Young Mariners Pool

 

Ok I came across this book that belonged to my dad and decided to use it for a couple of posts, it is called Newcastle the missing Years by Greg & Syliva Ray.

Back in 1937 opened what was called the Young Mariners Pool what made this pool unique was on the bottom of it was a map of the world.

The pool is said to have been the idea of city engineer L J Price, who was inspired by watching a young boy truing to sail a model boat in the ocean.

With the aid of a geography master from Newcastle Boys High School and a Mr Johnson if the city’s architect department the pool became a personal hobby. They hoped that when completed it would be a big attraction of the beach.

The pool was to be about 20 metres wide, egg shaped, and its continents and islands jutted about 20cm’s above the water. The second stage was the canoe pool which was created by the construction of a large arc-shaped seawall that extended the wading pool into a great circle atop the rocky platform with the depth of the wading pool being controlled by sluice gates.

The canoe pool was completed in 1941, with much debate over whether it was worth building at all.

Both pools suffered from filling with sand causing the council a right headache and costing the council more money to remove. That was until they discovered it was a handy source for covering garbage dumps and filling parks and being used as to dressing on lawns and gardens.

The map of the world was damaged by storms in the 1960’s with parts ending up off Nobby’s breakwater they could be seen for a long time but eventually faded.

This pool is part of The Newcastle Ocean Baths which are a sea bath in Newcastle, New South Wales. The site includes pavilions, pools and promenades. The baths are known for architectural features such as the Striped Classical / Art Deco facade and bleacher seating.