.
Port Fairy resident Sonia Sandars, who has multiple sclerosis, said the pool gave her freedom.
“It’s the only place where I can stand up independently with the help of ankle weights and noodles,” he said. “It frees up all my joints.”
Sandars, who uses the pool every week, said that the possibility of going to another pool is much lower due to the greater distance. The pool at Warrnambool is a 26-minute drive from Port Fairy.
Fellow user Mary Scott said the Port Fairy pool provides numerous health benefits as well as being an important social outlet.
“The whole town is in mourning,” he said.
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Benjamin Preiss is regional editor of The Age. He was previously a state tour correspondent and also covered education for The Age.Connect with: excitement or email.
